Your critique in styling this mess.

[Vance Wood]

Yea I'm still cleaning out the dead foliage and needles. I read somewhere to cover the pot with saran wrap to let the roots get some warmth in the summer. Which would help the roots a little more. When I'm done I will take better pictures of what really going on in the inside. Its a nice one. It's definitely my oldest potted pine. I have seedling ranging from 1-5 years old. My landscape mugo is maybe 30 years old. Does anyone know how to tell the age of a pine? Or has some material I could read to figure out the age?

Even if you cut the tree across the base and count the growth rings you cannot tell for sure within ten years. There are too many things that can influence the growth rings, some more than others.

 

[marc206]

Hi Marc!

I wanted to let you know that there's a great many people in our area who would be happy to help you evaluate that tree. Myself included... lol It's easier to see it in person and get a sense of what direction to take the tree. You'll know by next summer what parts, if not all, have survived. That makes a lot of choices for you right there. The tree will definitely need some carving work and as I'm sure you know, it'll back bud like mad... so don't fret about what isn't there yet.

Kindly,

Victrinia

Thats funny Victrinia. I was waiting for you to reply because I've seen your work. And I know you live in Washington. I dont know if I'd be to embarrased for you to see my collection. It's not very pretty yet.

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Thats funny Victrinia. I was waiting for you to reply because I've seen your work. And I know you live in Washington. I dont know if I'd be to embarrased for you to see my collection. It's not very pretty yet.

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.... Eric and I have people over pretty regularly to work on trees. You could bring some trees, and/or work on some that we have, to get some practice.

But seriously, we'd be happy to come by sometime to see it - and you - and them all for that matter.

We're just a Ferry boat away.

Send me a pm if you would like to plan a day to connect some weekend. I'm a crazy good cook too... you won't leave hungry.

Kindly,

Victrinia

 

[marc206]

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.... Eric and I have people over pretty regularly to work on trees. You could bring some trees, and/or work on some that we have, to get some practice.

But seriously, we'd be happy to come by sometime to see it - and you - and them all for that matter.

We're just a Ferry boat away.

Send me a pm if you would like to plan a day to connect some weekend. I'm a crazy good cook too... you won't leave hungry.

Kindly,

Victrinia

Wow I am a pretty good chef and BBQer. Yea I'll let you know I don't really have personal bonsai friends. I'm sure my girlfriend would love you both.

Second thought I'm heading to Leavenworth this weekend to check out some trees. Pickup free pots and flats somewhere in Wenatchee. Do some camping with my family.

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

I just took a peek at your blog... you have some very interesting material that would be cool to see. Urban yamadori rocks!

V

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Wow I am a pretty good chef and BBQer. Yea I'll let you know I don't really have personal bonsai friends. I'm sure my girlfriend would love you both.

hehehe... we might have to have our own 'Iron Chef BBQ Seattle'... Sounds great, I'll look forward to hearing from you. Are you going to the Bonsai Auction at the Pacific Rim on Saturday? I'll be there...

V

 

[marc206]

I'll show you mine if you show me yours.... Eric and I have people over pretty regularly to work on trees. You could bring some trees, and/or work on some that we have, to get some practice.

But seriously, we'd be happy to come by sometime to see it - and you - and them all for that matter.

We're just a Ferry boat away.

Send me a pm if you would like to plan a day to connect some weekend. I'm a crazy good cook too... you won't leave hungry.

Kindly,

Victrinia

Nope I will be in Leavenworth looking at some trees and camping. Enjoying the great outdoors. I need to update the blog. I have been collecting so much I don't really have time for the blog. I checked out yours, are all of those your trees? I need a better display table. Mine is falling apart.

 

[amkhalid]

Just chiming in to clarify the situation here, because the tone of the thread is that you are already in the clear with this newly collected tree, and that is certainly not the case. An fairly old collected pine is not an easy thing to keep alive compared to a boxwood or a cotoneaster.

You have the challenge of managing two soil types with very different properties - the mucky rootball it was collected in, and the bonsai soil surrounding it. Your main goal should be not to overwater the muck. This will be difficult - you may hardly need to water it all all this year as Vance said. Just the dribbling from misting should provide enough moisture.

Make sure the tree is in the perfect spot in your yard then don't touch the thing. Cleaning out dead needles and twigs won't help it survive collection, so there is no point in doing it. Keep it in a sunny spot and protect it with shadecloth or in morning sun until it shows real strength (probably next year).

Not sure where you read that saran wrap thing, but I don't know if its a good idea. Sounds like you could suffocate the roots and/or promote the growth of bad fungus.

Best of luck - it is a nice tree so give it the best aftercare you can!

