All aboard the Mugo train!

Paradox

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First up is this little mugo:

2015MP003_2017__1_small.jpg 2015MP003_2017_2_small.jpg

Purchased in 2015 and repotted in summer of 2015. I dont have a before photo, but this one has had some branch pruning and is growing some more before we decide what the next step is. It is in need of some thinning of the needles as I stated before.
 
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Vance Wood

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I have been wanting and planning to do an update on all my mugos. I was hoping to wait until I had gotten to do some work on them this summer, but I have not been able to get to them yet as other trees have had things needed done first. I feel somewhat obligated to put my money where my mouth is at the moment so Ill post them now. Maybe this weekend Ill get to tend to my mugos. They are next on the list now that JBP decandling is done along with the ficus and BRT repotting.

So Im going to post all of my mugos over the next few posts.

They are all a bit shaggy and bushy and they all need to have needles thinned and its time I make some decisions on some of them regarding branches to cut and keep.
So please excuse the fact that they look more like shrubbery than bonsai at the moment.

One thing I want to also point out is that Vance's comment:



is absolutely correct, not only of mugos but of pretty much every bonsai. There is no such thing as instant bonsai. They all take time, but pines in particular take more time.
I encourage and advocate taking pictures of your trees at least every 2 years. Its amazing the changes youll see when comparing the photos that you just dont notice as the tree quietly grows and does its thing on your bench.
I look forward to the pictures of your trees. It is nice to think there may be someone out there that has Mugos that they have had more than a couple of years.
 

Paradox

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Next up. Another little mugo.

Purchased in 2012 and absolutely abused in August of 2012. Here is what it looked like when I got done torturing it (I am almost ashamed to post it).

2012MP004_small.jpg

The tree went through hell the next year or two. It had some kind of fungus or scale or something and just looked like hell.
It survived and I repotted it in 2015.

Here is what it looks like now:
2012MP004_2017_1_small.jpg 2012MP004_2017_2_small.jpg

Its definitely much healthier and ready for some more choices to be make along with some thinning out of that mass of foliage.
 

Paradox

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This is the very second tree I ever purchased (the first was a mallsai juniper that I bought a month or two before) and my first pine.
Purchased in 2011, and repotted in 2011 into a big pot of sand. This tree spent the winter outside on my back deck totally exposed and survived. I think it was a fairly mild winter.

April 2012:
2011MP001_1small.jpg

Repotted again in August 2013 with not much done to it at all except maybe a bit of branch pruning.
IMG_0679_small.jpg

Repotted and pruned in August 2015
August 2015 1 Small.jpg

It got a bad case of scale in September 2015. Someone here (not Vance, and who will remain nameless) predicted that this tree would be dead in 2 years.
Well I am very happy to say that this tree and I have prove that person wrong. The tree is very much alive almost 2 years later.

I removed one of the 2 competing trunks in 2016 and this is what it looks like now:
2011MP001_2017_1_small.jpg 2011MP001_2017_2_small.jpg

Again, it needs some thinning of needles and probably some more branch choices.

.
 

Paradox

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This is a weird one. Its a strange cultivar that I forget the name of right now but it begins with a 'K' and sounds like a German word.
Purchased in 2013
2013PM001_2013a_small.jpg

Repotted in 2013 but found a HUGE root with very little side roots. Yes this tree was bare rooted and it survived all of it. I WOULD NOT recommend doing this to a mugo.
2013PM001_2013b_small.jpg 2013PM001_2013c_small.jpg
If you notice the side roots in the second photo above. I tried to encourage some additional roots to develop in that area by cutting some slits in the bark and covering with rooting hormone and put the tree into mostly pine bark to try and keep it moist to encourage roots.
2013MP001_2014_1_small.jpg
It was not very successful, but the damn tree lived anyway.

August 2014 reduced the huge root a little bit and repotted it into a smaller, more manageable bucket, pruned a few branches and just left it alone.
Here is what it looks like now:
2013MP001_2017_1_small.jpg 2013MP001_2017_2_small.jpg

I might take a peek this year to see how the roots are doing or I might wait until next year.

Its got a really interesting trunk so I hope I can reduce the huge root a bit more and perhaps fit it into a short cascade pot.
 

Paradox

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Here is a Home Depot special I got for $30 in 2014.
This is where I actually start to find some nice trunks on mugos

Repotted July 2014.

2014MP001_2014a_small.jpg

Did some branch pruning but mostly left to grow.

Repotted in March 2017.
Here is the picture from today
2014MP001_2017_1_small.jpg 2014MP001_2017_2_small.jpg

Like the others, its a bush and needs needle thinning, branch selection and wire.
I am trying to encourage a couple of small shoots on the top of the tree to grow into a new apex.
 

Paradox

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Here is one I got in early 2015. It has a very nice trunk.

2015MP001.jpg

Took it to my Bonsai class in July of 2015 and pruned one of the trunks off and wired it
IMG_1413a_small.jpg

Repotted in July of 2016. Took the wire off at some point because it was biting in.
20160806_125522_small.jpg

Did not think this tree would survive the winter, but it did.

