2 pines and a shimpaku

october

Hello everyone. Here are 3 trees that I have been working on over the past 4 months. The first 2 are mugho pines. The last one is a shimpaku juniper. All were created from rough nursery stock. Opinions welcome.

Attached Images

	DSCN0906.JPG (62.4 KB, 247 views)
	DSCN0907.JPG (57.5 KB, 193 views)
	dscn0730.jpg (37.9 KB, 200 views)

Advertisement

Vance Wood

You have done a nice job on all of them. You need to start thinking about getting the pines to back bud, and you need to start refining the foliage pads on the Juniper. Details to follow on request. By the way: When were these potted?

__________________
The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa

DwightFloyd

Where in the world did you find a nursery that had shimpacu ? BTW I like the pines a bunch. I'd probably like the cascade if I liked cascades.

october

Thank you Vance. The first pine was potted around mid August. The second one was potted around the end of July. I have heard from many good sources about how mughos enjoy being repotted in the mid summer time frame. Both trees have only been in training for about 3 months. I will be defining the pads on all the trees. The first pine is 9 inches tall, the second pine is 12 inches tall.

The shimpaku is also about 12 inches from the top to the bottom. That tree was put in that grow pot around 2 weeks ago. However. No roots were really disturbed. I took it out of the nursery pot and put it in the larger grow pot with minimal root teasing and some good soil.

thanks Dwight also. New England Bonsai Gardens has like thousands of trees. Thats were they all came from. Heres the astounding part. The first pine cost me 10 bucks. The second pine cost me 18 bucks. The shimpaku cost me, I believe 23 bucks. I would recommend that if you are in the New england area, you stop by this nursery. They have like 7 green houses ( yes, 7 ) filled with every species of tree imaginable. Not to mention 4 benches out side that run in between the green houses filled with trees. There is more stock in that one nursery than you could ever imagine.

DwightFloyd

That ain't no regular nursery !!!! I'm so jealous of you guys who live within a few hrs of a real bonsai nursery !

Victrinia_Ensor

lol yah... but NEBG is exceptional even by a lot of bonsai nursery standards... from everything I have seen and heard of them.

Oh Rob... you posted the pines... First trees of yours you ever showed me... and still amoung my faves. I love the movement you put in them.

If Rob didn't seem to request more info Vance... then I request on his behalf...lol I'd really love to know what you would do with these pines to refine them. And more what you think that would take in terms of years. I hope they never get too much taller than they are. I love their size. Also I was curious about how mughos deal with root pruning... I know the second tree (I think it is the second... pics arnt in front of me at the moment) has one pesky root going the wrong way.... I'm curious how much of a percentage of the root ball that root needs to represent for it to be a harm to remove. I know Rob's biggest concern with any of his trees is maintaining absolute health. But I'm nudging him that we can remove it. lol

As they say Rob... bonsai starts at the base...

Yours,

Vicky

__________________
Ms. Vic

Le belle cose prendono tempo...

www.elandangardens.com

october

Hello Vance, I was talking to Victrina and she had told me that she had talked to you and asked you some questions on my behalf. I would really apprecite your input. I have seen your work with Mugho pines and I think it to be exquisite.

The mugho is a very underated pine for bonsai. It does make a beautiful specimen and it won't break your wallet either. I have had discussions about this with my teacher. We have discussed how people are really missing out if they overlook the mugho as good bonsai material. Once again, I would love to hear your thoughts about my trees. Thanks in advance.

bonsaikc

I'm jealous of the guys who live within a few hours of Victrinia!

__________________
Sashi-no-eda.blogspot.com

Vance Wood

I agree with you about Mugos. Here are a couple of things you should think about. There are two main health problems that hit Mugos, needle cast and pine scale. Needle cast is a fungal infection that will cause needles two to three years old to turn a beautiful golden yellow and drop off. This normally does not harm a tree because it does not seem to effect the current years growth, but it does make the issue of back budding more difficult. It would be best to spray your trees with a Fungicide spring and fall to prevent this problem. Scale you treat as it appears.

As to your next step. You have to start encouraging back budding. Not being aware of how strong and vigorous these Mugos are at this time I am hesitant to tell you to start cutting back the new growth. For the sake of caution don't do anything else to them this year. Next season allow the new growth to grow unabated until the first of July then cut all of the new growth off to a point about 1/16 of an inch above where it started in the spring.

You can only do this if you have needles left from last year and some from the year before that. This cutting back will cause the pine to produce a bunch of new buds at the base of many of the old needles. These will in turn will produce new growth in the following spring that is short and tight. That should be enough to chew on for a while.

Do not remove a bunch of needles like the Black Pine crowd will tell you to do. You will hear that this is a two needle Pine and you must do this, or you must do that. Mugos are two-needle Pines but they react differently than JBP>

__________________
The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa