| JAPANESE PRUNING OF PINES by Don Brooks Pine trees, pruned to reflect those in the exposed mountains and sea cliffs have been part of Japanese Gardens for centuries. You need not have a Japanese Garden to bring these techniques into your garden as the styles are pleasing and timeless. Hours spent communing with your tree as you shorten candles in the spring, strip needles in the fall and prune as necessary becomes a special time - you and your tree together. The pines in Japanese gardens are pruned to create a desired image, a hint of places you might wish to be. Random elements are removed and harmonious ones are created or retained. You begin by assessing the type of landscape you have or wish to have and create a design to fit that situation. Elements to consider include the species of tree, the establishment of trunk lines and branch structure, the position and a whole host of others. Virtually any tree, including Pines, can be pruned in what is thought of as the Japanese style. Traditional landscapes in Japan have often been regarded as having masculine or feminine characteristics. The 'masculine ' landscapes are exposed, rugged areas where the trees feature angular movement, rough bark and sparse foliage. 'Feminine' landscapes are more sheltered, have smoother bark, gentler movement and more lush foliage. Most landscapes and trees have a combination of these characteristics. Several masculine species include the Shore Pine, P. contorta, The Austrian Pine, P. nigra, Japanese Black Pine, P. thumbergiana and Scots Pine, P. sylvestris. Feminine trees include the Japanese Red Pine, P. denisflora, Japanese White Pine, P. parviflora and the Eastern White Pine, P. strobus. TRUNK LINES Trunk lines in the trees are prominent features, so it is helpful to divide them into basic styles; After the trunk design has been chosen, either by you or by the tree, you are almost ready to being pruning. Hopefully, you always work safely. Trees over 18" and trees leaning over water require special ladders or ropes so its worth the effort to try and establish your tree at a height and location that allows future access, with your fingers, to all parts of the tree HOW TO BEGIN Stand back now and look at the entire tree from all angles. Most styles are based on triangles, as can be observed in the illustrations. The heavier, longer, thicker and more widely spaced branches occur nearer ground level. Near the top, short thin and more frequent branches are seen. The branches are usually on the outside of curves to accentuate movement. Throughout the entire tree, straight lines are discouraged. When beginning to prune a pine consider that once something has been removed, it cannot be put back. Visualization or perhaps a sketch of what you want is helpful. I recommend that novices take it easy and begin with the obvious dead, diseased and crossing branch removal, then follow with needling, candling and finally pruning. This is somewhat the opposite order of the more experienced gardener, but is a safe approach until you feel comfortable with the job. NEEDLING Each year a new set of needles emerges from the new shoots (candles). In the fall of the year. every two year old or older needle is removed by grasping them between your thumb and fingers and pulling, pinching or twisting them off. The result is an extremely light and airy appearance that offers full views of the trunk and branches as well as light, air and water. This look lasts until early next summer when the new needles join the old. CANDLING The new growth tips are called candles. The central candle will become the continuation of the trunk or branch, with the side candles becoming the side branches. Straight lines are rarely encouraged in these trees so complete removal of the central candle is usually carried out. Timing is important here and differs greatly depending on climate, species and location. Each tree will have to be timed individually. I like to get the candles when they are still able to be snapped off with the finest pruning tool of all, your fingers. Pine branches produce a highly variable numbers of candles from one to as many as 20. It is most common to select 2 or 3 side candles that will grow into a zig-zag pattern as illustrated. Those few that are left are shortened by pinching off the tip at the approximate length. . A reasonable question to ask is, "What is the right length?" With this artistic form of pruning there is no correct answer, so simply rely on your sense of proportion. One or two inches is normal. Pinching the tip, if carried out early enough, late spring at the latest, stops its growth at that point and allows it to set buds for next year. Too late in the season and you run the risk of killing the candle. A good rule of thumb is to perform the operation while its flexible enough to use your fingers. If you wait until pruners are required, you will be cutting the soon-to-expand needles in half and will be risking future bud production. It helps to think of candling as pruning on a small scale. The goal is the same as all good pruning - to direct growth in an aesthetic and healthy manner. TIMING The timing of pruning is problematic. Traditional pruning time in Japan is in the fall but they have wet and warm summers and cold and dry winters. Few areas in North America have the same conditions. I've noticed Seattle pines killed by excessive fall pruning if a hard winter follows. Hard spring pruning followed by an especially hot and dry summer can also kill them, so I have adopted a strategy of moderation. A little here and a little there. I always try to prune using the less than the one-third-per-year model. My ideal is to take 4 or 5 years to get a tree in shape. My tools are hand pruners, both Western spring loaded types and Japanese scissor and a small folding saw. My goal is the same as with candling, the creation of curves and zig zags and the avoidance of straight lines. BRANCH STYLES I like to divide branch treatment methods into 3 broad categories. We'll call them the Kyoto or Imperial style, The Tokyo style and the Oriental style. Each requires different amounts of time and labor, and each has a dramatically different look. The Imperial style can be called the highest form of maintenance in the Japanese Garden. Indeed, in classical times, a 7 year Apprenticeship was undertaken before a gardener was allowed to work alone on a pine. This method requires attention at lease twice a year including candling in the spring, needing in the fall and pruning as needed. The goal is to create a branch structure so open that a small bird can fly though anywhere. I've experienced this many times and its always a magical moment. The Toyko style was developed several hundred years ago in response to a shortage of resources. Somethings never change! This style essentially omits the needling phase. This leaves much more visible branch pads but less visible branch structure. Candling operations are still carried out by hand and gives individual branches an undulating and soft appearance. Needles eventually become shaded out, thus giving the underside a brown, dead look that should be periodically groomed. The final style, the catch-all Oriental style, can include candling with hedge trimmers and poodle pruning. Problems with these styles include masses of exposed dead needles and the usual aesthetic concerns that typically accompany any action carried out in the least amount of time possible. In my 15 years of serious gardening, I've discovered two things that calm my thoughts during periods of stress. One is hand weeding moss beds and the other is pruning pines. Years of careful observation, both in the wild and in cultivated gardens, as well as years of touching pines will leave you with the same feeling of peace and satisfaction. |