Bristlecone Pine tips 2013

[Nancy]

Hi, Any new tips on making a Bristlecone Pine into a bonsai??? Just got one and need some help. My last one died (looks real bad anyway) after about 6 months. I don't think it was in the correct mix for my daily watering in 105 heat in the summer. Came potted and was afraid to mess with the roots in the summer. I would like to take the limbs and bark off the top 1/3 and start from there. Way too long of an internode. The bottom portion looks good.

Thanks,
Nancy

 

[Vance Wood]

Hi, Any new tips on making a Bristlecone Pine into a bonsai??? Just got one and need some help. My last one died (looks real bad anyway) after about 6 months. I don't think it was in the correct mix for my daily watering in 105 heat in the summer. Came potted and was afraid to mess with the roots in the summer. I would like to take the limbs and bark off the top 1/3 and start from there. Way too long of an internode. The bottom portion looks good.

Thanks,
Nancy

I have been asking questions like this about Bristlecones for over ten years, as of yet I have encountered no one who has good experience with this tree, or if they have, are willing to post and discuss them. One more issue is posting pictures, you really should post a picture of your tree. It's not that difficult if you follow the instructions offered on the site.

 

[M. Frary]

I have one of these too. I treat it like a white pine. Bud selection in spring, candle shortening where needed and then shoot pruning when needles harden off but before buds form.
For soil it is in pure floor dry. I also only water when it's dry.
You can do major pruning in late summer.
Hope this helps.

Mike Frary

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Bristle cone pines

Bought 5 bare root 3rd year seedlings from Musser's tree farm in spring. They did not survive the summer.

Seem somewhat touchy, I did not figure out exactly what killed them.

 

[Jaberwky17]

First year - just watching for now

Purchased a 5 year old 1 gallon tree in the summer, straight into the ground. This little guy has been SUPER healthy and just bursting with life. Currently in a nice mulch bed, so we will see how he feels in the spring. My plan is 1-3 more years in the ground, selective pruning and wiring. But before snow fell he had almost every visible bit of surface area with growth. Plus his little needles are nice and soft. I like him.

 

[Eric Schrader]

Hi, Any new tips on making a Bristlecone Pine into a bonsai??? ... I would like to take the limbs and bark off the top 1/3 and start from there. Way too long of an internode. The bottom portion looks good.

I have a bristlecone, but it's so small that I hardly ever work on it. I think Mike's comments are correct, treat them like other white pine. I use normal bonsai soil, water the same as other trees. I'd say that you should be cautious about cutting back too quickly. My friend had a small one and cut it back pretty hard - it died. I couldn't say that the trimming was the cause but I would take care not to remove too many branches at once.

For mine - the needles are short enough that I only thin buds and remove old needles in the fall. (and then only 3yo and older needles) Last year I cut off a portion of this one and the weaker buds on the rest of the tree got stronger.

The wire is there to hold the roots in place until they're strong enough to do it themselves.

 

[wlambeth]

From what I read about them they are extremely slow growers.
They don't develop like the typical photos you see of them out in Utah with the twisting bare trunks unless you are in a high mountainous region with lots of wind, very little rainfall and very dry air.

 

[M. Frary]

Also I keep mine in the middle of the yard so it can get the most full sun for the longest possible amount of time every day. It likes to have very quick draining soil. Mine is in 50% Napa floor dry and 50% pea gravel. I let it dry out between waterings. And they do grow slow though. Mine grew maybe a little over 2" last year.