Lucy68 said:
I think the plants you see with the long trunk have been grafted to that long trunk. It would be interesting to see one in person because Japanese Red Pine has very distinctive red flaky bark. I bet the bark of that long trunk is a different pine bark.
I've been looking this up all evening, and I think you could be right. It should have been grafted on a standard at a much smaller/younger stage of growth. It would be a different kind of pine tree-- white pine or something. Not sure. I have seen the multi trunk kind as well. I think what I will do is clean up the multiple trunks (keep the thicker ones), and "tree up" a bit to expose the wood. Also keep the candles trimmed to make the canopy thicker. I also have a mugo pine in a 10 gallon size which I am going to start candling to make it thicker.
It is a Pinus densiflora 'Umbraculifera'Compacta. The branches come from a centeral area (where the roots also come from). It looks like that is what was done to this specimine. You can see how it abruptly comes from the ground -- not on a longer trunk, but a "V" shape from the ground. This is the natural form, I think. My confusion is that I see trees that have long stems. It could be that the "compacta" is short. I was also told not to attempt to bend it like a bonsai. I am okay with that.
