Salvaged Virginia pine… odds of survival?

[19Mateo83]

I salvaged this little Virginia pine today. It was freshly pushed up by a excavator and the only damage was a few small root tips and it did not get dried out. I put it in 50/50 pumice and lava. I did not trim any of the roots, I just wrapped them around the inside of the pot and gave it a healthy watering. Now I know this is not the time of the year for repotting pines, but it was either this or death for this little guy. What is the chances of success? Or did I just waste my time?

 

[rockm]

I salvaged this little Virginia pine today. It was freshly pushed up by a excavator and the only damage was a few small root tips and it did not get dried out. I put it in 50/50 pumice and lava. I did not trim any of the roots, I just wrapped them around the inside of the pot and gave it a healthy watering. Now I know this is not the time of the year for repotting pines, but it was either this or death for this little guy. What is the chances of success? Or did I just waste my time?

Guess you'll see in the next two weeks. If you start seeing needles turning red, things are headed south...

 

[19Mateo83]

Guess you'll see in the next two weeks. If you start seeing needles turning red, things are headed south...

Good to know. Thank you rockm

 

[Srt8madness]

There is a lot of doom and gloom about collecting pines in warm weather, which I'm sure is warranted for decades old specimens. What I'm finding is that as long as I'm keeping dirt around the roots, success collecting young pines in 90deg temps is pretty high. Young being very young, 3-4 years.

 

[19Mateo83]

There is a lot of doom and gloom about collecting pines in warm weather, which I'm sure is warranted for decades old specimens. What I'm finding is that as long as I'm keeping dirt around the roots, success collecting young pines in 90deg temps is pretty high. Young being very young, 3-4 years.

I have no clue the age. I’m hoping it will pull through, I have had success with tiny seedlings. I guess I will find out soon enough.

 

[19Mateo83]

Should this be put straight out in full sun or should I give it a day or two in dappled shade?

 

[0soyoung]

Pines leaves have a thick waxy cuticle. Hence, they can control water loss by simply closing their leaf stomata.

Photosynthesis is a function driven by sunlight. Photosynthesis generates the fuel and material and also the auxin production that stimulates root growth

IOW, FULL SUN
Straight away.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Sunlight suppresses auxin. That's why we get compact internodes in the sun. That's why potato shoots can grow 6 ft when they're in the dark but rarely do so in the sun, even if they're in the ground.
While auxin bionsynthesis can be fueled by sunlight, the crude materials are usually protein based.

I'd go for two weeks in the shade and then re-assess the health status. If it aint dead, it can handle sun. Can't hurt to be a little cautious I think.

 

[19Mateo83]

It ain’t brown yet so I guess that’s a good sign

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

And the candles aren't floppy! If the tree is lacking water uptake, those are the first to go droopy. Sweet!

 

[19Mateo83]

And the candles aren't floppy! If the tree is lacking water uptake, those are the first to go droopy. Sweet!

I’m watering it in the morning and misting the foliage then watering it in the evening. It seems to be liking it so far. I think not trimming the roots and just coiling them up in the pot is helping.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Pines leaves have a thick waxy cuticle. Hence, they can control water loss by simply closing their leaf stomata.

Photosynthesis is a function driven by sunlight. Photosynthesis generates the fuel and material and also the auxin production that stimulates root growth

One must wonder; how does foliage photosynthesize when cannot breathe?

 

[Shogun610]

Should this be put straight out in full sun or should I give it a day or two in dappled shade?

Full sun

 

[19Mateo83]

It’s still alive 12 days later, even after getting pushed over in the pot by wind and being tied in. No signs of browning

tips are still green

 

[Srt8madness]

Well I asked a while back and according to some here, you'll truly know if it survived in 17 or so years, until then it's a guessing game

But seriously looks great. Sounds like it survived the initial shock of collection, but for a while will be more sensitive than similar sized established pines.

 

[19Mateo83]

It’s been a year since collection and it’s pushed a bit of new growth this year. I’m honestly surprised this one has survived. I guess it’s a testament to how hardy some pines actually are. My next question, is it too early after collection for leader selection and a chop to start building taper? Pictures to come soon.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Honestly, personally would wait until ROBUST new growth manifests.

 

[MaciekA]

I consider this pine to be a seedling. I've found that summer collection of pine seedlings has a very high success rate, and when combined with winter bottom heating can generate a lot of roots prior to the next spring, meaning the tree doesn't skip a beat. In almost all cases I get dramatically improved growth in domestication over the wild growth, even in the year immediately after collection. I collect a sufficient number of seedlings that I can be daring with followup work -- I wire them heavily less than 12 months after collection, prune, etc.

There aren't really any hidden measures of robustness in a pine IMO. If you have an acceleration in foliage quantity, and if you have needle elongation exceeding that of the previous year, that can only happen if the roots are in healthy expansion. If needles are sharp, lustrous, and firm by about this time of year, you're probably well past the danger zone.

@19Mateo83 in the last couple years this has become my favorite time to collect small pines. Worth taking note of my location, though, or investing in (fully outdoor) bottom heat.

 

[Mats Hagström]

my experience has been that success is highly dependent on how the roots are treated during collection. If you maintained native soil in contact with some feeder roots then the tree has a much better chance. I try to no over water, lots of misting and partial shade. Young tres (1-2 years) tolerate more abuse including bare rooting. Your tree looks like it’s 4-5 years old. Pines need their symbiotic microbes to be left intact as much as possible esp on feeder roots. I collect Pinus Radiate because it’s what grows where I live. My overall survival has been about 50%. I don’t think timing is as important as how the roots/soil are treated. Keeping the root ball partially intact seems to be most important in my experience. Once new buds form you are very safe. Threes that die will not form new growth first IMO.

Good luck with your pine.

BTW I have a ton of Monterey Pines where I live in San Francisco. I collect the ones that are growing in excess only. Monterey Pine is challenging as a bonsai and I’m trying to think of other fun projects to do with the hundreds of little lines growing around us. A few years ago a began grafting wild trees hoping to convert them to create a little variety in the local flora. One of my favorite has been grafting P. Sylvestris‘hillside creeper’ on the top leader of small to medium size trees. I have two that survived from two years ago. Could potentially make for a very interesting looking tree years from now. Like a horizontal witches broom halfway up the trunk. I suppose I’m taking some liberties grafting wild trees in a quite public place. I also plant dwarf confers around my neighborhood. So far I’ve only had good feedback.

Sorry about the length of of my response.

 

[rockm]

Virginia pine is not easy to collect. I believed this one was gonna be a goner in a month. I suspect it survived because it is a seedling/sapling and strong--and a lot of roots came with it...I've tried repeatedly to collect mature Va. Pine. It is not easy, as it tends to grow in very bad soils, like clay. Their feeder roots can be at the end of a 25 foot primary root that has to be traced. Since they grow in crumbly red clay here, they also tend to bare root themselves.

Good luck with this one. It's a fighter. I wouldn't mess around with it for at least another year, or until you get VERY strong growth from it.