Pictures from today: it is starting to get some nice bark. Needs thinning!
2015MP001_2017_1_small.jpg 2015MP001_2017_2_small.jpg 2015MP001_2017_3_small.jpg 2015MP001_2017_4_small.jpg
 
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Paradox

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Here is another one I got in 2015. This is a big boy with a big trunk.

Front_small.jpg

Repotted in April of 2016. Sorry for the blurry pic

Mugo_SummerRP_May2016.jpg

Pictures from today: Nice bark forming there. AND....yes it also needs some thinning.

2015MP002_2017_1_small.jpg 2015MP002_2017_2_small.jpg 2015MP002_2017_3_small.jpg

I've got A LOT of work to do....

Thats the end of my mugo update
Thanks for watching

.
 

Vance Wood

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Very nice. You have done some nice work with them I did not expect this much. As you found out there are many that will tell you that Mugos do not survive bonsai culture. Scale you have to really watch for, Mugos are annoyingly susceptible to this infestation, more than any pine I know of.
 

Paradox

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Very nice. You have done some nice work with them I did not expect this much. As you found out there are many that will tell you that Mugos do not survive bonsai culture. Scale you have to really watch for, Mugos are annoyingly susceptible to this infestation, more than any pine I know of.

Thank you. Honestly, I have not done enough with most of them yet in my own opinion, but I tend to be very slow and cautious about development still.

I also realized in typing this out that I made a lot of mistakes along the way. But the trees have survived despite that.

Its clear to me from the pictures (and in person) that it is time for most of them to get more attention in the form of needle thinning, branch selection and wire.
I was a bit more aggressive in my feeding regimen this year and I think it shows. Yes the scale is a royal pain in the arse, but easily dealt with fortunately.
 
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Soldano666

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Nice work paradox. Ill be hogging up all the box store mugos this fall when they go on sale. Ive snagged up a couple here and there this summer, but think I have a serious mugo addiction. Ive found them quite forgiving and hardy
 

Vance Wood

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Nice work paradox. Ill be hogging up all the box store mugos this fall when they go on sale. Ive snagged up a couple here and there this summer, but think I have a serious mugo addiction. Ive found them quite forgiving and hardy
It was not two years ago when everybody that had something to say about these trees on the INTERNET were telling us that they would all will die within two years, the most five. It blesses my heart that so many are beginning to find a vision for this tree.

I went through this morning and figured out that it has been a while since I photographed my Mugos but I decided I would post the pictures of a few of them here for the benefits of some of the new people who have never seen my trees.

Five Dollar Mugo: Nursery material 1995 cost of tree $5.00
$5Mugo5-01-IIA_edited-1.jpg


Angry Bird: Mugo Pine nursery tree started in 1997.

AngryBirdMugo copy.jpg

Shohin Mugo started in 1999 cr.
AvatarMugo copy 2.jpg
Drunken dragon started in 1993

DrDRG2016_edited-1 copy.jpg

Zombi Mugo started in 1985


DSC_0165 copy 3.jpg

Twisted Mugo started in 2000

DSC_3033 copy 2.JPG
 
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Soldano666

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It was not two years ago when everybody that had something to say about these trees on the INTERNET were telling us that they would all will die within two years, the most ffive
ive come to my own conclusion about the internet years ago.... Seems if its not the japanese standard, Yamadori, jbp, jwp, then its junk, most of us will never put our trees in exhibitions, shows, or put them up for judging. So we have to take alot of this criticism with a grain of salt. If we like them on our benches, enjoy them, and are learning from them then we are doing something right. Thank you for your continued efforts to prove these internet thugs wrong @Vance Wood . mugos may be my favorite conifer to work with to date. You can count on back buds, excellent branching, compact growth, they seem to flourish despite being agressive on roots and cutting back, and seems you can work them more frequently than my jwp which ive only watched barely grow for 2 summers now.
 

Soldano666

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Found this root spread on one of my fall clearance mugos from last year. I rrmoved some branches early rhis spring, and did some shoot prunes and a repot today0707171939a.jpg ive since the photo reduced one of the the top shoots and the long kne will be a sacrifice for a couple summers
 

Soldano666

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As a matter of fact this photo may be taken before I,did shoot pruning. Ill have to check tomorrow when the sun comes back out
 

herzausstahl

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Right now Home Depot here has the 1 gallon mugos for only $4.48, grabbed healthiest looking one I saw, couldn't dig for roots in any as my kids were too restless for that. Gonna head back when I have time to look for more.
 

Vance Wood

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The tree looks like it is in a 3 gallon bucket? Could you make it a little more clear what you have in mind.
 

Soldano666

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Right now Home Depot here has the 1 gallon mugos for only $4.48,
Id snag em all. If the company that stocks the plants is there ask em for a better deal if you take a cart full or all of them. I usually talk em down to 75% off quite easily. We seem to have a lack of mugos in the north east this summer. Hopefully the fall plant rush will bring a bunch
 
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