 

[Vance Wood]

Just chiming in to clarify the situation here, because the tone of the thread is that you are already in the clear with this newly collected tree, and that is certainly not the case. An fairly old collected pine is not an easy thing to keep alive compared to a boxwood or a cotoneaster.

You have the challenge of managing two soil types with very different properties - the mucky rootball it was collected in, and the bonsai soil surrounding it. Your main goal should be not to overwater the muck. This will be difficult - you may hardly need to water it all all this year as Vance said. Just the dribbling from misting should provide enough moisture.

Make sure the tree is in the perfect spot in your yard then don't touch the thing. Cleaning out dead needles and twigs won't help it survive collection, so there is no point in doing it. Keep it in a sunny spot and protect it with shadecloth or in morning sun until it shows real strength (probably next year).

Not sure where you read that saran wrap thing, but I don't know if its a good idea. Sounds like you could suffocate the roots and/or promote the growth of bad fungus.

Best of luck - it is a nice tree so give it the best aftercare you can!

I tend to agree with this. Mugos like a lot of water but don't like to sit in it. They need well aerated roots which means the better the drainage the happier the tree. Cleaning out dead needles and other crap won't specifically help the tree other than open up the interior to light, remove debris that can harbor dangerous pest and diseases (doesn't mean it does)
Mugos in the nursery trade tend to have large collections of this junk around the base and hanging in the interior of the tree.

This would be a good opportunity to become familiar with the branching of your tree and get some possible inspiration for the future. You can also remove some small and meaningless branches that tend to pop up around the joints if you know you don't need them. I'm talking about the little bitty ones if you are unsure don't do anything. Of douse little dead twigs and branches are useless for jin and are best removed.

 

[marc206]

I tend to agree with this. Mugos like a lot of water but don't like to sit in it. They need well aerated roots which means the better the drainage the happier the tree. Cleaning out dead needles and other crap won't specifically help the tree other than open up the interior to light, remove debris that can harbor dangerous pest and diseases (doesn't mean it does)
Mugos in the nursery trade tend to have large collections of this junk around the base and hanging in the interior of the tree.

This would be a good opportunity to become familiar with the branching of your tree and get some possible inspiration for the future. You can also remove some small and meaningless branches that tend to pop up around the joints if you know you don't need them. I'm talking about the little bitty ones if you are unsure don't do anything. Of douse little dead twigs and branches are useless for jin and are best removed.

years boxwood and cotoneaster isn't all I have. I have a lot of azaleas, doug fir, apple, elm, ficus, lemon, a lot of younger pines, cedar, juni, chaemacyparis, dogwoods, willows and probably more that I missed. I just don't have any experience with a pine of this degree. The tree was collected from a yard the soil was dirt and sand. The rootball was the size of the training bokx I made. so I know there a huge chance of survival.

I do not think I am in the clear I just wanted everyone to see the tree and maybe give some insight. I only want red to clear up the dead foliage to take good pictures of post collection.

 

[marc206]

I tend to agree with this. Mugos like a lot of water but don't like to sit in it. They need well aerated roots which means the better the drainage the happier the tree. Cleaning out dead needles and other crap won't specifically help the tree other than open up the interior to light, remove debris that can harbor dangerous pest and diseases (doesn't mean it does)
Mugos in the nursery trade tend to have large collections of this junk around the base and hanging in the interior of the tree.

This would be a good opportunity to become familiar with the branching of your tree and get some possible inspiration for the future. You can also remove some small and meaningless branches that tend to pop up around the joints if you know you don't need them. I'm talking about the little bitty ones if you are unsure don't do anything. Of douse little dead twigs and branches are useless for jin and are best removed.

years boxwood and cotoneaster isn't all I have. I have a lot of azaleas, doug fir, apple, elm, ficus, lemon, a lot of younger pines, cedar, juni, chaemacyparis, dogwoods, willows and probably more that I missed. I just don't have any experience with a pine of this degree. The tree was collected from a yard the soil was dirt and sand. The rootball was the size of the training bokx I made. so I know there a huge chance of survival.

 

[Vance Wood]

years boxwood and cotoneaster isn't all I have. I have a lot of azaleas, doug fir, apple, elm, ficus, lemon, a lot of younger pines, cedar, juni, chaemacyparis, dogwoods, willows and probably more that I missed. I just don't have any experience with a pine of this degree. The tree was collected from a yard the soil was dirt and sand. The rootball was the size of the training bokx I made. so I know there a huge chance of survival.

Those things all sound good even the old soil does not sound like some I have encountered that I took years to remove.

 

[marc206]

Those things all sound good even the old soil does not sound like some I have encountered that I took years to remove.

Yea it was collected in front of a house. It had a lot of fine roots that held the medium it was in.