Mugo pine monthly care schedule

DhD47

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Greetings

I know my question is not new but I was not able to find a thread with my answer or a google search that had the posted info I'm looking for. Before I start to piece together an article from all I can find I thought I would ask here.
I wanted to know if there is a document, forum post(s), or blog that has care for a mugo pine step by step, season by season or month by month. Right now my pines have been wintering in the mulch pile hear the house.
Thanks.
Dave
 

crust

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Greetings

I know my question is not new but I was not able to find a thread with my answer or a google search that had the posted info I'm looking for. Before I start to piece together an article from all I can find I thought I would ask here.
I wanted to know if there is a document, forum post(s), or blog that has care for a mugo pine step by step, season by season or month by month. Right now my pines have been wintering in the mulch pile hear the house.
Thanks.
Dave

Compiled Posts by Vance Wood on Mugo Pines
UPDATED WITH VANCE'S REVISIONS 8/13/2014
Vance, I have gathered posts you made on B-Nut over the years from the archives. I have consolodated this info below. If you are amenable, please look over these points and make any changes needed.

I appreciate your sharing your years of experience with this species. I have a Mugo that I started last year, and I want to make sure I do everything correctly to ensure its survival and development.

Thanks, on behalf of all of us here at B-Nut...

Vance Wood on Mugos, from 2010 to present:
Posts taken from bonsainut.com archives

EVERY YEAR FOR 3 YEARS:
• Cutting back this year’s new growth (extended candles) in July.
• Can repot in July, but not root prune.
• Bud selection in early fall.

ON THE FOURTH YEAR:
• No cutting back of this year’s new growth (extended candles).
• Can repot and root prune in July.
• Bud selection in early fall.

POSITION: Full Sun, although full sun is not necessary in the winter. Shelter from the wind is prefferable and if your temperatures are warm definately not full sun in winter. The goal in winter storage is to keep the tree frozen and dormant. Too intense of sun exposure can cause the sap to rise and when the temperatures fall further the water in the sap can expand and blow out the cambium layer.

FEEDING: I feed full strength every week with Miracle Grow, and once in the Summer with Miracid then, continue with Miracle Grow till October.

CARVING AND SHARI: I can do any carving work that needs to be done after the middle of summer the same as every thing else.

I have never noticed an adverse reaction to anything I have done provided, it is at the right time of the year. The only adverse effect I have noticed is when I get impatient and start wiring the tree before the end of June. Then I might slip the bark, bust off a bud or two and the wire might start to bite into the bark too early.

REPOTTING:
• Repot anytime after Father's Day through August.
• Repotting nursery trees: remove the tree from the container. Remove the soil from the top of the soil mass until you encounter roots.
• Once accomplishing this, take a saw and cut at least one third to one half off of the bottom of the soil mass.
• Pick a couple of spots along the soil mass and saw out a couple of slices like a pie, then rinse out the soil as far back toward the trunk as possible. Leave the rest of the soil alone. You should remove at least two segments totaling about 1/3 of the remaining soil mass. Try to avoid cutting major roots. What I meant by this is avoid cutting roots that are vital to the nebari, cut around them but leave the source intact.
• Alternatively, make 3 cuts into the soil mass in towards the trunk, but do not remove any soil.You should locate areas that are between existing roots as much as possible to make these cuts.This simple process will stop the further complicating of the circling roots. In a couple of years it will be possible to start raking out the old soil in these areas. I have found that for the most part, especially on older trees or larger trees, it is really difficult to straighten these roots out. It is better to cut them and regrow a new root system, but this has to be done slowly.
• Plant the tree with a well-draining bonsai mix into a pond basket, colander, or specially designed bonsai planter and allow it at least three years before disturbing the roots again. A pine tree is not a garden flower that you can totally disregard the way the roots are handled, there are protocols that should be followed if you expect the tree to survive. One of those protocols is that you do not disturb the roots more than once every three years for Pines.
• Bare rooting a Mugo should never be done. You can bare root if the tree is young and not root bound. You can take three or four repotting cycles to replace all the old soil.
• Planting it in a larger pot or pond basket will allow the trunk to thicken. Your goal is to get the trunk to thicken instead of the branches, which is the tendency for young Mugos. I have found that planting in a basket will thicken the trunk better than ground planting.
• Thick bark comes from many years growing in a container. You cannot get great quality bark from growing in the ground.

