Help style this pine

maroun.c

Omono
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Acquired this one few months back.
Was advised to grow the low branch and cut back to it in few years, believe that would be the best to take this tree up one level and get great taper. As well as pushing it lower in soil to hide those aerial roots a bit more....
Till lower branch grows and I chop id like to work on the top to see what I can get from it and maybe avoid chopping, or at least train a bit on pines.

For a start I bought this tree as pinus nigra checked online and not clear if to treat as single or multiflush. It had a previous flush this year looking at the new needles and I can see buds forming so assuming multiflush?
Screenshot_20200915-072935_Gallery.jpg

Not clear on front so appreciate advice. Can't really use the sides as front as then first branch would be a front or a back branch.

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Also looking at the top where main branch splits in 4 will need to chop at least 2 branches or 3 as they emerge horizontally.
Screenshot_20200915-072912_Gallery.jpg

I need to repot the earliest to better soil so that's my primary concern. Planning to repot in Feb.
Would it be ok to cut few main branches and few small branches that aren't good for the design now now or leave it till a year after repot ?
How about fertilising, ideally I should be fertilising to grow the lower branch into a new tree but if I'm trying to style the upper part should I just fertilise for that ?
 

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YukiShiro

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Hi Maroun,

the upper part of the trunk looks thin enough to bend, wrap some raffia and wire it, put some interesting curves into it if you want to go for a literati type styling
20200915_121812.jpg

best regards
Herman
 

Wires_Guy_wires

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I believe it's shitist. Pinus Nigra takes bigger dumps than that!

I'm a future first brancher.

Sorce
I have a three-six flush mugo. Scots can do double if you prune them at the right time.

Pinus nigra adapted to hot climates is refered to as the corsican pine, and in theory it's a single flush.
In good care, the needles get huge and with the scots approach of cutting shoots in june/july it will probably double flush.

But sometimes, we should stop asking if it could, and start wondering if it should.
If ya have to force it, ya might just poop yer pants.
 

maroun.c

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Thanks for all the answers, personally my first choice would be to make something of the tree without the chop, realise chopping would give a very good tapering tree with a very good base size compared to trunk and id feet to grow and shape it as I like, yet will be a long process.
Was never really interested in literati trees yet the drawing above got me thinking, and actually literati might also work with the aerial roots.
 

leatherback

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If it were mine i would repot into something large. Air layer the top and grow out the 1st and a new leader.
This chop was my first thought too.
But..
personally my first choice would be to make something of the tree without the chop
So a thought, possible Right Now with the branches you have and a few bits of good copper, after which you can work on getting pads in all the right places:

1600246303506.png

1600246508359.png
 

maroun.c

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This chop was my first thought too.
But..

So a thought, possible Right Now with the branches you have and a few bits of good copper, after which you can work on getting pads in all the right places:

View attachment 329391

View attachment 329392
Thanks, that looks really nice actually. Might go that way and if I don't like it after some time can always revert to literati as suggested above or to chop and grow the first branch as leader....
 

maroun.c

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So.if I'm planning to repot in Feb when can I do branch cuts and wiring to avoid doing too much at the same time and stressing the tree?
 
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Not a Pinus nigra expert (grain of salt/fertilizer), but I think if you are planning on repotting you want to play it safe and minimize pruning to generate root growth for at least another year. Since you are going with the taller form, which I think is the right approach, you could do some wiring and bending this fall, prior to repotting. Nice tree!

edit: also consider cutting some of the flying roots. Think on it long and hard, and in person, but there may be a much better nebari hiding in plain sight.
 

maroun.c

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Not a Pinus nigra expert (grain of salt/fertilizer), but I think if you are planning on repotting you want to play it safe and minimize pruning to generate root growth for at least another year. Since you are going with the taller form, which I think is the right approach, you could do some wiring and bending this fall, prior to repotting. Nice tree!

edit: also consider cutting some of the flying roots. Think on it long and hard, and in person, but there may be a much better nebari hiding in plain sight.
Thanks.
Will wire the branches ill be keeping into position this fall. And repot as planned.
Would cutting the exposed roots be risky if those roots have an extensible amount of small roots in the soil attached to them? Can I cut them before teasing and seeing the amount of roots linked to them while repoting?
 

leatherback

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Agree with the wire now. Assuming you do not get extremely cold winter. I do not know beirut / lebanon well enough to know!

I am not convinced you can just remove the roots. They seem fairly large.
 
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Thanks.
Will wire the branches ill be keeping into position this fall. And repot as planned.
Would cutting the exposed roots be risky if those roots have an extensible amount of small roots in the soil attached to them? Can I cut them before teasing and seeing the amount of roots linked to them while repoting?
Maybe wait until repotting, so that you can assess how much roots will be removed. On the plus side, you may be able to leave the rest of the root-ball more or less untouched. Do you have a pot picked out, or repotting back into the same? Maybe a round drum pot?
 
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