All aboard the Mugo train!

Pumillo...Depot....$8.98!
Couple shelves full.

I found 2 with exposed single trunks with some flare.

Only got one picture of this one.

I'm going to build everything off that one front branch.
While digging to find where that branch went, I found that lil spread..and it was over.
Pruned about 40%, anything shading my keeper.


The other

The roots aren't arranged as nice on this one...but it has a decent flare....
Still could go in a few directions...
I think it is in a "quicker" place than my old Mugo, not as big a knuckle, and some close buds.

Mugo is my pine.

Punch my ticket!

Sorce

@sorce ticket punched! Welcome to First Class.

Vance Wood said:

I will let you know, maybe we will just get together and work on the tree. I hope things go will with your solarium experiment you are going to be walking a tight rope with them especially with the weather truning sour again.

Click to expand...

Vance,
Thanks for the concern. I am hoping to bring some of my solarium experiment trees for you to see at the Four Seasons club meeting this Sunday.
I know this is the mugo forum but couldn't wait to show you some of my progress. I am hoping to show a few of these at the Club show this August.
Let me know what you think of my ideas ( all other "nuts" welcome ).
Regards,
Leonard

sorce said:

Pumillo...Depot....$8.98!
Couple shelves full.

I found 2 with exposed single trunks with some flare.

Only got one picture of this one.
View attachment 137670
I'm going to build everything off that one front branch.
While digging to find where that branch went, I found that lil spread..and it was over.
Pruned about 40%, anything shading my keeper.


The otherView attachment 137673View attachment 137671 View attachment 137672

The roots aren't arranged as nice on this one...but it has a decent flare....
Still could go in a few directions...
I think it is in a "quicker" place than my old Mugo, not as big a knuckle, and some close buds.

Mugo is my pine.

Punch my ticket!

Sorce

Click to expand...

Sorce,
Speaking of the refinement, how do you progress with the refinement of the trunk after such pruning? Do you just reduce the stumps little by little, or all at once and cover the wounds with paste? How long before the wounds shrink and disappear into the truck to become part of the whole?
Regards,
Leonard

Always reduce the stubbed off branches little by little. If you cut things down to the trunk up front the scar will be large and prominent, something you do not necessarily want.

Nice @LeonardB

Heres a link to our big cotinus if you like to see
https://bonsainut.com/threads/cotinus.24952/

I have a smaler one too like yours and i noticed the leaves are kinda big if you want them to stay smaller keep the tree in a small pot and a little rootbound and feed with low nitrogen fert it reduced the leaves 50% on the little one i got also the fall color is awesome

I like your tanuki attempt id like to follow that progression!

I don't agree with the concept of deprivation to control the size of needles. Being somewhat root bound is not all that bad but it is proper pinching or bud removal and that type of stuff that makes for small needles.

Vance Wood said:

I don't agree with the concept of deprivation to control the size of needles. Being somewhat root bound is not all that bad but it is proper pinching or bud removal and that type of stuff that makes for small needles.

Click to expand...

Sorry vance, I was talking about the leave size of leonard his cotinus he posted here sorry for the confusion thats what i tried last year and it worked for me

Needle reduction is something i havnt tried yet my mugo's need to be healthy first

sorce said:

Pumillo...Depot....$8.98!
Couple shelves full.

I found 2 with exposed single trunks with some flare.

Only got one picture of this one.
View attachment 137670
I'm going to build everything off that one front branch.
While digging to find where that branch went, I found that lil spread..and it was over.
Pruned about 40%, anything shading my keeper.


The otherView attachment 137673View attachment 137671 View attachment 137672

The roots aren't arranged as nice on this one...but it has a decent flare....
Still could go in a few directions...
I think it is in a "quicker" place than my old Mugo, not as big a knuckle, and some close buds.

Mugo is my pine.

Punch my ticket!

Sorce

Click to expand...

Dang, nice dude!
I didn't see any mugos today....

LeonardB said:

Sorce,
Speaking of the refinement, how do you progress with the refinement of the trunk after such pruning? Do you just reduce the stumps little by little, or all at once and cover the wounds with paste? How long before the wounds shrink and disappear into the truck to become part of the whole?
Regards,
Leonard

Click to expand...

