Big mugho pine action plan

kestutisg

Hello everybody,

I bought this Pinus mugo var. mughus last year before winter at a garden trade show, the trunk was buried ~5 inches in the pot so I found some nice taper (as expected ).

I want to start learning pine training techniques and this is my first pine (probably too big for starters, but that’s what I have).

Some info on the tree:

- grown as a garden tree, root ball is growing in clay in a burlap bag, seems to have been put in the pot with some soil around and on top just before sale. I removed some of the soil and the bag while digging for the nebari
- the pot (after I trimmed it) is ~ 7 inches deep
- the tree has a nearly straight (tapering) section of ~9 inches and then there is a “flare” of branches
- the base is 4 inches in diameter, at the “flare” – 1 1/4 inches
- there are some low branches (at ~3 inches and 4 inches height), they are not particularly strong
- most of the branches seem to have grown very vigorously last year – new growth is 7 to 10 inches long
- top branches have 5-6 buds on the tips and side branches – 3 – 4 buds
- on most branches there are also needles on the 2 year old wood.
- the total height from the rim of the pot is ~ 35 inches

I know the basics of styling pines (at one workshop, the guy next to me was doing a pine – plucking old needles, getting foliage “fans” on the tips and then arranging them), but those pines were pre-prepared for bonsai styling. What I have on my hands is raw stock, which, I thinks needs to be prepared for 2 or more years before the basic styling can be performed (in the meantime I think I’ll get more pines with better branching and soil to practice on but since I have this tree I need move it forward).

I’ve read Brent’s articles on black pine growing and training, Vance Wood’s articles on roots and post on mughos and “Black pine from nursery stock” series (bonsai today online), Randy Clark’s articles and most pine posts on this forum.

There is quite much information but what I haven’t found is an action plan for general nursery-grown pine trees such as this. So I’d need Your help in deciding on the plan.

The first step would be to decide between the 2 options, which will affect the action plan for this tree for 2006 and 2007 – work on the roots OR work on the branches. After selecting either option there are some particular questions, which I’m seeking answers to. I would very much appreciate if the pine experts on this forum could help me out (perhaps also provide some additional information, if time permits).

So here are the options:

Option 1 – focus on freeing the roots in 2006. I have some questions here too

1. should I bare-root the whole root ball or only half?
2. If only half – can I still work on other part of the roots this year (in autumn)?
3. If do work on the roots this Spring, can I trim the new growth of 2006 this autumn (I wouldn’t want to get the tree totally out of control)?
4. Will the tree grow happily in the clay for another 1-2 years if I don’t work on the roots now?
5. When I wash out the root ball (half or full), should I also prune some roots or just arrange them?
6. If I prune some roots, should I also reduce some foliage?
7. If I put half of the root ball into new (fast-draining) soil, are there any implications for watering (i.e. I wouldn’t want to rot the part of the roots that stays in the clay).

Option 2 – focus on backbudding in 2006 and on roots in 2007.

1. Most sources recommend September/October for hard pruning pines. Is it OK (will it work) if I do it now before the tree starts growing in the Spring?
2. should I prune ALL branches at once or phase this work in 2 years (top branches in 2006, side branches in 2007)? In 2007, I would assume then 2-years’ growth on the side branches will have to be removed?
3. should I prune top branches more than the lower (I don’t intend to prune on the weak lowest branches at all until they are strong)
4. should I pluck the needles to let more sun and air in to promote backbudding (leaving 5-6 pairs) or should I leave them all on the branches? I know that I have to leave at least some of the needles to keep the sap flowing, what I’m unsure of – should I remove any needles at all besides cutting the last year’s growth?
5. should I also do some light pruning on the weak bottom branches? Like, pinch the buds?
6. should I fertilize heavily after the heavy pruning?
7. should I leave longer stubs on top branches than on side branches or vice versa?
8. when pruning last years growth on a branch, should I remove all of it or only the “terminal” shoot (see my drawing)? If all – should I make the cuts below or above the whorl?

Thank you everyone for your time and help.


Best wishes,

Kestutis

Attached Images

	Mugho - overall.jpg (62.9 KB, 184 views)
	Mugho - detail.jpg (69.0 KB, 240 views)
	drastic pruning options2.gif (43.8 KB, 119 views)

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DavidN

Hi Kestutis
I'm sure lots of other people will give you advice on this very good material.
I live in a very different climate to you so I can't give you advice on when to schedule your root pruning and so on. What I can tell you is that I bought a similar piece of material about 6 years ago and it was growing in a clay soil in a heshin bag.

I remember removing some of the clay soil and then filling it in with new soil. I did hard prune the top and all major branches at the same time, but my climate allows me to do this heavy work. I selected all my major branches and cut the rest leaving stubs. I remember paying particular attention to the top of the tree where there was a heavy whorl of branches, similar to yours. I actually removed all but one branch in the top which I wired up to be my apex.

Over the next couple of years I replaced all the clay soil and worked on refinement. All the major branches were selected in the first hard styling and all I needed to do was work on refining the branches.

I'll have to get a recent photo of it to show you where it is at now as your starting material was very similar to what I started out with.

Good luck.
David

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Bonsai Northwest Inc, Melbourne, Australia

Bonsai Flora Nursery in Yarraville, Melbourne

DavidN

Kestutis
If you are still checking these forums here is what my mugo looks like now. I started of with very similar stock that you have and it took several years to get to this stage. I think around 5 years ago I bought the stock. I never took a photo of the mugo before. I think you can achieve results a lot quickier than me as I neglected this tree quite a bit. It still has a long way to go especially the roots and the bend in the trunk but you can see that such a large over-grown mugo pine can be reduced.
Best of luck
David

Attached Images

	1030mugo.jpg (39.5 KB, 133 views)
	mugopine.jpg (65.8 KB, 154 views)

__________________
Bonsai Northwest Inc, Melbourne, Australia

Bonsai Flora Nursery in Yarraville, Melbourne