CANDLING:
• Don't think about de-candling until you start getting some vigorous ramification. I have found that it takes roughly two growing seasons on a new tree before things develop enough that de-candling becomes an option. Let the tree grow freely, with only selective bud selection in the fall or early spring.
• When ready, in July I totally remove the new growth all the way down to the starting point from the current seasons growth plus about an eighth of an inch of the new stem.
• There should be needles left from last year- this is where the new buds will form. These buds will not break until the next season.
• Mugos will not produce a second flush of growth as with a JBP. You are looking to produce an abundance of new smaller buds up and down the branches that will, next spring, produce shorter internodes and shorter needles.
• This de-candling method is best done for three consecutive years, letting the tree rest on the fourth year.
• At this time I also repot, but not root prune. I wait to root prune until the fourth year, in which I do not candle prune.
• Water only as needed for the next couple of weeks until new buds start to form. Provided your tree has been fertilized enough, this method will give you many new buds, especially if there are needles present to fuel their growth.

BUDS AND NEEDLES:
• When using the above method Mugos have a tendency to grow branches with only one bud at the end, instead of the three to six you normally see. I remove these single buds by the middle of August.I remove these buds using a pair of tweezers. Grasp the bud firmly at the base and twist it firmly and quickly at the base. This is best done in the early morning after watering when the growth is turgid and crisp. The buds break off cleanly without leaving a mashed mess at the base that can turn brown.
• Remove any excess buds in autumn, or in the spring before they open. Retain only two buds per terminus, in the direction of desired growth.
• Also in the Middle of August I remove all of the downward and upward growing needles. I cut them leaving just a tiny bit of the fasicle behind. If you pull off the needles you may damage the bark. If a bud later forms in an undesired location, you can remove it.
• On the old wood, leave needles in the places you hope to develop new growth. These needles will be growing side to side as described previously with the removal of the up and downward growing needles. There are the dormant buds that reside right between the two needles in the fasicle and there are the latent buds that are under the bark beneath the group of needles. It is important that the tree is well fertilized or your results will be less than expected. You can often tell if your work is being rewarded if the old needles you have left start to elongate. This means that the dormant bud at the base is starting to function.
• Keep in mind that these needle reduction techniques can actually work against a tree that should be in development mode for a while.

PRUNING:
• Let the tree grow without pruning or candling until July.
• Do your branch pruning from the third week of June through August, with July being the best time, if you need a lot of back budding. For styling purposes I often do a lot of stuff in the spring like pruning and wiring. But when you do this you have to be careful and have a lot of soap to clean the sap from your hands.
• Try to limit yourself to pruning around 60% to 50% of the foliage mass, provided you are cutting back to an active small branch. It may to take a number of seasons to get it to go in the right direction.
• The process of chasing growth backward is to allow new buds down low to develop, then cut back the branch to a lower branchlet once it is strong enough to pull its weight. From this point you allow the new branch to develop unchallenged for a couple of years until it show that it can a grow well. When new buds break down on old wood they tend to be very fragile and irreparably damaged. It usually takes two years for these new branches to gain enough strength to stand the normal abuse of life as a bonsai.
• I usually leave my Mugos alone after November. A tree stores up energy in the branches to pull it through the winters. If you start eliminating them right before winter you risk the health of the tree.
• You can reduce small branchlets about 50% in early spring without damage if the tree is healthy, and established in bonsai soil.
• Make sure you leave at least a one inch stub or you will lose portions of the trunk or larger branches they are connected to, due to a die back of the roots they were associated with.
• Often a trunk line is formed by following a group or successive branches upward to establish a single trunk line, whereas initially you may only have a fat base with a lot of branches coming out all over the place.
• As we open up the tree to light, new buds are likely to form on the interior branches. Grow the tree inward and try to increase branching in close to the trunk.
• Shari on the trunk will, in time, cause the trunk to thicken on the areas around the shari. Because of this you may want to consider continuing to extend the shari down to the surface level to thicken the trunk.

