Hello everyone,
I plan to start working on a red pine (pinus resinosa) which is a species of pine native to north america. It is a two needle pine and grows in the north east. So far, it has been used very little in bonsai. I have read that the species has been observed producing a second flush of growth in a single growing season but in certain conditions. However, this isn't a confirmation the american red pine is a multi-flush pine.

Any suggestions on how I can safely experiment de-candling on some trees to get an answer?

My initial thoughts are to grow it initially like it's a single-flush pine like the ponderosa or scotch pine. Once the tree has some size and strength to it, but before I have invested too much time or effort, I attempt de-candling it.

Thanks
Spencer

I am a very able pine killer. So not the person to take advice from
I do not know the species, and have never had one in my care. So not the person to take advice from

That being said.. I would think all you have to loose is a year of growth? Could you not leave a bunch of last years needles and decandle, and see whether the buds open or not? Go by the nearest pine growth-wise?

Or, you could look into clubs in your region; What you can do to a tree in one cliate zone, does not per se apply to other regions..

Shermanator wrote: Any suggestions on how I can safely experiment de-candling on some trees to get an answer?

Strangely, while I am sure LB knows how to take care of his trees and probably better than me, I'm not having the same issue. My pines are doing fine, so far. I have problems with other species like junipers and azaleas...

Get three of them.
- Treat one of them like a japanese white pine. Do not decandle it (decandling jwp's seriously weakens them and may even kill 'm), but shorten the candles (distributing vigor, shortening certain candles less then others. Look up how to do it, there are good sites about this. Don't have a link available myself at the moment)

- Treat one of them like a japanese black pine. Remove the first flush. Do read up on it, I happen to have a link for that: www.evergreengardenworks.com/pines.htm

- Let one of them grow without doing anything so you can see if / when it develops a second flush

If you haven't seen it yet, do watch this movie:

Thanks for your input Gents.

Leatherback, I didn't even think about reaching out to clubs. I might try messaging clubs in the areas where this tree is native. Auk, I also think your three tree experiment idea is good because of the third tree you suggested, primarily because I had a realization after making my post.

While the american red pine is native to coastal areas around the great lakes and the Atlantic ocean, it has been observed producing a second flush of growth after significant rains following an early summer drought. This is fundamentally different from JBP and JRP were the second flush is in response to coastal storms ripping the new candles off. This makes me wonder if de-candling is the best way to trigger a second flush in this species.

I appreciate the input and will likely begin the experiment this spring. Cheers!
Spencer

Shermanator wrote: This makes me wonder if de-candling is the best way to trigger a second flush in this species.

It's a good question and I do not have the answer as I do not know the species.

You could try the safe way, by not decandling, or not fully decandling it, but selecting buds you do not need and leaving only one pair.
Also, if you treat it like a white pine, you should be safe: do not decandle, but break the buds and leave half (or less or more, depending of the required vigor in the area. Remove less where you need more growth, and more where you don't need it)

A picture might be interesting, showing the buds that have developed.