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Trimming Pine Video Clip
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Crafting Bonsai - Trimming Pine

Trimming and pinching back your bonsai will help you maintain small, neat and full foliage pads, and promote the formation of healthy and compact branches. This will maintain the appearance of your bonsai as well as help you control its' growth.

Although the pine trimming process sounds a bit complex, the result is worthwhile. It is to be noted that the timing of pruning and trimming pine bonsai is crucial. There are four stages of pruning, they occur in mid spring (managing the growth of candles), early summer (controlling the number of candles), mid autumn (removing unsightly shoots) and late winter (reducing the number of needles).

In spring, candles will start growing on all healthy pine trees. The candles will start to break apart and new needles become visible in mid or late spring. This is the time to break them off, leaving the candle down one third to one half of its former length. Sometimes, strong tips may have an excess number of candles, break them off at the base and leave only 2 to 3 candles on each tip. In early or mid summer, cut back any shoot that is to be regulated. Depending on the strength of the tree, cut back the shoots, leaving only 2 to 4 needles. In late winter or very early spring, all the two year old and a portion of last year needles on the strong shoots will need to be removed. This will improve the aeration and allow sunlight to reach the old shoots and branches.
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