The Japanese Black Pine

Yes indeed the black pine makes an excellent bonsai, however the black pine is not a good choice for the beginner to choose as a bonsai subject.

The black pine is from Japan and has been revered by the Japanese as very valuable bonsai material for many years. These trees have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years and most likely will continue to be a favorite subject for bonsai.

This tree can grow to be more than twenty five feet tall if left to grow in a garden outside the confines of a pot.

This pine prefers colder climates but will also survive in less colder climates. This pine does like full sun and will do well as long as you’re paying close attention to it each day.

If potted up as a bonsai then you should turn your plant frequently to insure that it gets the proper light and sun from all directions.

The black pine likes an acid fertilizer for food but it can be some what neglected with the feeding and still do very well. It can be allowed to dry out between watering during the early parts of the season but you must insure that it has very good drainage.

If you do attempt to grow one of these beauties as a bonsai then you will certainly want to insure that it has a good air flow around the tree and above all you will want to shield it from extreme heat as it will not do well in the real hot summer months if your not really vigilante.

You should mist the tree regularly during the hot months several times a day if possible and try to be careful of the roots getting over heated. Good air flow and proper drainage will help to insure this does not happen to your plant.

Unless you want to wait for many years and have lots of time you will have little luck trying to grow one of these bonsai from seed as they are very slow to grow.

Your best bet if you’re really serious about having a black pine as a bonsai is to start with a nursery grown tree. Or you may prefer to purchase a specimen tree from a bonsai grower.

If you collect a plant from a garden center or nursery then you at least will have a plant that has already established some trunk growth and that is what you want.

You do not want to wait for many years to get to this result so that is why I suggest starting with pre grown stock.

You will want to study some books on the pinus family and learn the tricks of growing these trees in confined spaces such as pots before you rush out and purchase a starter plant.

Even starters of this tree can be some what expensive and for sure an old specimen plant will cost you plenty.

Learn all about this tree that you can before you attempt to grow one as a bonsai because like I stated early in this post they are not the best choice for a beginner.

You'll want to learn what times of the year to wire and to pinch the new growth as this will be very important and will have a great effect on the way your plant will look.

It takes years of pinching and training to get the needles say for instance to grow shorter and become more compact and you will only get these results by pinching out new growth.

The way you wire your limbs will have also a bearing on how your plant will look of course never forget the most important factor with any bonsai the trunk.

If the trunk is not appealing then the entire plant will always leave something to be desired.

The rule I follow in bonsai is that the viewer should always be able to see the trunk first and that is should have a nice taper moving upwards to the apex and that my over all tree should resemble a triangle when viewed from the front.

Of course this rule is not always true for every plant but at least in the case of the pinus family I try to lean in that direction. In closing of this post if you’re going to start a black pine then look for one with a strong trunk and the very best limb placement that you can find for the money.


Yours respectfully, Harold Yearout