field grown pinus rigida

[jaycraig]

ok so down below i have access to 3 field pinus rigida i want to work on in the future. i also have 3 inspirations i want to model them from. im going to keep them in the ground for now but i want to get a head start. maybe prune now then harvest next year and slowly wire and ramify the branches. the problem is im not sure how to go about this, can i prune them now and where would be the best place to cut?

any other information or your thought process on how to go about these projects would be greatly appreciated

 

[Paradox]

I would wire them at the end of September/beginning of October and dig them up next spring if you want to.
I wouldnt prune yet.

If you dont dig them up next spring then take a spade and cut around the tree in a circle at least 10-12 from the trunk so that the roots dont continue to run and to promote roots closer to the trunk. Pitch pine will send out LLLLLOOONNNGGGG roots which will make it impossible to dig them up later if you dont do something next spring.

You could also consider leaving them in the ground until the trunks thicken but you will need to cut around them with a spade every year or again the roots will run.

 

[jaycraig]

I would wire them at the end of September/beginning of October and dig them up next spring if you want to.

I wouldnt prune yet.

If you dont dig them up next spring then take a spade and cut around the tree in a circle at least 10-12 from the trunk so that the roots dont continue to run and to promote roots closer to the trunk. Pitch pine will send out LLLLLOOONNNGGGG roots which will make it impossible to dig them up later if you dont do something next spring.

You could also consider leaving them in the ground until the trunks thicken but you will need to cut around them with a spade every year or again the roots will run.

may i ask why wouldn’t you prune them, is it to further thicken the trunk? specially for the first tree with the longer deadwood, i want that tree to be compact and around the same size as the deadwood, i thought it would be best to cut now, no?

 

[Paradox]

I would wire them at the end of September/beginning of October and dig them up next spring if you want to.

may i ask why wouldn’t you prune them, is it to further thicken the trunk? specially for the first tree with the longer deadwood, i want that tree to be compact and around the same size as the deadwood, i thought it would be best to cut now, no?

Yes to allow the trunk to grow more. If you start cutting too much the trunk growth will slow way down and will take years longer.
You can cut that dead trunk off if the other trunk is what you want to go with

 

[jaycraig]

Yes to allow the trunk to grow more. If you start cutting too much the trunk growth will slow way down and will take years longer.
You can cut that dead trunk off if the other trunk is what you want to go with

i don’t mind the width of the trunk tbh, i want to start the process of making the secondary branch the main trunk with the deadwood as a feature like in the reference pictures. something similar to the drawing below

 

[NateMcFly3]

I would wire them at the end of September/beginning of October and dig them up next spring if you want to.
I wouldnt prune yet.

If you dont dig them up next spring then take a spade and cut around the tree in a circle at least 10-12 from the trunk so that the roots dont continue to run and to promote roots closer to the trunk. Pitch pine will send out LLLLLOOONNNGGGG roots which will make it impossible to dig them up later if you dont do something next spring.

You could also consider leaving them in the ground until the trunks thicken but you will need to cut around them with a spade every year or again the roots will run.

I tried to dig pitch pine from a similarly sandy location, and they had nothing but tap root for many feet below ground (after staying green for a year, they ultimately died). What could one do here to really encourage feeder roots in close? I've heard clear away the sand and pack in sphagnum - would that be likely to help?

 

[Paradox]

I tried to dig pitch pine from a similarly sandy location, and they had nothing but tap root for many feet below ground (after staying green for a year, they ultimately died). What could one do here to really encourage feeder roots in close? I've heard clear away the sand and pack in sphagnum - would that be likely to help?

Yea that is the problem with pitch pine growing in sand, they tend to send out roots that are very long

What some people collecting have done is trench around the trunk a foot or so away from the trunk. This is done in the spring. Leave the tree there for a year so it hopefully produces more roots close to the trunk.
Lift the tree the following year if it looks like there are enough roots.

It's a multi year process that may or may not be successful but a better chance than just lifting the tree and cutting those long roots.

This is why I collect very small seedlings that haven't sent out the crazy long roots yet and grow out the tree from there.

Either way it is a long process to get a nice pitch pine

 

[Paradox]

Either way it is a long process to get a nice pitch pine

I should add that unless you happen to be lucky enough to find one in a rocky/mountainous area where they grow in rock pockets. There are some ridges in CT where you can find them like that (probably some other areas too) but if you're in a sandy area, they have roots for miles most of the time.