WIRING: Wiring can be done in the summer, after pruning.

PESTS AND DISEASES:
• There are two diseases which Mugos are prone to: needle cast and pine scale.
• Needle cast is a fungal infection that attacks the two and three year old needles. They turn yellow and then fall off. There is little danger in it killing the tree but they do make cutting back to green growth a bit more difficult. I spray with Captan or Daconil in the fall and early spring to hinder or eliminate needle cast.
• The other is pine scale. This species of scale looks like speckles of white paint sprinkled on the needles. These bugs can decimate a tree in short order and Mugos are more susceptible to it than other pines. Look for the slightest sign of it. It can spread rapidly during the summer. You will see it first between the two needles. It’s easy to miss until it spreads to the outside of the bundles. If you catch it early it is easy to control with a tooth brush and some denatured alcohol. You simply dip the brush in the alcohol and gently scrub the bug off the needle in the same direction the needle grows- outward. The alcohol kills the bug and dissolves the white shell which forms its scale. It is also possible to control with an early application of some insecticides designed for scale. I stick with the alcohol treatment, I detest insecticides unless absolutely necessary.

WATERING:
• Mugos like a lot more water than JBP& JWP,but don't like to have their feet wet. This means that your soil mix has to be fast draining and you have to be willing to water more. Mugos need to breathe.
• This means that they need the process or cycle of the air being driven out of the soil when watered and the air being drawn in as the water drains out. Mugos cannot stay dry like other pines. They need to be watered constantly; sometimes two to three times a day when it's hot. However, they cannot sit in wet soil.

B & B MUGOS:
• A tree balled in burlap is much different than one grown in a container. A container grown Mugo is usually root bound and cutting back a massive amount of the soil mass is possible.
• A B&B is never root bound; it is in fact in most cases root deficient, because most are freshly dug from the growing bed. Usually there is a large quantity of clay in the soil mix because it will hold the root ball together well. Most of the B&B Mugos I have worked with went straight into a screen sided planter and stayed there for several years.
• I have washed soil off the roots until 50% of the soil mass was removed. That is usually enough to allow room in the screen planter for developing feeder roots.
• Do nothing else to the tree. It should not be sprayed, pruned, wired, or otherwise worked on. Simply leave it alone.

BRANCH KNUCKLES:
• Knuckles form when multiple branches grow out of the same spot, thereby eventually thickening the trunk or branch at that point. If possible, it is best to not allow knuckles to form in the first place. If already present when you get the tree, they are best dealt with by cutting all the branches back as far as possible to induce new buds below the whorl. If new buds form and grow, then remove the whorl altogether. You encourage growth below the whorls. With care it is then possible to cut below the whorl/knuckle, provided there is viable growth below it. Try not to incorporate one of these features in a design if it can be avoided. It is true that as a tree ages their visual dominance will diminish but it takes years, and it is better when possible to develop growth without them.
• In young trees with a knuckle that is only one or two seasons old, you can prune below the knuckle, as long as there are needles existing below the cut point. Any buds forming below the cut should be saved. These give you future points to cut back the branch and keep growth close to the trunk. You can then select two buds to retain per terminus on these new branches.
• To prevent knuckle formation in the future, carefully manage what buds you allow to develop. I have also noticed for years but have never addressed: If you get one of these trees you will know what I mean. Mugos unlike many other Pines tend to put out branch growth that is almost as large and thick as the trunks that support them. This demands that you have to cut back most of the branches to obtain new branches of less mass than those they replaced. Often you will see some long and straight branches that have expanses of bare wood that have a lot of needles but no buds. These branches will have to be dealt with sooner rather than latter and in general will be of little use to you as a bonsai. A good percentage of the time most nursery Mugos need to have their branches regrown over time.

