All aboard the Mugo train!

[barrosinc]

to achieve back budding, when is the best time to heavy fertilize and pray? autumn? for the next years spring growth?

 

[Vance Wood]

to achieve back budding, when is the best time to heavy fertilize and pray? autumn? for the next years spring growth?

Heavy back budding is incumbent upon heavy growth before cutting back. A good fertilizing schedule the year before and in the proceeding spring should bring about abundant new growth. If this growth is allowed to develop and expand till the beginning of summer when the needles are opened the results will be much better when the candles are removed.

 

[barrosinc]

Thanks

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

See any sign of little cones?

Yes: If you look behind the pollen cone on the left you can see what appears to be a purple bud, this is the female cone.

No, the female cones are borne at the top of new candles, developing as the candles elongate.

 

[parhamr]

Yes: If you look behind the pollen cone on the left you can see what appears to be a purple bud, this is the female cone.

My apologies: the photo is a little misleading because I bumped up its saturation. I took a look at that bud this morning and it appears to me as a normal growing tip.

 

[barrosinc]

You have to learn how to see the potential before you set it on fire. But; I think you will probably be alright. We wait for some pictures, which I would like to see now. Understanding that you are virtually on the other half of the world from me I am serious about knowing what people are doing with the tree.

Here it is... it is not great... but I was about to ditch it.

 

[Vance Wood]

There is the potential for a good tree there. However it appears to be in a bit of trouble and I would recomend you leave it alone now for at least a year just to see what it is going to do.

No, the female cones are borne at the top of new candles, developing as the candles elongate.

When a tree is cut as this one has been there is no telling where you might find stuff. Mugos do funny things when pressed of course you know that. Look at it, it would be at the end of a candle. When a tree is threatened one of the things they do is an attempt to reproduce.

 

[barrosinc]

There is the potential for a good tree there. However it appears to be in a bit of trouble and I would recomend you leave it alone now for at least a year just to see what it is going to do.

When a tree is cut as this one has been there is no telling where you might find stuff. Mugos do funny things when pressed of course you know that. Look at it, it would be at the end of a candle. When a tree is threatened one of the things they do is an attempt to reproduce.

Yes that was my plan.
Kinda like the reason I was going to wait to show it till next year if it made it.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

When a tree is cut as this one has been there is no telling where you might find stuff.

It's not random. Male pollen cones appear at the base of new candles:

Female cones first emerge during candle extension, at the tip:

 

[Vance Wood]

Take a look! In this case you see the pollen cones emerging from the remains of a cut candle and either a bud or female cone emerging as you say from the top. There are just no needles or extensions you are used to seeing. I know you know so much I should differ to your superior knowledge, even about Mugos which you claim you cannot grow where you live. Yes of course you're right I don't know crap about anything especially Mugo Pines. If this is not what I say it is what is it?? I did not say this is random I said it was anomalous and I also said that weird things happen with Mugo Pines when they are cut heavily that you may not expect to find with other Pines. The picture you have shown is JBP, this is Mugo.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Sorry for starting dart throwing contest here. However must add that this bud behind male cones looks like just normal foliage bud and not cone to me. Love pines and have seen many different buds as well as tiny baby cones.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Take a look! In this case you see the pollen cones emerging from the remains of a cut candle and either a bud or female cone emerging as you say from the top.

Yeah, I see the vegetative bud, it's what you called a female cone earlier:

Yes: If you look behind the pollen cone on the left you can see what appears to be a purple bud, this is the female cone.

I don't yet see a female cone emerging from the top of the bud (emphasis added).

Maybe @parhamr will mark this branch and share photos over the next couple months so we can see how it develops. Could be a good exercise in showing how pines grow.

 

[sorce]

Sorce

 

[Vance Wood]

Sorry for starting dart throwing contest here. However must add that this bud behind male cones looks like just normal foliage bud and not cone to me. Love pines and have seen many different buds as well as tiny baby cones.

Unless there is something worng with the photo it's color almost rules it out as a growth bud. I however did not state that it definitely is a cone I have not seen terminal buds this color on a Mugo, it could be a terminal bud. However if Parhamr would be so kind as to post the results once the bud in question becomes what it really is I will be the first to say I was wrong in the event I am wrong.

 

[Vance Wood]

I was just thinking: We can solve this entire controversy by taking another photograph of the bud from the other side, that might solve the issue. Some photographs of other buds around the tree for comparison might help as well.

 

[Vance Wood]

Any new pictures of the buds on this tree? I am very interested in what it is doing. I am always looking to add new information to my list of "stuff" about Mugo Pines.

 

[barrosinc]

Vance, my tree started setting buds for next year... hopefully a good sign.
It still has a long way to go. Not touching it for a couple of years.

 

[Vance Wood]

That's a smart thing. Mugos will take a lot of abuse even all at once but; once done you cannot keep coming after the tree and expect the tree is not going to be negetively impacted.

 

[Vance Wood]

One of my slowmound dwarves is developing male pollen cones!
View attachment 94127

Any chance of an update on this tree's buds? Pictures possible?

 

[YukiShiro]

here is a pic of male pollen cones from a mugo pine

here is a pic of female cones

here are some candles

side by side

It looks like three male pollen cones in front with a bud hiding in the back te me. The Op mentioned the fact that he saturated the pics color too much, I think that's the cause for that bud to seem so purple. The "BUD" in question definitely lacks the small protrusions all the female cones have in the pictures I got from Google, linked to plant encyclopedia websites. funny thing...these baby female cones look a lot darker in color to those i find on my black pines at home, but have exactly the same shape, even the male pollen cones look mostly the same

not looking to add fuel to the fire though.

best regards
Herman