Waltron
Chumono
The more I think about pines the more I like the idea of looking for Jack Pine, I actually have one on my property that is pretty interesting I plan to try. There has to be good really good Jack somewhere in Michigan, I'm going to keep looking. I really like short needle pines and Jack is one that responds well to techniques.
that's the right attitude, I'm willing to bet there are many. its like looking for a needle in a stack of needles, but much more fun. last time I want jack hunting I came across several of the rare kirtland's warbler birds, which people travel from far and wide just to attempt to catch a glimpse of, not to mention turkey, deer, bald eagle, grouse, and a bunch of other funny little critters. Also, some great spruce, larch, fir, oak and potentially even junipers and many other interesting other rare to me species of trees like alder and red pine and cool ferns and other plants which could be used as accents, not to mention that magical michigan sphag moss. All the while im in my element doing what makes me happy, eagerly waking up at first light to get out there not thinking about work or problems chillin with my dog riding around in the jeep with the doors and top off a smile on my face hoping to come across a gem, granted I have fortunate connections that enable me search vast areas of private and public land without too much stress.
Also, not only is the jack pine rare in bonsai, like you mentioned, the characteristics offered of small needles, willingness to bud back , the fact that its a pine and will develop attractive bark, are all present, unlike many other species. The set backs and roadblocks encountered by others are the focal and starting points, not dead ends, these are things that warrant attention and investigation. The perceived difficulty and to some extent, mystery, involved with keeping them happy in pot culture is alluring to me, the search itself to find answers and blaze trail and the potential to achieve success, rather than focusing on the potential to achieve failure, keeps me intrigued. the shear fact that there is little available research on the net on pot culture for the species is remarkable. you and I are fortunate to be interested, and benefit from being young and able enough to embark on a lengthy experiment with lesser specimens, that in keen hands could eventually amount to satisfying, self made, rare, collected bonsai. it would be great if more people were conducting such research, Wally Pall himself told me he can hardly keep them alive, though he did not offer specific reasons as to why.
its clear that traditional methods, for the most part, do not work with this species, and I believe its also pretty clear that Vance has uncovered some important research and overlooked ideas in his work with Mugos that will prove to be of great benefit with the banksiana. One other thing that I have come to realize as a huge benefit with pines in general, is the ability to extremely manipulate branches with wire, opens up many styling and material options that are difficult to recognize at first. Its seems you can really bring even sparse foliage back in closer to the trunk without clipping. Which brings me to another point I think is important when collecting these regarding plant physiology, I think that the common approach of removing extra or "un necessary" foliage at time of collection is a direct correlation to the species not recovering well, giving it the label as difficult or unsuitable species. if the foliage must be clipped for some reason, then it cant be collected that season. There are more appropriate times to remove that stuff.
My theories, while I doubt they are original or unique in the scope of things, are basically this: Midsummer collection, after needles have just barely hardened off as a starting window, is a good time to dig, dont cut any live foliage whatsoever, leave it all not matter what. I think this will give more forgiveness to the cutting the of the roots, which is another problem in itself, ideally you would not cut them at all, Andy Smith has made this very clear, but inevitably some must be cut, which you must do with a trenching method,( in open ground of course if you find one on a rock outcrop great) by taking a huge, heavy, rather deep, soil compacted root ball. containerize with something that can hold that rootball whatever it may be, I used large grow bags, but I think that a heavy burlap wrapping would be an option, Then baby them in the usual way, give vitamin b, monitor the rootball before watering, keeping in mind its not bonsai soil but mostly compacted dirt sand and grass, water with quality plant water, rain, fish tank, good well water etc. get them back in full sun gradually, but rather soon, the same season, Fertilize gently a couple weeks later, keeping in mind the species has a salt intolerance and is ph sensitive, that's about as far as I've gotten, but im 3 for 3 so far with this method, all 3 are clearly still alive 8 months after collection, today, and showed what I interpret as signs of life and growth by early August last year, extending buds and sap covering some candles, but the big sign for me was the increased firmness, or stabilization in the container, which is clear sign of root growth. i know 8 months is not nearly long enough to call it with any pines, but im offering up my ideas anyway, all the old needles dropped in winter, but the newer needles are fine and green today. I will take 3 slightly differnt, conservative approaches with each one, with hopes that I will be able to identify avoidable mistakes if one route proves to be fatal. All in all I realize this does not sound attractive to most, and they certainly wont even resemble bonsai for a few years even, and that right there im sure is a huge brake pumper for most folks, I'm just happy they are alive and look forward to playing with them eventually getting them into smaller containers.