Pine Bark examples

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Here are some bark shots as discussed on a previous thread. The first set of images are black pine bark; seedling variety unless noted otherwise, to show how bark develops over a few years.

First up, very young bark on a seedling Awaji black pine from Gary Ishii. this candle is 1 year old. Note the scaly appearance on the candle, which forms an upside-down "U" shape, with the needle fascicle at the top of the "U". More on that later...

Here is the base. No real bark as yet. Gary told me that these are about 8 years old. It is clear, however, that he'd been growing these to stay small. This isn't characteristic growth on an 8-year old back pine from So. Cal. It's in the ground now, and grew 3' this summer.

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Next up is a black pine from Brussel's. Assume it's just a seedling variety. I bought it in '08, as a +/-10-year old tree, so we'll call it 15. I haven't done much to it yet, except prune it back in '10 to keep growth close to the trunk. This year it went in the ground. So now at around 15 years old, some bark is starting to form, flaky at the base, and becoming less-so as it moves up the tree to younger portions.

Alex, you were asking about your bark. Look at the area above the whorl in the 4th photo. This was probably a 3-4-year old branch +/- when I bought the tree in '08. Safe to assume it will develop bark like the trunk below it over the next 10 years.

JudyB · Jul 21, 2012

Brian, I'm following this thread with interest. The attachment photos in the last post are not showing up, and I get an error message when I click on them.
Thanks for the lessons, yet again...

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Having some ISP problems...always happens when I'm in a hurry. Let's try again...

Here is another black pine that's in the 15-year old range. It's been growing fast, in a big can, with huge candles up until last spring. The bark is still very flaky and immature, but it's clearly getting rougher at the bottom and flakier as it ascends:

The "scales" of the sheaths from when the shoot was a candle are barely visible in these 2 sections:

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Now, my most-photographed pine...purchased in '07 as approximately a 15-year old tree, so we can presume it's 20 now. The last 5 years have been in a bonsai pot, so trunk thickening has been non-existent. Bark in '07 and '12:

Lower trunk '07 and '12:

The bend '07 and '12:

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

And lastly, my oldest pine. This is actually the black pine stock portion on a grafted white pine. Peter Warren estimates it to be 70-75 years old, and it probably grows slower since the foliage moves at the rate of a white pine. Great texture. A club member visited my garden once about a year ago, and compulsively started picking at it. She hasn't been back. I wasn't nice, but I didn't hit... ;-)

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Now...onto corkbark pine bark. Alex, this is for you. Note the scaly patterns on the pines shown so far, and how they disappear after a few years? Look now at this shot of a Kyokko Yatsabusa corkbark black pine. The wired, horizontal branch in the foreground has to be 5 years old. See how the scales are still present?

Now look at the trunk, the scales are still visible, on top of a chunk of bark that's 3/4" thick!

Adair M · Jul 21, 2012

Brian,

Again, excellent photos!

Once those trees of yours get to be 45 to 50 years old, THEN we'll start to see some really nice bark.

No, I don't have any of those, either!

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Taihei is much slower to cork than the Kyokko Yatsabusa. They're about the same age (20-30 years), and the Taihei has yet to develop anything close to what I'd call cork. The scales are very apparent on this one, and persist for many years. They even appear to expand. Wonder if this has anything to do with how the cork manifests later.

A 5-year old section of trunk:

The area where Kathy scraped bark away to graft a new shoot. It didn't work, but the pattern of the bark is interesting. Very reminiscent of the scales:

In contrast, here is an Ondae. It's a fast-corking cultivar. Fred Truck as a great one. I don't like mine right now.

Faster-corking cultivars like the KY and Ondae seem to open in "fissures". It's also known as Obi-Sash cork, or River Water cork. I wonder if it's a type of predetermined fault line along those scales that develop in the candle phase that ultimately split apart, year after year, as the bark pushes outward.

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Here is this Hachi Gen. A very-slow corking cultivar. Like the Taihei, the bark builds up slowly, in plates, chunks, or "tortoise shell" patterns, not in fissures or wings. This one is a cutting-grown tree, and while the base isn't great, it will all be corky someday, and it will improve. I should probably get this one out of the small pot and let it grow some more, but I'm really not in a hurry. BTW, this one came from Brent, and he has some 2-gal Hachi Gen here.

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

Finally, an older corkbark black pine that belongs to our club. It's been recovering from some benign neglect for the last couple years and is becoming stronger. It appears to be on it's own roots. I don't know the variety, but if I were to guess, I'd say Aka-me.

Let's see some more bark...who's next?

fredtruck · Jul 21, 2012

First, thanks for posting all the bark pics, Brian. Interesting stuff.

Second, I think you're right about the fissures in the bark acting as fault lines for the developing cork.

mcpesq817 · Jul 21, 2012

Thanks for putting this together Brian - very cool.

That Hachi Gen is incredible. Have you ever considered cutting the top half off and just working with the bottom half? It looks like you'd have a perfect shohin if you did that, but the taller tree would be very nice also.

I might have to check with Brent

tmmason10 · Jul 21, 2012

Brian Van Fleet said:
Here is this Hachi Gen. A very-slow corking cultivar. Like the Taihei, the bark builds up slowly, in plates, chunks, or "tortoise shell" patterns, not in fissures or wings. This one is a cutting-grown tree, and while the base isn't great, it will all be corky someday, and it will improve. I should probably get this one out of the small pot and let it grow some more, but I'm really not in a hurry. BTW, this one came from Brent, and he has some 2-gal Hachi Gen here.

View attachment 25262 View attachment 25263 View attachment 25265

Is it me, or does this look like it should be shortened to a shohin. Could just be the way the picture looks, but curious on your thoughts.

tmmason10 · Jul 21, 2012

mcpesq817 said:
Thanks for putting this together Brian - very cool.

That Hachi Gen is incredible. Have you ever considered cutting the top half off and just working with the bottom half? It looks like you'd have a perfect shohin if you did that, but the taller tree would be very nice also.

I might have to check with Brent

Ha, I should have read all the way to the bottom. Sorry for the repeat.

mcpesq817 · Jul 21, 2012

tmmason10 said:
Ha, I should have read all the way to the bottom. Sorry for the repeat.

Great minds think alike?

fredtruck · Jul 21, 2012

Here is my informal upright Ondae cork bark black pine. The first picture is the whole tree, and the second is a closeup of the bark. I have two of these, and the bark is really not similar, one to the other. This one has wide fissures with small wings and lots of cracks.

Brian Van Fleet · Jul 21, 2012

mcpesq817 said:
That Hachi Gen is incredible. Have you ever considered cutting the top half off and just working with the bottom half? It looks like you'd have a perfect shohin if you did that...

Yep, and often. In fact, the branch that seems to cross the trunk partway up is being trained to become the apex when the time is right. I want the base to thicken up more first, and as obvious a solution as it looks on a 2D photo, in reality, a bit more work will be needed before the top can be reduced.

Thanks for the comments Tom.

Fred, that's the one...thanks for posting it. It's a great corker. Even better to finally see it in person!

Adair M · Jul 21, 2012

Brian,

If (when) you ever decide to top that Hachi Gen, it would be worth the trouble to try to air layer it. It might not take, but if it did, Wow!

Your pines are fabulous! Thanks for sharing!

fore · Jul 22, 2012

Some great looking trees guys, and some fantastic bark! That Hachi Gen's bark is very impressive Brian!

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