OVERWINTERING: Mugos do not need special shelter in the winter except a wind break of some kind. I have found most of then huddled together like a clan of wolves shelter each other with a bale of straw on the windward side to stop the effects of the wind. I have found that they can even endure being left out fully exposed the entire winter and survie.
Last edited by Lazylightningny; August 13th, 2014 at 03:18 PM. Reason: ADD INFO ON ROOTS AND REPOTTING
NO, not if you want the best results. Mugos and Scots pines should be allowed to have the growth extend out till the first or second week of July then the candles, which are shoots by now, should be removed all the way back to where they began to develop in the spring leaving about 1mm of of the new growth on the end of the branch, shoot or limb. Scots and Mugos are single flush trees and will not produce new shoots the same year, most of the time, but it does happen occasionally. They will however produce a lot of new buds many of which will be on old wood. You are now faced with thinning out all of these buds etc. This process can be repeated for three seasons in a row and then the tree must be allowed to rest for one year. Those of you who practice the black pine method should do the same. These processes will weaken a tree over time. If you break the candles in the spring on a Mugo or Scots Pine they will form buds but not as many and those that are formed will be too large.
Leave them all alone until July then cut them off 1mm above the point they emerged in the spring. This will give you the best redistribution of energy and the smaller buds. You can do this for there consecutive years then you should let the tree rest one year.
Remove the buds facing down and up; keep only side to side. In the strong areas remove the strongest buds, in the weak areas remove the weakest buds. On the ends of branches keep only two buds. On the sides of branches keep as many as you think you need. At some point you may want to shorten the branch. Do all of this by the end of November or you can wait till March of the following year. Avoid needle plucking as with Black Pine, any plucking you do with Mugo is only done with upward growing needles and downward growing needles. Needles are best removed with scissors, this preserves the dormant buds that reside within the fascicle between the needles. If you pluck the needles your tree has to resort to the latent buds that reside in the bark below the needles.
Where do you think this information came from?

No I leave no needles on the shoot, I only leave a tiny bit of the original shoot.

Here is a tiny bit of what Harry wrote: Following comments I read on the internet last year that Mugos dislike being repotted in early Spring and respond strongly to be repotted while active in the Summer, I repotted 3 Mugos last August with great success,

This entire article is in response to a series of articles that I posted on this site and on The Art of Bonsai which have been hijacked and published without accreditation. If I could scare up my original article you would see that it is almost verbatim in many spots. However I guess you could say I agree with the most of the article----mostly because I am the source of most of it.

I have to put up an addendum: He; Harry leaves sets of new needles on the new growth when he cuts back in the summer. I do not. I cut all the new growth off as I described. This practice induces profuse back budding all up and down the branch. If you leave some groups of new needles most of your new buds will form around those areas and they will be rather large. Most people comment on the ramification of my Mugos this is why. I have a lot of buds on old branches. If you leave needle groups you will get too large buds. In my opinion this is nothing more than not being able to let go of JBP technique

1. When is a good time to do this to optimize backbudding?
2. When do you pinch the terminal buds?

Can I shorten now without candle pruning or wait till fall or spring?
Here goes: Remove all of the downward growing needles. Remove all of the upward growing needles. Leave all of the side to side growing needles. Cut out all of the buds, new growth, extended shoots, what ever you want to call them, except the weak buds all the way back to the point where growth began in the spring. Watch your watering for the next couple of weeks until new buds start to form then water as needed. This will give you all kinds of new buds all over the place especially if there are needles present to fuel their growth. Provided your tree has been fertilized enough to produce vigorous growth, and it looks like it has.
Last edited by Vance Wood; July 3rd, 2013 at 03:01 PM.
 

DhD47

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That is what I was thinking. I see there is really nothing to be doing this time of the year.

It would be great to have sure good detail care info of different trees like we get from Vance.

Thanks!!
Dave
 

M. Frary

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That is what I was thinking. I see there is really nothing to be doing this time of the year.

It would be great to have sure good detail care info of different trees like we get from Vance.

Thanks!!
Dave

It's here on the forum. There are experts all over the place. BVF,AdairM,Bill Valvanis,Mach5,Smoke,Neli,Victrinia,October,Crust,Fourteener the list goes on. All of these people know what they're talking about and give good concise information.
And of course Vance Wood.
 

