Pinus resinosa?

[jeanluc83]

Is there anyone working with North American red pine (Pinus resinosa)? I haven't been able to find much info on them as bonsai.

 

[Gene Deci]

Not great for bonsai. Needles are too long and branches too course. They don't respond well to the the usual techniques

 

[crust]

Lenz always lamented that he wished he would have found the perfect one. Years ago, Jerry V., a Canadian collector, told me a story of how he nabbed the perfect Red Pine only to have it die post-collection.

 

[jeanluc83]

I imagined that it was similar to Eastern White Pine in that they don't respond well to bonsai technique and are not found as stunted trees worth collecting.

My club is planning on having another workshop with Nick Lenz this year. I will have to remember to ask him about red pine.

 

[crust]

There character is wonderful, but like Pondos, they have long needles and more importantly, are rarely found in a dwarfed condition. I have only seen very large ones and runty ones that were completely rock-bound--nothing collectable.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I played with some red pine (resinosa) seedlings for a few years, then lost them due to neglect. Seedlings will take time, to become anything, lots of time, likely over 20 years. Comments about coarse branching and long needles are valid. Needles are no longer than ponderosa, so they could be trained into similar styles. They make the reddish bark fairly young, which is their best trait. Thin red bark will form as early as 5 years. It wont be the thick plated bark until many years later, but it is attractive even when young. Wonderful for cold hardiness. For most of the USA they need little or no winter protection. They might not do well with intense prolonged summer heat in the zone 7 to 11 areas of the USA. They are absolutely intolerant of shade, they must have full sun, one summer with only 5 hours of sun they weaken and die the following spring (experience is costly, lost half of the 10 seedlings that year). If you ever see a wild one, that is stunted and collectable, grab it, it would be a rare prize.

 

[jeanluc83]

I'm on the edge of red pine's southern range so my collecting prospects are limited in my immediate area. I may try to start some from seed in the future just for fun. I'll be up to my armpits in pine seedlings this spring but in the next few years maybe.

 

[M. Frary]

Thousands around here. Never saw one with bonsai qualities.