Half hitched Lodgepole

Arcto

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I've come across some unusual trees in the forest. This is one of the craziest. A Lodgepole Pine that has a half hitch knot near the base. I can only speculate how that happened. A bored forest worker tying a sapling in a knot? Extreme contortion caused by dwarf mistletoe or who knows what? Anyway, when I saw it I figured I'd better get it while I could. It seems to be a good dig. Giving it the time it needs to get strong again. I'm hanging on to this one. Pics shown so no one can accuse me of a bs story (when have I ever done that?:rolleyes: .IMG_1561.JPGIMG_1560.JPG IMG_1559.JPG IMG_1558.JPG
 

ValorG

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whoaaa, that is pretty damn cool! It'll be a unique conversation starter for sure.
 

PiñonJ

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Wow, @Arcto , I didn't know you went for them new-fangled European bonsai styles!;) Is that a Doug fir sapling going along for the ride? Or Mountain Hemlock, perhaps?
 

sorce

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A bored forest worker tying a sapling in a knot?

Hell yes!

I would totally be trying to find the guy who did it!

How cool would that be?

Dope!

Sorce
 

Arcto

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@wireme, yes this one has a mistletoe infection. Normally I avoid collecting infected trees. Had to make an exception with this one. @PiñonJ, I didn't realize that wallowing in the dirt with a shovel involved international influence:D. The seedling is a White Fir. That's what I REALLY wanted. The tied up pine was just in the way so I had to dig it too:p.
 

PiñonJ

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@wireme, yes this one has a mistletoe infection. Normally I avoid collecting infected trees. Had to make an exception with this one. @PiñonJ, I didn't realize that wallowing in the dirt with a shovel involved international influence:D. The seedling is a White Fir. That's what I REALLY wanted. The tied up pine was just in the way so I had to dig it too:p.
Doh! Those baby firs always fool me. I collected a small tree last year with short green needles that I thought was Doug Fir. I might have known if I'd looked more carefully. When it started pushing growth this year, it was quite obviously White Fir (A. conconcolor). Got a Pseudotsuga menziesii this year, though! Since your tree is into bondage, I have a name for it: Fifty Shades of Green!
 

wireme

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@wireme, yes this one has a mistletoe infection. Normally I avoid collecting infected trees. Had to make an exception with this one. @PiñonJ, I didn't realize that wallowing in the dirt with a shovel involved international influence:D. The seedling is a White Fir. That's what I REALLY wanted. The tied up pine was just in the way so I had to dig it too:p.

Yeah, I've got a huckleberry picking spot that I go to every year with a bunch of similar looking mistletoe infected lodgepoles. It's also a terrain type that can produce nice material. Shallow rocky soils. Nothing too old there, less than 100yrs since the last big fire ripped through. Anyways a bunch of dwarfed lodge pole with crazy mistletoe induced bends curves and swellings. Horribly ugly most of them. I've definitely been tempted to collect some and I think yours is great. More than great actually, one in a million kind of find! Anyways I'm sure it's not the only possible explanation but I wouldn't be shocked at all to find a half hitch in that spot I go. I'll even look for one now for fun once the berries are on.
 
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Man, that is pretty sweet looking. A couple of my buddies are loggers and they're always telling me about spots to go check out. I need to get in touch with some higher up people. I Also need to get me a 4x4 truck for collecting lol.
 

chansen

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Wtf?! What you do? or didn't do?

Just a guess, but in the first pictures it looks like the candles had already begun to extend. Not sure if that happened before or after collection, but if they were extending before collection, that would definitely cause it's demise. Again, just a guess, and Arcto will have better info than me.
 

Arcto

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Just a guess, but in the first pictures it looks like the candles had already begun to extend. Not sure if that happened before or after collection, but if they were extending before collection, that would definitely cause it's demise. Again, just a guess, and Arcto will have better info than me.

Not sure at this point what happened. I collected 9 Lodgepole this spring. Lost 2. Here are some of the survivors, all dug and potted in pumice, similar sun and water. IMG_1712.JPG The other tree I lost had been severely attacked by bark beetles. Didn't realize until I removed loose bark that the tree was girdled. I pretty much dug a doomed tree. IMG_1711.JPG Half hitch didn't show much beetle damage. Some dwarf mistletoe, but again didn't appear serious. The healthy pic was about 2 weeks after collection. It had just started pushing when I dug it, as had the others. Noticed the needles paling a month and a half ago. The root ball wasn't drying out either. Moved it to shade and started misting. At best, I slowed its demise. I'll be pulling it out of the pot to check the roots. Losing trees sometimes is a unfortunate part of collecting. Overall, my record is good. Still a bit of a kick in the stomach when I lose one like this.
 

chansen

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Not sure at this point what happened. I collected 9 Lodgepole this spring. Lost 2. Here are some of the survivors, all dug and potted in pumice, similar sun and water. View attachment 155491 The other tree I lost had been severely attacked by bark beetles. Didn't realize until I removed loose bark that the tree was girdled. I pretty much dug a doomed tree. View attachment 155490 Half hitch didn't show much beetle damage. Some dwarf mistletoe, but again didn't appear serious. The healthy pic was about 2 weeks after collection. It had just started pushing when I dug it, as had the others. Noticed the needles paling a month and a half ago. The root ball wasn't drying out either. Moved it to shade and started misting. At best, I slowed its demise. I'll be pulling it out of the pot to check the roots. Losing trees sometimes is a unfortunate part of collecting. Overall, my record is good. Still a bit of a kick in the stomach when I lose one like this.

Yeah, sounds like you did things right, unfortunately some don't make it. I've collected a few trees in similar situations; were doomed out in the wild but I didn't realize it until later. A roughly ~80% success rate is good with pines, in my opinion. Were they open field digs, or found in areas where you could easily get all the roots? I have a couple friends locally that collect a lot, and they pretty much solely focus on trees that can be found in rock pockets, where 100% root collection is possible/probable. Open digging is always tough, since you don't know how many roots (% wise) you got.
 

PiñonJ

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The seedling is a White Fir. That's what I REALLY wanted. The tied up pine was just in the way so I had to dig it too:p.
I'm telling you, those White Firs are arboricidal! You saw my post about fratricide, where two White Firs started out together in a grow box, both healthy. But second year, one thrived spectacularly and the other succumbed. Coincidence? I think not!o_O
 

Arcto

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Yeah, sounds like you did things right, unfortunately some don't make it. I've collected a few trees in similar situations; were doomed out in the wild but I didn't realize it until later. A roughly ~80% success rate is good with pines, in my opinion. Were they open field digs, or found in areas where you could easily get all the roots? I have a couple friends locally that collect a lot, and they pretty much solely focus on trees that can be found in rock pockets, where 100% root collection is possible/probable. Open digging is always tough, since you don't know how many roots (% wise) you got.
This is a volcanic region. I've haven't found any collectible rock pocket trees. All open digging. I've seen some real nice stuff from Utah.
 
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