I have no Idea!

@Vance Wood

Scroll to the top of this page and see my Nugo (new) Pines! Pumillo!

I believe those questions were in regards to those trees....

And I don't want you to miss them!

Thanks!

Sorce

I got them and the best thing you can do at this point is treat them as we have talked about. The thing with needle reduction and Mugos is not so specific as it is with JBP's but is part and parcle of the process of encouraging back budding. I suppose I need to address that issue specifically at some point probably this year understanding how many people have become interested in the tree. I'll try to get something together this week and post it.

defra said:

Nice @LeonardB

Heres a link to our big cotinus if you like to see
https://bonsainut.com/threads/cotinus.24952/

I have a smaler one too like yours and i noticed the leaves are kinda big if you want them to stay smaller keep the tree in a small pot and a little rootbound and feed with low nitrogen fert it reduced the leaves 50% on the little one i got also the fall color is awesome

I like your tanuki attempt id like to follow that progression!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement. This is only the third season for these trees. The first season ( both bought in October late and the fall leaves ( great color like yours ) were falling off. I did the first styling ( severe pruning and then wiring ) before winter and buried them in the back yard and let them recover the whole next growth season. After the next winter, let them grow some more and since they were so healthy, another cut back and wire before this winter. After sitting in the ground till February we had a warm up and I took the pots out of the ground an transferred them to our solarium the first week of February to wake them up to bud early ( my experiment ). I have two other smoke trees in the backyard ( they were old when we bought the house in 78 ) and there is no signs of buds on them yet even though these two pre-bonsai are budding nicely as you can see in mid March..
My next part of this experiment is to try and defoliate early enough to generate another round of budding ( leaves ). I have been told that cutting the leaves short on the stem will create smaller leaves when they bud again. The experiment will be to force budding twice in two seasons to reduce leaf size that would take three to five years of normal growth. The trick will be two have a 2 or three month dormancy instead of 5 or 6. That extra grow time will be the kicker ( I hope! ).
My tanuki is more of a winter project thing. I start carving wood that I have collected during the winter ( long Michigan winter ) when it is too cold for outside activities. Then come spring, I start looking for trees to match the carvings. I have one or two more that I hope to turn in to award winners ( see attachments ).
Again thanks for the encouragement.
Regards,
Leonard

Vance Wood said:

The thing with needle reduction and Mugos is not so specific as it is with JBP's but is part and parcle of the process of encouraging back budding

Click to expand...

Kind of like this?
A tree has only so many square inches or surface area of foliage. Whether it's 5 leaves that that are 10 square inches.
Or 20 smaller leaves that the surface area is 10 square inches. By making a tree back bud and growing side branches off of a main branch you make it have more leaves or in this case needles that naturally will get smaller because the main branch or trunk can only sustain so much surface area of foliage.
At least this is the way I understand how it works.

M. Frary said:

At least this is the way I understand how it works

Click to expand...

I was thinking for a second that was a quote from the Woods pages themselves...

Almost sounds like the "garden hose" theory.

___

While I appreciate the @Lazylightningny compiled VW resource....

I think the time has come to really button that information up, it still "leaves" lol, a few questions.
Some parts are hard to understand and follow.

I think it's time to sit down and create a
Precise Mugo Manual.

I'm up for helping.

Sorce

sorce said:

I think it's time to sit down and create a
Precise Mugo Manual.

I'm up for helping.

Sorce

Click to expand...

Followed by a nationwide book tour!

whfarro said:

Followed by a nationwide book tour!

Click to expand...

Hell yeah....

Where you get a book signed at the front of the line, then have a seat behind to get a trash can lid thrown at your head!

I'd go up twice!

Sorce

Noticed some buds poppin' and elongating...we made thru winter!

How about a tray of 16, 1-year old mugos



I’m not sure if these are from seed, tissue culture, or cuttings. They seem least likely to be from cuttings.

Aha! Pines can indeed be propagated through tissue culture. That’s my top guess, then.

That would be fine if it were only true. Some of them can and some of them cannot. That's why we still have grafting.