Yamadori pitch pine

[Giga]

Just figured I'd post my experiment of a pine. This was a yamadori I collected from sheer cliff that was actually pretty dangerous now that I think about it-but no risk no gain?! This is more of where I can push material and my artistic feel. I'm not sure where its going but it is going somewhere. In the end it will be an exposed root twisted little guy.

Here's what it started as right after collecting(march 2014)-that reddish root is a different tree


here it is at the end of 2015-not much to look at right now as the needles are long and you can't see much but it's the vision that matters right? Not the final angle and I forgot to take a pic from the back to show the exposed roots,they mostly in the foil-This summer I start to remove the foil.

 

[JoeR]

Nice!


Where did you collect it? Probably a top secret squirrel location, huh?

 

[jeanluc83]

Looks like a good start. There are a lot of pitch pine in my area. I'm still looking for a good place to collect.

 

[GrimLore]

Not the final angle

Serious if you are not up to it or do not have the time PM my with a price - I have the time to make that work. Nice one at least in my eyes

Grimmy

 

[Giga]

Serious if you are not up to it or do not have the time PM my with a price - I have the time to make that work. Nice one at least in my eyes

Grimmy

I haven't thought of selling it, but shipping might be pricy with that sacrifice branch on there. Its also in a pond basket then in a large colander to help the roots thicken. They where escaping out the bottom in the pond basket so I figured I'd help them along, to thicken the roots a bit better.

 

[Giga]

Nice!


Where did you collect it? Probably a top secret squirrel location, huh?

Upstate Virginia at my parents cabin, at 3500 ft. Not much really but for Virginia its like mt Everest

Looks like a good start. There are a lot of pitch pine in my area. I'm still looking for a good place to collect.

It's a cool pine, back buds more then any other pine I've seen, even with out candle pruning. tough as nails for how much bending I did and no cracking and didn't skip a beat. I did wrap in wraffia to be safe. I removed it this fall.

 

[Vance Wood]

They will back bud on hundred year old wood. Finding the good ones is the difficulty. From what I understand the really good ones are found in the mountains of up-state New York. They grow in pocket in the rock filled with their own debris of bark and composted needles.

 

[Giga]

They will back bud on hundred year old wood. Finding the good ones is the difficulty. From what I understand the really good ones are found in the mountains of up-state New York. They grow in pocket in the rock filled with their own debris of bark and composted needles.

There was a 100' one close to this little guy and it had buds all the way up and down the trunk-was pretty cool

Here's the back-those thick wires where support when I first planted like this-they will get removed with the foil.

 

[jeanluc83]

I have some that I started from seed that are going into their third season. They are very vigorous growers. Not quite to the level of JBP but not too far off.

The back budding is one of the things that attracted me to the tree to begin with. Here is a fairly young tree that shows the buding on the trunk that is common. They are also one of the few pines that can survive a trunk chop.

 

[Giga]

I have some that I started from seed that are going into their third season. They are very vigorous growers. Not quite to the level of JBP but not too far off.

The back budding is one of the things that attracted me to the tree to begin with. Here is a fairly young tree that shows the buding on the trunk that is common. They are also one of the few pines that can survive a trunk chop.

View attachment 90310

That's the same thing I saw just a bit bigger tree, was so crazy awesome.

 

[crust]

They will back bud on hundred year old wood. Finding the good ones is the difficulty. From what I understand the really good ones are found in the mountains of up-state New York. They grow in pocket in the rock filled with their own debris of bark and composted needles.

Marty Schmalenberg and the early eastern collectors scraped up the best years ago--many to die. It is told Marty later recognized that those trees that never were cleaned of field soil would decline and become precarious. Much of his notoriety was built upon early years of peeling off scads of these things and causally auctioning off potential masterpieces off to mindless dorks at symposium and clubs--sending them to sure death. There was some particular granite cliffs the NYers really scoured. Pitch pines are very beautiful and naturally bonsai-like on the rocks--especially the 15 footers, the inaccessible and the inextractables.--I wish I had a great pitch pine.

 

[Giga]

needs a lot of work this candle pruning season

 

[Vance Wood]

I don't mean to tell you what to do because I do not have one presently. However I have a feeling for pines the kind of pervades through my thinking and way of doing things. The major thing that bothers me about the Pitch Pine in general and this tree in particular is the abundance of needles that look to me like they might be crowding the new buds that are forming on the trunks and branches.

 

[Giga]

I don't mean to tell you what to do because I do not have one presently. However I have a feeling for pines the kind of pervades through my thinking and way of doing things. The major thing that bothers me about the Pitch Pine in general and this tree in particular is the abundance of needles that look to me like they might be crowding the new buds that are forming on the trunks and branches.

I have done nothing in terms of needle pulling,candle pruning, thinning on this so you are right. I have only wired - this year I start that so the needles will be thinned and shorter into fall and will look better and have better light penetration

 

[Vance Wood]

I am thinking that the new weaker growth could be encouraged and stimulated now by thinning out a good deal of the excess needles you see near the bends and curves on the picture.

 

[Vance Wood]

I hope this makes sense linked with post #15, I got interupted and needed to drop it mid thought.

Very often new growth like this will extend and stretch to reach the light, leaving it weak and vulnerable to being easily broken off.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I don't mean to tell you what to do because I do not have one presently. However I have a feeling for pines the kind of pervades through my thinking and way of doing things. The major thing that bothers me about the Pitch Pine in general and this tree in particular is the abundance of needles that look to me like they might be crowding the new buds that are forming on the trunks and branches.

I see what you see however does the tree not need mature needles to collect sunlight and feed the tree?

 

[Potawatomi13]

needs a lot of work this candle pruning season
View attachment 103203

Very good and creative work you have done so far. Would make one suggestion: add bends in all 3 dimensions. Side to side, up and down as well as twisting bends and kinks if possible.

 

[Vance Wood]

I see what you see however does the tree not need mature needles to collect sunlight and feed the tree?

Yes but not all of them and only the ones I mentioned. Any needles that grow down ward can go. Any needles more than two seasons old can go. Any needles growing straight up can go that are from last season.. Do not pull them off cut them with scissors. The situation will encourage the tree to produce more and shorter growth. This is my experience. Do what you think is right with my blessing. Your branches should have needles on the sides of the branches.

 

[pitchpine]

Vance, my experience with pitch pine (albeit pretty young ones) is that they will pop buds all over the place as long as you keep them healthy. Even with heavy mature foliage. That's what I love about them, the design possibilities are practically endless! I spend more time rubbing off unnecessary buds than any other type of work on mine, lol.

Laura

I don't mean to tell you what to do because I do not have one presently. However I have a feeling for pines the kind of pervades through my thinking and way of doing things. The major thing that bothers me about the Pitch Pine in general and this tree in particular is the abundance of needles that look to me like they might be crowding the new buds that are forming on the trunks and branches.