Am I going to kill this tree? First Styling attempt. Please offer Critiques!

[JP740]

Hi all,

I am brand new to Bonsai and there was this little pine in my back yard that I found and worked on. I would love some feedback! Not sure what kind of pine it is, I think maybe a Virginia pine? I live in Northeastern Ohio. When I dug up the tree I found that the root was much cooler then I had expected! I got really excited and shot from the hip, but now I am questioning that decision.

My biggest concern is that I don't want to kill the tree. Is my shaping too agressive? Am I trying too hard/shaping/bending too much?

My second biggest concern/question is whether I made the tree way too big. Should I cut the tree back? It seems like this tree would have to be 30 years older to grow into that shape/sizing (which I also don't mind). I was styling it off of a tree that I saw at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh. I was trying to go for an overall triangular shape with a few different pads of leaves. Any help, recommendations or suggestions would be much appreciated.

The first photo is a close up of the root which I think is cool!





door for scale



I had thought about chopping at 1 & at 2, I also was not quite sure what to do here with these four branches. Im guessing that I should have Chopped some or styled differently but any suggestions for branches a, b, c, or d, would be much appreciated.

Finally, unfortunately this is the only before picture that I got, so I thought I would include it as well. I think I may have been a bit fool hardy on this tree, so any suggestions about the process would be welcomed as well. Thank you All!

 

[sorce]

I reckon you'd be safe to chop it in about 3 years with like a 20% chance of getting useful low trunk buds.

Better to swing those whips down for approach grafts. Practice and learn and you can get things right where you need them within 3 years with like an 80% chance of success.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[JP740]

I reckon you'd be safe to chop it in about 3 years with like a 20% chance of getting useful low trunk buds.

Better to swing those whips down for approach grafts. Practice and learn and you can get things right where you need them within 3 years with like an 80% chance of success.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

Thanks for the suggestions Sorce! Down meaning toward the base of the trunk, or just toward the ground? Does it matter?

Are there any particular branches/ points that you would suggest for the graft? And when might you suggest attempting that graft?

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[sorce]

It will matter in that once you swoop em down they'll lose vigour, so you kinda just wanna keep ones both healthy and pliable enough to eventually swing down.

I reckon 3 years is important in that you have a lot of time to learn everything you will need to learn. Partly my opinion shouldn't matter, partly because learning in your patience is of more value than.... anything really!

That trunk is definitely pretty interesting, so I wouldn't graft it until you graft anything else successfully. You'll learn timing in your grafting studies.

Truth truth I'm actually anti graft and some people say it's wrong to recommend grafting to begginers, but shortening timelines, wisely not impatiently, is kinda everything we should be doing.

This tree for me, has 3 paths.
One. Work too quick trying to force backbuds and kill it.
Two. Work too slow and it becomes more and more unworkable till it gets forgotten.
3. Learn to graft and make something out if it.

Go dig some shit to kill.

Sorce

 

[Shibui]

Most pines don't transplant particularly well. Usually take a year or more to recover from the move so we rarely style transplanted tree until it shows it has recovered and is growing strong.

Assuming the transplant was recent I would not be doing any more with this tree. Let it rest and recover until next year.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Most pines don't transplant particularly well. Usually take a year or more to recover from the move so we rarely style transplanted tree until it shows it has recovered and is growing strong.

Assuming the transplant was recent I would not be doing any more with this tree. Let it rest and recover until next year.

Much agreement here! Separation of branches giving all most Sun possible fortuitous move IF does not further stress and kill tree. Once fully recovered/in ROBUST good health in 2-3 years only then prune, only then begin work on it. First priority fertilize weekly, keep soil damp/not wet generate best growth and increased needle count. Once healthy trunk seriously needs trunk movement added.

 

[Paradox]

Agree with Shibui and Potawatomi.

The tree is very weak. There is hardly any foliage. It needs years of feeding and being left to recover and grow stronger before you do anything else

 

[rockm]

Wow...Virginia pine is VERY difficult to collect successfully. This one is far from through the transplanting phase unless it's been in that pot for over three years. If it's been collected this year STOP MESSING WITH IT. Quit manipulating its branches, etc. making "design plans." Making design plans for it now is akin to making plans to play shuffleboard on the Titantic...Prolly ain't gonna happen. Grafting stuff onto that trunk is pretty futile. Trunk is pretty non-descript and if you're looking to learn how to graft, this species is not the best learner material. Even if you let this plant sit and it survives, it will never overcome those long thin branches. It does not backbud well, if at all. This tree will take years to get healthy enough for ANY work, fast or slow (BTW, fast work on pines kills them just as quickly)_

Sorry to be such a bummer, but I've learned from experience that this species is not the best bonsai subject and is very cranky and I've been digging trees for 20 years.

This trees hasn't got three paths. It has ONE...simple survival for the next three to five years. YOU have only one path as well. Learning how to care for it before you kill it.

Patience is the primary tool in the tool box.