FOREWARD: The first part of this article is about the maintenance of the Japanese Black Pine, and the techniques I describe here can, with some small adjustments, also be used for Pinus sylvestris, Pinus mugo, Pinus nigra, Pinus uncinata, and Pinus ponderosa. The second part of the article is focused on the Japanese White Pine, Pinus parvifolia.

First, before I start: I know that what I write works because it is what I do successfully with my own pines. But, I know that not everybody lives where I live, and that climate and seasons differ greatly around the world. However, I do believe that the techniques remain more or less the same, so you only have to adjust the techniques to your own local situation! Here is where I ask for the help of some knowledgeable colleagues in other zones of the world: I would greatly appreciate if they could answer the specific questions about those things like local growing or weather circumstances when they are asked? I kept it all as basic as possible, and straightforward so that everybody will be able to understand it easily, and they will have no problem applying the techniques I describe on their own trees! All the techniques I describe must be done every year (except on a young tree that needs to grow), There are many different ways to balance your pine and for needle reduction, etc. I think that the ones I describe here are a good place to start for any novice.

Before I go in to the energy balancing techniques, I must explain the different energy zones of the pine tree.

Pines generally grow irregularly upwards in search of the sunlight and when they mature they will grow more horizontally. If we look at the pine tree as a whole, we can tell that there is a significant difference in growing strength between the outer tips of the branches/tree and the inner part of the branches/tree. This difference is a result of the outer parts receiving more light and air than the inner parts, which have to live in the shade of the other branches that block out most of the light. Another factor is the pine’s natural growth pattern: favoring the branch tips and apex of the tree.

As with all living things in nature, only the strong will survive! Those strong zones play a much bigger part in the photosynthetic energy process than the weaker zones; therefore, they are more important for the survival of the tree, so the tree needs those parts to flourish and will send more energy to those important zones. The weaker zones as a result will get weaker and weaker and eventually die back. This is a natural process, but don’t worry: with the techniques I will explain, we are going to balance every part of the pine, so that ideally every part of the tree becomes equal in strength!