Hartinez
Masterpiece
I’ve have NEVER had luck in the collection of piñon pine. I’ve collected at least half a dozen over the years and they have all withered and died. I’ve tried spring fall and summer. It had been a few years since I last tried and I decided to give a few smaller specimen a try this spring. On my property there is an abundance. With quite a few spectacular specimen available. Practicing on smaller trees will be best before I start digging trees I will regret killing. This years collections have done GREAT. And although they are small, they both have relatively excellent bark character. I collected 4 and 2 have survived. The two that died were either already in poor health or had the bulk of the root ball ripped from its base at collection. @Colorado collected one with me around the same time same area and his also appears to do great. Post a pic of your so inclined TJ. Inless your saving it for another thread.
while I can’t say for certain why these two have pushed and others haven’t without having controls or side by side comparisons here are my thoughts on the success.
timing was right. Just as new candles were pushing
the soil stayed compact and intact at collection. Past trees have been in loose sandy soil that crumbles immediately at collection ripping major sections of fine feeder roots.
planting in 100% pumice with little to no disturbance of field soil collected.
the taller thinner tree is one I think can be pretty great as a more elegant upright tree. Trick will be wether I can get significant bends in the trunk or if I need to. Wrapping raffia around that craggy bark may be a disaster for its appearance.
while I can’t say for certain why these two have pushed and others haven’t without having controls or side by side comparisons here are my thoughts on the success.
timing was right. Just as new candles were pushing
the soil stayed compact and intact at collection. Past trees have been in loose sandy soil that crumbles immediately at collection ripping major sections of fine feeder roots.
planting in 100% pumice with little to no disturbance of field soil collected.
the taller thinner tree is one I think can be pretty great as a more elegant upright tree. Trick will be wether I can get significant bends in the trunk or if I need to. Wrapping raffia around that craggy bark may be a disaster for its appearance.
Attachments
-
058B5653-8F94-4E29-AB43-174638B368A9.jpeg347.2 KB · Views: 123
-
106E0DDC-B3C7-4EE5-B5EC-DD3EBFD62D1A.jpeg339.8 KB · Views: 109
-
5CF19BD5-9F7D-4639-B501-50A3A24D89DF.jpeg347.3 KB · Views: 94
-
0659120F-FB97-4885-B8C3-6E3026E23589.jpeg342.3 KB · Views: 90
-
11B1B24F-A282-4140-93C8-F0B9F2BFEC95.jpeg217.4 KB · Views: 92
-
AD2D6647-BAEB-4CFA-97B1-11FAFA56B2DE.jpeg259.3 KB · Views: 97