Is A Japanese Black Pine A Good Tree For Bonsai?

If you asked people what is the best tree for bonsai, a Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) would be on that list. It could even be argued that it would be at the top of that list!

If you also asked a random person on the street to picture a bonsai in their head, it is very likely that would conjure up an image of a Japanese black pine.

I have been growing one from seed and you can see its development in my Japanese Black Pine Bonsai Progression.

Is A Japanese Black Pine A Good Species for Bonsai?

When it comes to bonsai the Japanese black Pine is one of the best trees you can use. It’s not an easy tree to master, but if you can, you will end up with a world class tree.

If you look at any top end bonsai show in Japan (or anywhere else) you will find countless examples of amazing Japanese black bonsai on display.

It is also a tree that can be any size and will be equally as stunning when small or large.    

Is Japanese Black Pine Foliage Good For Bonsai?

Being a pine, the foliage is actually needles. This can be a bit more complex to manage compared to leaves, but it still works really well for bonsai.

You need to remember that the foliage is the life source for the tree. You always need foliage on a branch or it will die. This can be tricky when you are trying to develop a bonsai, but you must always remember this as you can’t bonsai a dead tree.

Leaf Size

The needles on a full size tree can be huge, but this is nothing to worry about. With the right techniques you can get the needles to be super small. You will often see shohin Japanese black pines with tiny needles that really look in proportion.

Internode Length

The internode length is also something that can very easily get out of hand, but it is also something that you can get down in size and after a while you can get some really short internodes and tight foliage.

Is Japanese Black Pine Growth Rate Good For Bonsai?

If you have a young Japanese black pine they can grow quite quickly in the right circumstances, however, over all they are a slow tree in bonsai terms. They can take a long time to develop into something decent. You will find that they take a lot longer to develop compared to a deciduous tree, but they can certainly be worth the wait.

You will need to learn how to manage their growth as this can be the difference between having a good tree and something that looks a mess. This can be a little tricky, but this is “doing” bonsai, so if you don’t enjoy this type of thing then this species, and maybe even the hobby is not for you. This work can intimidate a beginner, but it is something you can easily learn and do.

Japanese black pines are really a tree you need to work on from an early age as it does not act like other trees. Once it gets too big, you can’t reduce it back down. With a deciduous tree you can grow, or even find a tree with a fat trunk and then chop it down to nothing and start your bonsai work from a stump.

This will not work for pines. You need to manage their growth more carefully and slowly over time so that tree grows gradually and in proportion at all times. Of course there are techniques to help you along (like sacrificial branches) but the general approach need to be more thought out.

Response To Pruning

Japanese black pines will respond very well to pruning if done right. You need to prune at the right time and in the right way. This pruning is very different to any other tree.

You need to prune the extending candles in spring before they fully open. If you do this correctly you will get lots of new shoots where you pruned. This initial spring growth followed by the new shoots after means that they can grow twice in a season, so are called double flush pines.

Back Budding

Japanese black pines will back bud, but only in the right circumstances. If you just remove foliage hoping it will regrow, or back bud you will be very upset.  As I discussed above you cannot just chop them down to a stump and hope new shoots grow. This will not happen and the tree will die.

If you prune the tree in the right fashion you will find that back buds will develop and grow. Once this happens you can then reduce the branch length back to these new shoots. This is how you build a more compact tree. If you do not do this correctly the tree will keep growing and stretching out and you will not be able to get growth closer to the trunk or reduce it in size.

Ramification

Again, proper pruning techniques are required and if you do this you can get some great ramification. When you prune the candles, the new growth will be smaller. You may find a number of shoots grow and you will need to remove some of them. This means you can easily get a branch to divide into two new shoots.

Some people also limit fertiliser so that the internodes and candles become smaller. This can help but you will still need to prune you tree and manage its growth in the proper way or you will not be able to build ramification.

Is Japanese Black Pines Styling Ability Good For Bonsai?

There are a lot a styling options available for a Japanese black pine, but you will need to choose one. Pines are not the type of trees that will get a cool shape naturally, you will need to help it through wiring and styling.

Wiring

Wiring is pretty essential when it comes to Japanese black pines. They can be wired very easily and the branches can be very flexible when young. This means you can put some pretty interesting movement into them and end up with some very cool looking trees, which is exactly what you want from a bonsai.

It also means that if a branch is maybe too long, you care wire it in a way that will bring it in closer to the tree and make it look more compact. This is a good way to deal with a tree that has not back budded where wanted.

Is Japanese Black Pines Fall Colours Good For Bonsai?

The foliage is evergreen meaning it will stay the same all year round, so you do not get any exciting colour displays in autumn and you never get to see the winter silhouette of the tree.

This is one of the very few down sides with Japanese black pines, although, it is also why they are cool. They are a nice change from deciduous trees.

Is Japanese Black Pine Bark

The bark on Japanese black pines is awesome. It gets its name from the dark, almost black bark. It is thick, gnarly and craggy. It is just very interesting to look at and is part of the reason why this tree is so popular as bonsai.

Deadwood Opportunities

Deadwood will work very well with Japanese black pines. Both shari and jins can really add character and interest to your tree. They really make a tree look much older like it has spent decades fighting against nature in harsh conditions. 

Are Japanese Black Pine Roots Good For Bonsai?

The roots can be a bit of an issue when it comes to bonsai. You need to be careful when you are trimming them. They cannot be hacked back like a deciduous tree.

You must be very cautious with all your root work and you even need to be careful about removing the soil. The soil will be full of beneficial bacteria called mycorrhiza. This actually helps the roots to absorb more nutrients so if you remove all the soil you are getting rid of this, which will potentially weaken your tree.

This can make building a nice root structure a little more difficult, but with time and the right techniques you can get there. This is probably the most intimating part of owning a Japanese black pine and it is probably where most beginners get themselves into trouble. Just be cautious and you should be fine.

Are Japanese Black Pines Easy To Care For As Bonsai?

Reading what I’ve said above probably makes them sound like very complicated trees, however, caring for Japanese black pine can be fairly simple.

Once they are established they are pretty easy to look after. However, there are just a lot of little things you need to be aware of that can be a bit too much for a beginner. The same goes for the techniques you use to make them bonsai, they are very specific to the species. 

You can read my full Japanese Black Pine Care Guide.

What Do People Think Of Japanese Black Pine?

Japanese Black Pines are popular trees in bonsai, so I asked my Youtube subscribers what pine they preferred, and here are the results:

It is probably no surprise that the Black pine came out on top with 50% of the votes.

Conclusion

Japanese black pines are a little tricky and you need to know what you are doing with them. However, learning what to do is not that hard and once you master it you will find that they are one of the best trees you can have.

They maybe have a few down sides compared to deciduous trees, such as not being able to take a lot of root work, but this doesn’t mean they are not worth the hard work.

Japanese black pines really are the king of bonsai and you should definitely get one.