Ready to pot this black pine (?)

Boscology

Mame
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Here is a Black Pine grown from seed I bought 1.5 years ago from a longtime practitioner. It had apparently fallen off his bench and it just had 2 little branches and some fresh large cuts where he had taken off the top and side branches that broke. It didn't meet his long term plans so he sold it to me for a song :)

First year all i did was slip pot it into a larger pot (5 gallon rootmaker) and hoped it would regain energy, last spring I Wired and trimmed candles. Now I feel it is looking healthy so I am deciding on a pot. I have one ugly circular top root that I cant wait to fix but I may consider planting it in this fantastic semi cascade and style refinement in a semi cascade manner or this other pot that might look nice for an upright planting.

I have plucked my 3rd buds today and did some needle balancing this winter and I plan to remove the current wire and rewire next fall or winter
 

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Shibui

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Your tree is a good find with some potential despite it not suiting the original grower.
I would not be planting this tree in any bonsai pot yet. Trees really slow development in smaller containers so I tend to keep my developing trees in grow pots until they are close to show ready. I know most people want to rush the process and you are quite welcome to do so but I think you'll be disappointed in the future development.
Looks like you also have some serious root work to do at this repotting. Might be worth seeing how that goes before getting your heart set on rushing into a bonsai pot. Long term health and development should always take precedence over short term pleasure.
 

Potawatomi13

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An interesting tree with great potential in small package. Could be potted if not wanting bigger trunk;).
 

Paradox

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It is too early to repot that pine right now where you live.
We are still in the middle of winter in your area of the country.
If you do it now and your area gets some severe weather, you risk a dead tree.

Wait until early spring when you see the buds start to swell, that is the right time to repot a pine.
Also I agree with @Shibui, you do not want to go right from a 3-5 gallon (?) nursery to a bonsai pot.
Find another pot that is shorter, longer and wider that is no less than half of the volume of the nursery pot.
 

sorce

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I have plucked my 3rd buds

This makes it sound like it's not healthy enough yet to be repotted. Especially if wanting to deal with that root.

Should be plucking your 3rd 4th 5th and 6th buds.

I'd want to leave that extra potential energy on for a Repot year anyway.

This IS a great little unit.
I think you can source a more appropriate pot, this one seems a bit masculine for this trunkline.

Great tree.

Sorce
 

Paradox

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I have plucked my 3rd buds today and did some needle balancing this winter and I plan to remove the current wire and rewire next fall or winter

I am assuming by "3rd buds" you mean you went around and removed the 3rd bud from any branch end that had 3?
Please correct me if that isnt the case.

If that is the case, then that is the proper thing you should do.

IMO the tree is healthy. Lots of nice, long, green needles and if some branches had 3 terminal buds, its doing fine.
 

Boscology

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This makes it sound like it's not healthy enough yet to be repotted. Especially if wanting to deal with that root.

Should be plucking your 3rd 4th 5th and 6th buds.

I'd want to leave that extra potential energy on for a Repot year anyway.

This IS a great little unit.
I think you can source a more appropriate pot, this one seems a bit masculine for this trunkline.

Great tree.

Sorce
Thanks everyone for all the responses and a quick correction the nursery type pot it is in now is a 2 or 3 gallon pot, im pretty sure the volume of media is about the same now as bot of the pots i was conssidering but I could wait a year to repot if I need to I just also know I need to do rootwork.
It is too early to repot that pine right now where you live.
We are still in the middle of winter in your area of the country.
If you do it now and your area gets some severe weather, you risk a dead tree.

Wait until early spring when you see the buds start to swell, that is the right time to repot a pine.
Also I agree with @Shibui, you do not want to go right from a 3-5 gallon (?) nursery to a bonsai pot.
Find another pot that is shorter, longer and wider that is no less than half of the volume of the nursery pot.
It is in my attached garage in a grow tent under 8 hour a day fan and full spectrum lighting. Repotting of this wont be for a month or two
 

Boscology

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, you do not want to go right from a 3-5 gallon
The exact situation it was in was that it was very rootbound in a 1 gallon nursery pot (Note my ugly circular nebari). When I bought it 1.5 years ago I slip potted the intact rootbound clump into this extra 1-2 gallons of old bonsai soil. By now I am pretty sure I have the root material to think about removing that one branch and planting at an angle.

My location and amount of space I can devote to bonsai limits my choices somewhat and obviously ground planting isnt an option.
 

Japonicus

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I wait till candles begin to elongate to pot and do root work.
Then the tree is active to repair and new roots follow.
Only work I would do on a pine in Feb is water and remove apex if either was necessary.
At zone 4 you can easily move your Spring calendar out a month and your Fall/Winter calendar in a month.

Edit: Just watched a video on TWC showing you below avg for the duration of Winter
more so in Feb and Mar to be a little below avg. Iowa North, from Montana to Maine.
 
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