I have admitted that I am no pine expert, Ok more like a pine killer truth be told. I have tried 2 JBP's that I killed, 1 Mugho that seems to be suffering in the Fl. heat right now, as many people on here told me would happen.
I started thinking about Fl. Native pines as they are used to the heat, and get occasional freezing temps too. This would seem to suit my lifestyle as I summer in Oh. and winter in Fl. so it would get some freeze, not enough dormancy for the average pine though but seemingly suitable for a Fl. native slash pine.
I posted in another thread here somewhere, I lose posts all the time here, about how trees in nature survive and even thrive after fire. They use control burns in Fl. to control the undergrowth which chokes off trees and makes forests impassable as well as severe fire hazards when not maintained this way. I have seen where the trees not only survive, they seem to really take off after such a burn. There is data that says that slash pines that are 6 plus years old have a 93% rate of survival after a moderate crown burn, which is worse in severity than an underbrush fire that just scorches the lower bark and does not affect the crown growth. I have also read where in a burn trees as well as grasses react to fire by drawing sugars and nutrients into the roots to boost future growth and insure their survival.
My experiment ? I obtained a 4 foot tall Slash Pine from my yard. I then proceeded to do all the wrong things, first I removed the sand from the roots and cut the tap root off. Then I wired the trunk and bent it as it was mostly straight, thats two insults in the same night! It was a little tall for the trunk, which by the way has some really interesting bark for its size, so instead of cutting it off I decided to burn the top off in the hope that it would act as a tree in a natural or controlled fire and pull its nutrients into its base for energy for future regrowth. If my theory works out the tree will survive and sprout some new growth after recuperating. If it does not work I will have killed my 3rd pine.Either way the tree had to go as it was in the way and maybe I will get a neat Bonsai out of it in the bargain.
I will post some pictures in a day or two of what it looks like right now for reference. I know most of you will think this is crazy but it is something I have kicked around attempting for years. I have seen small trees after control burns have larger dead trees fall on them breaking them off and the fire scorching the bark black up as high as 6 feet from the ground and the remaining charred and broken trunk sprout new growth, with both crown and trunk sprouts occuring.
Wish me luck.
ed
