RickMartin
Omono
I hope i didnt offend anyone. Vance you know i have the greatest respect for you. I have always been told if the soil is damp dont water.
Rick
Rick
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Not to worry. That's the standard rule but there are two sides to that issue. Mugos will use water quickly and the soil should not stay damp. I am thinking that maybe the soil mix has broken down. I have to think through this some more.
Paradox
Imperial Masterpiece
I work and I cant be home to water more than once per day.
I have never watered more than once per day and none of my mugos have suffered because of it.
The last week or so I have been watering every day because its been hot (85+ degrees).
When its cooler I water every other day and I still have not lost a tree because of it. My soil is very free draining but I am still in mostly relatively deep training pots.
When I start moving trees to bonsai pots, it could be a different story.
I have never watered more than once per day and none of my mugos have suffered because of it.
The last week or so I have been watering every day because its been hot (85+ degrees).
When its cooler I water every other day and I still have not lost a tree because of it. My soil is very free draining but I am still in mostly relatively deep training pots.
When I start moving trees to bonsai pots, it could be a different story.
RickMartin
Omono
I am thinking humidity is playing a role here to. Im not sure. All i know is the soil was never allowed to dry out, and the tree is in a colander. But when i repotted i left alot of the original soil on the rootball.
Rick
Rick
RickMartin
Omono
I had him last year in michigan before winter.Brought him down here in march.
Now that i think about it got him in late april of last year.
Rick
Now that i think about it got him in late april of last year.
Rick
So no missing dormancy. Once I told to take it to The River Walk. There were an advice hidden in joke. It's really a pleasant place in SA. I'm afraid the nursery people saying no mugos down here might have been right unfortunately.
RickMartin
Omono
Thats what im thinking. Ive done everyting by the book with this tree
Rick
Rick
faker
Mame
Disclaimer: this is my first pine, so please excuse me if I use any incorrect terminology.
My Pumilio Mugo appears to have a few different growth "stages" ("phases"?) on different branches and I was wondering if I should do any pruning at this time to encourage bud formation?
Quick background: Purchased from a nursery and reduced about 3 weeks ago. Appears to be growing vigorously since then. Thread with earlier pics: http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/help-with-first-mugo-design.23971/
I've attached pics of the different growth stages I'm seeing:
1. What I expected to see around now: Multiple terminal buds at the ends of my branches. Will do bud selection on these in a month or so?
2. Recent green needle growth with no buds at the tips. Cut these back now in hopes of buds in a month?
3. Buds pushing out the starts of new needles as we speak. Leave these?
Lastly here's the mugo as a whole:
My Pumilio Mugo appears to have a few different growth "stages" ("phases"?) on different branches and I was wondering if I should do any pruning at this time to encourage bud formation?
Quick background: Purchased from a nursery and reduced about 3 weeks ago. Appears to be growing vigorously since then. Thread with earlier pics: http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/help-with-first-mugo-design.23971/
I've attached pics of the different growth stages I'm seeing:
1. What I expected to see around now: Multiple terminal buds at the ends of my branches. Will do bud selection on these in a month or so?
2. Recent green needle growth with no buds at the tips. Cut these back now in hopes of buds in a month?
3. Buds pushing out the starts of new needles as we speak. Leave these?
Lastly here's the mugo as a whole:
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Just leave the tree alone for a year and see where it decides to stabilize itself. Sometimes you can get a second flush of growth on a Mugo if the tree is really healthy and the stimulation of epichromic buds takes place real early in the Spring. That's what has happened here. Let it be until you really know what you are dealing with. This is not common and will not likely happen again soon. Once every thing has stopped developing and elongating and is starting to settle into getting ready for Winter then there are a couple of things we can do, but considering where this tree has been that would probably be the best thing.
faker
Mame
Sounds great. This seemed abnormal, so I went straight to here before doing anything.
Bonus pic for the mugo trunk lovers:
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
The tree has possibilities.
Paradox
Imperial Masterpiece
If you mean lack of humidity.... maybe, but if your soil never dried out it shouldnt have been a problem.
If you mean high humidity, I dont think so.
My area is way more humid than yours. For example the current humidity in San Antonio according to the National Weather Service web site is 30%.
The current humidity where I am is 74%, much higher and we havent had rain here in well over a week.
Heat, however is another story. You are way hotter for longer than I am. Currently San Antonio is 25 degrees hotter than where I am.
Another thing to consider. You moved this tree from Michigan to Texas. It is possible the tree just couldnt acclimate to its new climate down there. This is not uncommon when moving trees to other states. I had a Eastern White Cedar that was collected in Canada and it didnt survive being moved here with our higher heat last summer.
RickMartin
Omono
Whatever it is the tree is gone. Have to move on. While im here i wont try another mugo. I will stick with boxwoods, holly, and junipers. Oh yeah and my loblolly pine that is thriving down here. I even have a alberta spruce doing well down here. Not good bonsai material but hey its fun to mess with.
Rick
Rick
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Repotted a pine on Father's Day in San Antonio and it was dead in 4 weeks. What do you make of it Vance?
Paradox
Imperial Masterpiece
I didnt realize it had also been repotted. Its true that might have contributed as well considering the extreme heat down there.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
What kind of Pine was it?
Paradox
Imperial Masterpiece
He is talking about Rick Martin's Mugo
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
We have talked at great lengths about that tree on another thread. The change of climate from Michigan to New Mexico is probably chief in the failure, other that that I don't know for sure. I think the world of Rick but I was not there to hold his hand with this tree. I don't blame him in the least I blame myself in still not knowing everything there is to know about this tree. But; time and experience has taught me that when it comes to the Mugo Pine most of what other sources claim and teach about Mugos is mostly in error. So there you go; the tree died. I suspect that repotting the tree the same year the tree was moved from the North to the South West is partially responsible. This is another thing I don't understand.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
That's not what Brian said, you can make that argument and you are probably right but I have had so many loaded questions coming from this direction I felt the need to ask what kind of Pine was it. This is what Brian wrote: Repotted a pine on Father's Day in San Antonio and it was dead in 4 weeks. What do you make of it Vance?
Similar threads