Paradox

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Yep trees are sleeping right now where its cold. Best to just let them sleep right now.
Good time to catch up on your bonsai reading, or read stuff again to remind yourself of things, or research new species.
 

Vance Wood

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A question for Vance Wood

Here is the original thread. It is worth a full read through.

The thing that makes it worth while are the different responses people's questions get. Sometimes a set of instructions become vague without being put into a contextual settings.

You asked some questions in the original post that I don't think were answered well #61 &#66. So if you have or anyone else have questions I have the time right now to answer them.

There are two things I don't think I have made clear. I do not like Spring repotting, most of the Mugos I have lost have been lost to Spring repotting. However if you insist on doing a repot in the Spring it still can be done provided you do it just as the buds are starting to swell and showing a hint of green. If you wait any longer you will likely set the tree back if you do not kill it. More will follow but it is a long post I don't want to add to this one.
 

DhD47

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I have many mugo's I purchased last summer/fall and I'm looking forward to getting into them to start working them into bonsai trees (years from now - I know). I have a question for you about a starting point for my or any mugo pines. What would be the best area to start on the trees in the first year of training? Do I start by cutting the roots back maybe or do I start by trimming the tops of the trees with pinching the new candles? Maybe both in the first year?

My basic plan for year one follows:
I was going to repot and root prune half the trees in June/ July. I was going to cut out 1/3 of the root mass as pie shape cuts and a little off the bottom. Clean all the soil off the top of the planter to the roots.
The other half my trees I was going to repot in colanders and not root prune in June/ July (may cut a little off the bottom if they are root bound really bad or need it to fit in the colanders. Also, cut back all new growth in July.

All trees will get a bud selection done in fall and rest for winter until next year. I was totally planning on working with you over the year to ensure what I'm doing is good and I'm not messing the trees up.

I look forward to hearing from you on what you think is the best plan to move forward. What do you think of the plan to do a few each way to see how they responded to training.

Dave
 

Vance Wood

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I have many mugo's I purchased last summer/fall and I'm looking forward to getting into them to start working them into bonsai trees (years from now - I know). I have a question for you about a starting point for my or any mugo pines. What would be the best area to start on the trees in the first year of training? Do I start by cutting the roots back maybe or do I start by trimming the tops of the trees with pinching the new candles? Maybe both in the first year?

You can do both if you do not go crazy.

My basic plan for year one follows:
I was going to repot and root prune half the trees in June/ July. I was going to cut out 1/3 of the root mass as pie shape cuts and a little off the bottom. Clean all the soil off the top of the planter to the roots. YES

Obtain some pond baskets, or colanders. Make sure you have plenty of good quality bonsai mix. Remove trees from nursery containers, cut 33% to 50% off the bottom of the soil mass once you have determined what exactly the size of the soil mass really is. That's why we remove soil off the top of the soil ball just to make sure we are not calculating just rootless soil. I have seen this up to two to three inches in some cases. Use a saw or very sharp knife, do not use a root hook for this process. In making the pie cuts, just take a saw and cut into the soil mass in three places do not remove wedges, just make the cuts.


The other half my trees I was going to repot in colanders and not root prune in June/ July (may cut a little off the bottom if they are root bound really bad or need it to fit in the colanders. Also, cut back all new growth in July.

All trees will get a bud selection done in fall and rest for winter until next year. I was totally planning on working with you over the year to ensure what I'm doing is good and I'm not messing the trees up.

I look forward to hearing from you on what you think is the best plan to move forward. What do you think of the plan to do a few each way to see how they responded to training.

Dave

I have interjected into your query some of my remarks but let me add here; you can do everything, including wiring, at this time of year as long as you leave the roots alone for the next two years. Why are you treating your two groups of trees differently? I understand you are in Virgina and I too am excited to see how this goes in your state. I have had people say that you cannot grow Mugo in Virginia, there is an example in the arboretum run by Arthur Joura that proves that to be incorrect.

Remember a couple of things: Mugos like a lot of water but hate being wet. Make sure the trees are active again before you water as usual. Usually about two weeks. Until then water when almost dry. They like as much direct sun as they can get but for the first couple of weeks after the above procedure they should be in partial shade.
 

