Suburban Yamadori - aka Pine rescue

[whfarro]

Hey Pineys - first off I am a mostly maple guy and have no experience with pines. So please be kind. I saw this pine in the "yard waste" pile on the curb on my way home from work this afternoon. I cleaned it up a bit and it looks like it might have some potential...at least it will be a learning opportunity for me. While it has been a mild autumn thus far here in the lower Hudson Valley, NY that is about to change so I need to determine what I need to do now to help this one survive.

There is an okay root ball, it still has some burlap around it. Soil sucks, looks like clay.

So do I pull off whats left of the burlap? Do I just stick it in the ground and mulch it heavily or is it better to put it into a large grow pot or box and "garage" it over the winter along with my maples? I am also thinking it best to let it recover for a year before attacking the roots to any degree as well. Can I start to wire up some of the branches now, or just wait it out until next spring or beyond. Any idea what kind of pine this is and is it worth playing around with?

Thanks in advance!

Will

 

[Eric Group]

Prolly want to remove as much burlap as you can without disturbing the roots much, get it potted up and protected from temps below 20...

Wait to wire until next year, prolly don't want to prune much until summer once you see if/ where it is growing.
Hard to tell from the pics what kind of pine it is. Take some close ups of the needles so people can see if it is a two three or five needle, that should help a little bit...

 

[whfarro]

Prolly want to remove as much burlap as you can without disturbing the roots much, get it potted up and protected from temps below 20...

Wait to wire until next year, prolly don't want to prune much until summer once you see if/ where it is growing.
Hard to tell from the pics what kind of pine it is. Take some close ups of the needles so people can see if it is a two three or five needle, that should help a little bit...

thanks...will get some close ups of needles, bark and roots tomorrow.

 

[Dav4]

The needles remind me of Eastern White Pine, but close up pictures, along with an accurate count of needles per fascicles, would help. If this were mine, I'd heel it in to a growing bed somewhere in the yard and leave it until spring, at which point, I'd do a much more meaningful first re-pot and root working session. I wouldn't be too concerned about pruning or wiring until it's growing strongly in a pot.

 

[jeanluc83]

I think I would go with Dav4 on this and find a sheltered spot in a grow bed and put it there for the winter. In the spring do a proper repot. There is risk in whatever you do at this time of the year but I feel getting the roots in order should be a first priority but now is the wrong time. Since the tree is going dormant now, your next best bet is waiting until spring.

I wouldn't even think of doing any work on this tree until it is very well established. This may be 2-3 years.

Based on the bark and the needles I'm going with eastern white pine. Close up pictures are needed for verification.

Good luck.

 

[Paradox]

Eastern White Pine without a doubt.

I would put it in the ground and just leave it there until you are sure it is growing strongly.
It has probably been through a lot, considering you found it as yard waste. IMO digging it back up next spring could kill it. Give it a chance to recover.

 

[whfarro]

Thanks to all that replied. I have put this in the ground, well sheltered from wind and heavily mulched. I will let this one "heal up" up a season or two before disturbing it. Here are some close ups of the needles and bark/trunk. It's about 24" from top of root ball and the trunk is a little bit more than 2" at the base. I do believe it is an Eastern White Pine as well. It reminds me of all of the trees I used to see canoeing and camping in the New Jersey Pine Barrens and on my current hikes in the Hudson Valley and Adirondacks clinging onto the rocks and crevices.

Like I said, this would be my first pine and I appreciate all the support the "pineys" on this forum have willingly shared. I will follow up in the spring with a status. Here's hoping this one gets through the winter.

Thanks again.

 

[jeanluc83]

The needles are in pairs so it's not eastern white pine. EWP are a 5 needle pine. If it's a native pine that leaves red pine (the bark is wrong) or Virginia pine (I think you are a little too far north). It doesn't really look like JBP or mugo. How about Scotts pine?

 

[Paradox]

Needles are wrong for scots unless it is a different variety than Im used to seeing.

 

[Dav4]

It's balled and burlapped, so it's nursery stock for sure and could be a non native. How about a close up of the buds...could be JBP or JRP (score!!)

 

[Paradox]

Could also be Austrian pine

 

[qwade]

Needle look wrong for Pinus nigra.------Looks more like P. Virginiana. Nice find!

'Suburban Yamadori' I like that !!!

 

[whfarro]

Follow up on this one. Late last fall I pulled this out of a pile of "yard waste" destined for the mulcher. Popped it into the ground and hoped for the best. This past winter was a rough one, roller coastering from below zero to balmy and back, with a bunch of snow too. I didn't expect much, but this one hung in there. I'll keep it in the ground another season or two and maybe then move it to box to start root work. Just thankful it's still green...LOL.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Follow up on this one. Late last fall I pulled this out of a pile of "yard waste" destined for the mulcher. Popped it into the ground and hoped for the best. This past winter was a rough one, roller coastering from below zero to balmy and back, with a bunch of snow too. I didn't expect much, but this one hung in there. I'll keep it in the ground another season or two and maybe then move it to box to start root work. Just thankful it's still green...LOL.

Would you consider going where you found it and asking them what it is? Since they dumped it they probably won't care that you rescued it.

 

[whfarro]

I did actually. They were new owners and had know idea. It was just part of a bunch of stuff piled up in the back of their yard when they moved in. In any event, it's doing okay all things considered.

 

[Vance Wood]

It looks like Mugo. The needles, the fascicles the bark the buds and the fact it survived what it survived tells me it is Mugo.

 

[whfarro]

Well Vance, looks like I may need to go back and read through your many thread on them. This one is a bit "leggy" and needs some time to get healthy. Als I noted I have all deciduous trees (mostly maples) so I appreciate knowing there is a stockpile of info here.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Vance Wood]

It can be tamed. It looks very much like Mugo Montana, one of the oldest of the Mugo sub-species on the market. Make great bonsai if you treat them well. If you plan on putting more wire on the tree make sure that the growing ends are turned upward a bit. You do that by twisting the branch clockwise or counter-clockwise till the actual growing direction of the branch is facing upwards. On Mugos you can usually tell.

 

[whfarro]

That would make sence as they are common landscape material around here. I'll definitely start reading your material and know where to go if I have questions.

 

[Lazylightningny]

Start here: http://www.bonsainut.com/index.php?resources/compiled-vance-wood-on-mugo-pines.23/