Japanese black pine is the epitome of bonsai. Few trees can convey the stoic power or the subtle profundity of bonsai to the degree that a black pine can. Black pine is a tree that takes many years to achieve the mature look of a superior specimen bonsai. For this reason, it is important that those who would choose to grow them be steadfast in their attentive and uncompromising care of the tree. Growing black pine for bonsai carries with it a healthy responsibility to prepare and maintain good material for future generations to work with.
Black pine is a strong tree that responds well to the techniques used in the creation of bonsai.
Working with black pine is a balancing act and its growth characteristic is such that it needs ongoing and careful maintenance in order to stay in bonsai trim. Left on its own, a black pine will develop long, leggy branches that emerge in whorls from a leggy trunk. The branches will have lollypops of foliage at the branch tips. All of these characteristics run counter to the bonsai aesthetic. Japanese black pines like a well-drained soil.