Dalmat

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I think we are on the same track here,only major difference is my climate zone .Therefore I have to adjust mine calendar for start working on them. What cultivars are yours mugos?
 

DhD47

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I have interjected into your query some of my remarks but let me add here; you can do everything, including wiring, at this time of year as long as you leave the roots alone for the next two years.

For this time a year you talking about winter from now until spring? If I do that do I keep wiring the tree over the next 2 years or do I leave it so in 2 years I can cut the roots?

Why are you treating your two groups of trees differently?

I was only trying to do a few different options with the trees to see if there is a better way to start working on a box store plant you are trying to bonsai. I thought if the tree should be root pruned first or the tree itself pruned first. My thinking is to prune the roots first. But with your note about not doing a thing for 2 years after that I may want to do a few I can keep working on the next few years just to keep working on the mugo's over the years.

I understand you are in Virgina and I too am excited to see how this goes in your state. I have had people say that you cannot grow Mugo in Virginia, there is an example in the arboretum run by Arthur Joura that proves that to be incorrect.

Mugos are sold here and grow well in the yard so I don't see why they can't grow as trained bonsai trees if cared for correctly.

Remember a couple of things: Mugos like a lot of water but hate being wet. Make sure the trees are active again before you water as usual. Usually about two weeks. Until then water when almost dry. They like as much direct sun as they can get but for the first couple of weeks after the above procedure they should be in partial shade.

If I can start wire and pruning them now I will do some now like that and then I prune roots later this summer with the others. This will be a way to see how they react better.

I hope you understand what I'm thinking. I am not questioning you in fact I'm looking to you for direction. I just figured since I have many to work with it would be good to try a few each way and see how they respond.

Dave
 

Vance Wood

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I think we are on the same track here,only major difference is my climate zone .Therefore I have to adjust mine calendar for start working on them. What cultivars are yours mugos?

My varieties are: Mugo Montana, Tyrolean Dwarf, Mops Dwarf, Pumilo and a couple that escape my mind.
 

DhD47

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Vance,
If I start wiring the trees now would it be ok to prune the trees now as well? How long would I keep the wire on the trees?
Dave
 

Vance Wood

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Vance,
If I start wiring the trees now would it be ok to prune the trees now as well? How long would I keep the wire on the trees?
Dave

Yes but do not remove more than 50% at the most.

I am also uploading a couple of pictures I would assume taken by Arthur Joura form the Carolina Arboretum. This is a Mugo Pine developed in Virginia for years and donated to the Arboretum. You live close enough to take a trip and go see the tree. You should at least visit the thread on IBC and see other great trees.
 

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DhD47

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Vance
That's a nice looking tree. Thank you for sharing with us.

I wanted to know if I a going to prune and wire a tree now will it be ok to root prune the same tree in summer this year or will I need to wait until next year to work the roots. I'm asking because I'm trying to plan the next 3-4 year care of the mugo pines I have now. If it takes 2 years to prune roots and recover and 1 more year for tree wire and pruning then I have 3 years planned. If I can prune the roots this summer and prune the tree now then I will be able to prune the tree one more time in year 3.

Thank you for your time.
Dave
 

Vance Wood

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Vance
That's a nice looking tree. Thank you for sharing with us.

I wanted to know if I a going to prune and wire a tree now will it be ok to root prune the same tree in summer this year or will I need to wait until next year to work the roots. I'm asking because I'm trying to plan the next 3-4 year care of the mugo pines I have now. If it takes 2 years to prune roots and recover and 1 more year for tree wire and pruning then I have 3 years planned. If I can prune the roots this summer and prune the tree now then I will be able to prune the tree one more time in year 3.

Thank you for your time.
Dave

You should be OK. I'll get back to you tomorrow I'm going to crash now.
 

Vance Wood

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You should be OK. I'll get back to you tomorrow I'm going to crash now.

There is a problem I see for you on the horizon: Trees can sometimes be put into a pigeon holes and treated accordingly; which is what you are trying to do here. Sometimes things do not always work that way, and you may need to change plans and directions depending on the kinds of response you get from the tree. I am not equipped to itemize every possible failure and solution. A lot of the time I have to think these things out by the seat of my pants armed with the knowledge of the tree I currently have.

