Ok Taylor. I would guess that the tree was collected a short time ago, was never very strong after collection, was styled and repotted with root work before it was ready. All things that everyone here has gone through with at least one tree...
The good news is that I think with care the tree will recover. Go back to what Jason indicated - it is what I would do. First, I would make your pops get you some granular fish fertilizer - get the deodorized (not so stinky) 7-7-2. Here is a link to a good brand and one that should be easy to find in stores or on the internet. If he complains, email me and I will mail you some myself:
http://www.lillymiller.com/alaska.html
Apply this at a rate of 1 tablespoon per 3 to 4 square inches of pot surface. So for your pot I would guess 3-4 tablespoons. Mix it down with the very top layer of soil so it stays put and your dog doesn't lick it out of the pot. Note, you can't put too much of this on - Jason just put 6 full cups of this onto one tree! It will turn into a thick, black pile that looks like an old cow pie - which is perfect for this stuff. I prefer a little less, applied more often. I would apply it the first of every month until October. Start again 1 month before your last freeze and your trees will get a great early start.
Second, I would fertlize with Miracle Grow or Peters at full strength every two weeks. Start on July 1st and go every other weekend. Easy to remember. I would do this until the end of October. Lots of fert in the fall and the tree will have good buds set for the spring and plenty of reserves for fall growth.
Third, at this stage of development you want this to grow at full bore. No more pinching of buds, needle plucking or shoot/branch pruning for two years. Two years! Let it recover, and then start pinching terminal buds (at the end of the branches), plucking needles, etc. Also, if the wire has set and the branches will stay, you may want to remove it to let the branches free. I like to do this during periods of rest and fast growth - no biting in of the wire.
Make sure it gets as much sun as possible - but when you get your super hot days in August, you might want to protect it for a couple hours in the heat of the day. Like from 3 - 6 pm. Under 90 degrees, 100% sun is great. Also, make sure that it is not near the side of your house or a fence! Reflected heat could dry it out too much.
Watering will be crucial. You want the soil (which you are using the perfect mix) to stay damp but not wet. So, only water when the soil starts to dry out. That could be from never in the winter to every day in the summer. You have to keep an eye on it. Also, during the summer, mist the foliage & bark every day. If you are at home, do it at lunch time. This will help the tree stay moist but not make the roots too wet. Understand?
I think with some TLC this will recover. If you are extra concerned, ask your dad for a drop of Superthrive and add it to the water every time you fertilize. If he says no, tell him that some guy name Nick Lenz told you to do it.
Good luck with this tree! I think you will have a great one once you nurse it back to health.
Rich
p.s. If you can't wait 2 years to work on this, you need more trees. You and your dad should come out and visit. Remember, Jason offered you a tree for free if you come out!
. This tree was collected from new jersey 3 years ago. It has never looked really healthy. Dad says that it is a yellow pine so to expect yellowish needles, but his are nice and green. That doesn't make sense. Dad said that this year we should repot it since it was in a plastic container for so long and get a look at the roots. They grew a lttle from when we collected it but not that much.
