Western North Carolina Pines

[Hyn Patty]

Any feedback here? Looks like I'll have Pitch pine and Eastern White pine in our mountains. I've seen some posts using Pitch pines for bonsai but I would like any feedback on the suitability of these two varieties. Any of you in the WNC area know of other evergreens up in those mountains that make for good bonsai material that I should be keeping an eye out for, by all means, please pitch me some advice! I'm going to be doing a lot of hiking, especially over our own 50+ acres up on our mountain.

 

[Dav4]

Virginia pines, P. Virginiana, along with pitch pine, will be your best local species for bonsai.

 

[Hyn Patty]

Thank you. My initial research on EWP suggests that it may not be ideal, especially if collected in the South rather than far in the north. I am finding a number of articles and I gather there is one at the North Carolina Arboretum bonsai collection. I'll see what I can dig up on the other two.

 

[rockm]

Any feedback here? Looks like I'll have Pitch pine and Eastern White pine in our mountains. I've seen some posts using Pitch pines for bonsai but I would like any feedback on the suitability of these two varieties. Any of you in the WNC area know of other evergreens up in those mountains that make for good bonsai material that I should be keeping an eye out for, by all means, please pitch me some advice! I'm going to be doing a lot of hiking, especially over our own 50+ acres up on our mountain.

Don't know if you're planning on collecting those (White pine makes mostly bad bonsai material). If so, get a handle on permits/national forests/state parks. Not as easy to get them in the east as it is in western states...

 

[Hyn Patty]

I was going to have a good look around on our own property first. Down the road I can look into permits. I am quite familiar with getting them in the east, or even better, joining the state's Native Plant Society for collecting from sites that are going under development rather than from conservation areas. So I'm not worried about the permit hurdle too much. Also all my neighbors up in our part of the mountains also have 50 to 100 acres or more so it is possible I may be able to get permission for limited collection on their land too. What I am more concerned about is what species are best to focus on and which aren't much worth the trouble - especially for someone like me who is new to working with pines for bonsai.

 

[A. Gorilla]

EWP seems to require a very narrow range of styles and size to look ok, and even then they are usually kinda forgettable.

Rarely do you find rough bark.

Needle groups are just too round and poofy.

They just never seem to cut glass with their particular genetic features.

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Join the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society. Look for deciduous too.

Regards,
Martin

 

[Hyn Patty]

Join the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society. Look for deciduous too.

Regards,
Martin

I was going to try to make the meeting and events in May but we are still up to our eyeballs in relocating our things. So I fear I will probably miss out, alas. Still, I should be able to make it up for the June meeting! I did at least manage /one/ long motorcycle ride up on the Blue Ridge Parkway up around the Shining Rock Wilderness and a few other places. I can hardly wait for our move to be done so we can explore! Only about two more weeks.

I have btw found two very thick, stunted Hemlocks that may be promising, as well as some beautiful Virginia pines. It'll be fun hiking all over the mountain side to see what I can find - and oh yes, a lot more than confiers.

 

[VAFisher]

You asked about other conifers. I would definitely be all over hemlock. They should be everywhere there.

 

[rockm]

A conifer I've always thought would work well for bonsai is Table Mountain Pine, or Hickory Pine--Pinus Pungens. It's similar to Pitch Pine and lives along the Blue Ridge in Va. and N.C. usually in rocky outcrops at higher elevations--which tends to put it in places, like the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, that aren't easy to collect in.

https://www.summitpost.org/table-mountain-pine/518240
http://conifersociety.org/conifers/conifer/pinus/pungens/

I grew up with this one--at Ravens Roost overlook on the Parkway in Va. The overlook was a favorite hangout while skipping school. It's been a fixture at that overlook for 50 years or so. The scars at the bottom of the trunk are from rock climbers' ropes--it's a 150 foot drop into the woods on the other side.

 

[Hyn Patty]

Rockm, I will keep an eye out for this pine and look up how to ID it. Our property extends right up the mountain and is backed by the Shining Rock Wilderness. One of the highest points of the Blue Ridge Parkway is only a very short drive from our cabin. While I don't know yet how hard it is to get permits to collect trees up there, I certainly do not need permits to collect on our own property. So this summer I'll be hiking around and see what there is - and we have friendly neighbors with hundreds of acres on those mountains from whom I might also get permission. I appreciate the information. I will also be keeping a sharp eye out for deciduous options. None of which are going to have any collection attempts from me before early next spring but I could tag, photograph, and otherwise map possibilities for future consideration. I don't need to be in a hurry and I'll want to be certain to do everything legally, which includes learning our property boundaries.

 

[Hyn Patty]

Join the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society. Look for deciduous too.

Regards,
Martin

Turns out that I am back up at the new house this weekend! So I am heading to the World Bonsai Day event at the North Carolina Arboretum tomorrow and then swing by the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society meeting at the Asheville Botanical Gardens on Sunday.

 

[Hyn Patty]

You asked about other conifers. I would definitely be all over hemlock. They should be everywhere there.

I have already located half a dozen nice small hemlocks with interesting trunks. You are right that they are everywhere around here. The ones hanging for dear life out of banks and steep slopes are plentiful and very twisty. I will have to look up what is the best time of year for collecting any.

 

[VAFisher]

I would love to have a nice one. I collected a small one from the mountains here in VA in Spring of 15. It survived collection and grew well but I was too impatient. I got aggressive with it and it died last year. I'm going to try again and will be a little more patient this time.

 

[Wilson]

Definetly keep eyes out for some pitch pine, they are awesome! I was just looking at three large ones I rescued from a garden centre compost, and love how they bud all over the tree! Even bare branches are sporting spring buds. Hemlocks are real beauties too, I know @ABCarve has some good experience with them.

 

[just.wing.it]

I'm working on a future EWP Literati...
Got it for free from @lordy in early spring '17, I think it was a volunteer from a yard.
Bare rooted last spring.
So far, I like what I see, except for the course growth.
I'm gonna be interested to see how a good long time bonsai pot works on it, when the time comes.

 

[GGB]

@rockm glad you mentioned this pine. everytime I mention pinus pungens someone says "you mean picea" haha. I'm experimenting with one right now. They HATE wet feet, lost one over winter. And supposedly they grow slow but everything about them screams bonsai

 

[Hyn Patty]

I haven’t seen any Pitch pines here yet but I also haven’t had time to really hike the property yet either. I will watch for them!

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Rockm, I will keep an eye out for this pine and look up how to ID it. Our property extends right up the mountain and is backed by the Shining Rock Wilderness. One of the highest points of the Blue Ridge Parkway is only a very short drive from our cabin. While I don't know yet how hard it is to get permits to collect trees up there, I certainly do not need permits to collect on our own property. So this summer I'll be hiking around and see what there is - and we have friendly neighbors with hundreds of acres on those mountains from whom I might also get permission. I appreciate the information. I will also be keeping a sharp eye out for deciduous options. None of which are going to have any collection attempts from me before early next spring but I could tag, photograph, and otherwise map possibilities for future consideration. I don't need to be in a hurry and I'll want to be certain to do everything legally, which includes learning our property boundaries.

The parkway is National Park Service so forget collecting permits up there.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Turns out that I am back up at the new house this weekend! So I am heading to the World Bonsai Day event at the North Carolina Arboretum tomorrow and then swing by the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society meeting at the Asheville Botanical Gardens on Sunday.

Make sure to introduce yourself tomorrow and we’ll meet up. We are doing companion plants and selecting trees for our display at the Botanical Garden next weekend.