Eric works on a small-medium sized black pine for a client with entry into the Pacific Bonsai Expo show in mind. The idea here is to the prepare the tree for an exhibit that will happen one year later.

0:46 discussion of the size and shape of the crown as it relates to the planned angle change.

1:19 A look at the short crop of needles and the current state of the tree. Eric proceeds to check the condition of the branches, checks the needle pulling that the owner already performed and begins to remove some aluminum wire.

2:10 Issue number one - Broken needles that are the result of improper use of your hands. Think of a pine as a one-way street, never approach from the top but instead move your hand up from underneath until you get to the spot you intend to work on.

3:45 Issue number two - Fall thinning of needles and bud clusters, if you pull a needle from the tip, you'll leave the sheath and bract of the needle, which will leave a messy look to the tree. Pull needles from the base with fingers or tweezers for a cleaner look.

6:20 Closeup of the work with tweezers.

7:05 Fast forward to about half the wiring and cutback done - Eric discusses the reduction in volume of the crown to match the size of the trunk.

7:30 Issue number three - Eric shows an example of a strong bud (that was not decandled) that had long needles, but the long needles were pulled off. Instead you can cut the needles to the same length as the other needles in the tree. Avoid pulling off all the new long needles because it can weaken or kill the bud in the coming year.

9:15 Issue number four - Fall cutback should not be done behind buds in the middle of needles. In the fall you are pruning the tree and cannot expect the same reaction as during the summer. Improper cutback will result in many problems in the coming year and prevent you from achieving uniform needles. Cut off branching to a junction so that there is a set of needles and terminal but on each tip.

10:05 Time lapse of further pruning , cleaning and wiring work

11:10 Resulting compacted and reset tree. Eric discusses how this will enable the tree to be maintained at a more compact size.
12:40 Eric recommends changing the front just slightly.

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