If you do something wrong in any one of these actions it may change what you will be able to do from that point on regadlesss of what the instructions say. This is probably my fault because I do not sell well the esoteric aspects of what I am doing with Mugo Pines. Over the years I have learned to listen to the tree, and feel the tree and somehow know what the tree is going to do. I cannot teach this stuff you will have to keep your eyes open and adjust as things happen.

So at this point I am willing to help all the way down the line but let's do it one step at a time. In all of your methods listed not once have I heard you mention paying attention to what the tree's response is. If you cannot pay attention to the fact that this is a living organism and not just some object then you at some point will miss some sort of signal. I don't mean to sound harsh but you asked and I am trying to provide.
 

DhD47

Mame
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Vance,
I completely understand I can't count on a plan as something written in stone and I will do no matter what. I'm more just trying to have an idea of what I most likely will need to do when.
If I was to trim the tops of the trees now and want to trim the roots in the summer but I notice 1 or more don't look so good I would post a photo and likely wait until next summer to prune the roots. I am more asking what you found as a baseline of work and when. I totally understand this is a living item and when I do what is based on how the plant responses to whàt is done to it.
I guess my thinking is to get all the information I can from you to help me learn what you have mastered.
I'm a strong believer in not having to make mistakes on your own if other are willing to teach you how to avoid them in the first place.

Thank you
Dave
 

Paradox

Imperial Masterpiece
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Trees can sometimes be put into a pigeon holes and treated accordingly...... Sometimes things do not always work that way, and you may need to change plans and directions depending on the kinds of response you get from the tree.

If you do something wrong in any one of these actions it may change what you will be able to do from that point on regadlesss of what the instructions say. Over the years I have learned to listen to the tree, and feel the tree and somehow know what the tree is going to do. I cannot teach this stuff you will have to keep your eyes open and adjust as things happen.

I wanted to emphasize this part of what Vance stated.

Many of us beginners want a blueprint to follow, that tells us what we can do when, and how long in between different things. Trees, as living things dont adhere to human imposed schedules and each tree, even of the same species can react differently than another. There are general things you can expect to happen if all goes well and the tree is healthy but it doesnt always work out that way.

Learning to listen to the tree is a very important thing to learn, but it is a difficult thing for beginners, who are just trying to get a grasp on the basic things. Each species is different.

Ive made this mistake with a couple of my own mugos. I did some work on them one year and when the next year came, I figured it was time to do more, because well, its the next year. I failed to recognize that while it was a year later, the trees had still not fully recovered and needed more time. I did additional work, and it contributed to the death of both trees. Lesson learned: just because my schedule says it is time to do something, doesnt mean the tree agrees.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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I wanted to emphasize this part of what Vance stated.

Many of us beginners want a blueprint to follow, that tells us what we can do when, and how long in between different things. Trees, as living things dont adhere to human imposed schedules and each tree, even of the same species can react differently than another. There are general things you can expect to happen if all goes well and the tree is healthy but it doesnt always work out that way.

Learning to listen to the tree is a very important thing to learn, but it is a difficult thing for beginners, who are just trying to get a grasp on the basic things. Each species is different.

Ive made this mistake with a couple of my own mugos. I did some work on them one year and when the next year came, I figured it was time to do more, because well, its the next year. I failed to recognize that while it was a year later, the trees had still not fully recovered and needed more time. I did additional work, and it contributed to the death of both trees. Lesson learned: just because my schedule says it is time to do something, doesnt mean the tree agrees.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.

Agreed...and it's not just mugos. Working an unhealthy tree at the right time of year can be just as bad, or worse, then working a healthy tree at the wrong time of year. Understanding what is normal, healthy growth verses what isn't will go a long way toward allowing you to make appropriate decisions on the timing and amount/severity of any styling and repotting. It's great to ask questions from those who have been there before, but only time and close observation of how your trees, in your given locale, grow and respond to different things- pinching, pruning, decandling, root pruning, needle plucking, fertilizing, etc.,- will give you a full understanding what you can do to your tree and when.
 
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