Korean Red Pine (Pine Growth Management) (WARNING: EMBEDDED PHOTOS!)

Victrinia_Ensor

I think there's a lot of mystery involved with pines to most. Mind you... for the moment I'm excluding white pines all together, and I have very little experience with Mugo's...

BUT... if we are talking Japanese Black Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Korean Black Pine, Lodgepole Pine, and in this case Korean Red Pine.... they don't have to be a big mystery when it comes to growth management and needle reduction.

First off I would have to say... that I do not ignore the fact that what works in Washington may not work in other places, but it is food for thought, and frankly it could take a vast bit of the mystery out of how to manage the growth on these species.

There's the traditional methodology which is often taught, about the management of candles based on a calendar of weeks in the spring. As the candles are extending you are removing the candles based on size.

I propose that there is a much easier.... and equally effective methodology which can achieve back budding and insanely small needle growth.

It's something Daniel has spent a lot of time teaching me about... and which I am applying almost every weekend right now (you kind of get nailed by species in cycles in that place... first it was all the azaleas... now it's the pines...lol).

Daniel's method is pretty simple. Do not manage the candle growth in any way in the beginning of the year up until July.... even mid or end of July, feeding them about once a week from spring. When the candle has extended and pushed it's needles... just cut off all the new growth back to the point of the previous year's needles. This is a one time, take it all off the tree at once, kind of move. And then you stop feeding the trees around the same time that you removed all that new growth. It also ends up being a great time to thin the tree out and make certain that a lot of light gets into the inner foliage. If the tree has incredible vigor... or the tree was given a rest year in the last growing year for whatever reason... you can take off not only all of this years growth, but last year's also. Taking it down to even just a few needle bundles on the branch-lets, to force back that re-budding to areas you desire it.

The premise is pretty simple.... When the tree has expended nearly all of it's energy into making the new growth... removing that growth will set off a reaction in the tree to produce new buds. But... because most of it's energy has been expended into the first growths development, and it is at it's weakest, it has much less to give this second round of growth.... resulting in exceptionally small needles.

To this end... I was asked to work over this marvelous Korean Red Pine. The tree was collected by Daniel in 1962, in Korea, and brought back to the states in a duffel bag.



I have never handled this species before... and I have to tell you... I fell in love with this particular tree... it's foliage is very soft and just gorgeous. This tree is vigorously healthy... and required quite a bit of thinning of the crown to reduce congestion. The tree has beautiful ramification from this process of growth management.

The next couple of photographs are of the candle from this spring... and my removal of it all the way back to last years growth.




The next photo of the tree, is after I have thinned it (no doubt Daniel would have probably been more vigorous about it than I...lol) and removed all new growth from this year.



(sorry about the crumby shot... I was in a hurry as the camera batteries were dying... )

I have seen this method be so effective on some of Daniel's pines, that the needles can be 1/4-1/2 an inch. I didn't understand it at the time... In fact it made me wonder what species it could possibly be, because I couldn't tell by the tiny needles. But I know it works.

However for the sake of doing something interesting here... I'm going to continue to photograph and track the progress of this tree and share it here. And I may also include a Korean Black Pine that Daniel did the same process to as I was working this one.

I think this may end up being an excellent exercise for anyone who ever felt intimidated about how to manage the growth on their two needle pines.

It doesn't have to be a mystical thing...




Kindest regards to all,




Victrinia

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Ms. Vic

Le belle cose prendono tempo...

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bonsaikc

Ms. Vic.
You know we all love you. And thank you for posting such an important and well-written article.

But you have to know that some of us are on dial-up! Why embed these photos instead of uploading them?

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Victrinia_Ensor

Dearest KC...

As you may remember I am on the slowest dial-up connection on EARTH!!! 27.9 kbps... and when I have to decide between showing outstanding photographs with fine detail, and trying to resize things down to 79k.... I choose to go through the trouble and time to not only upload it all onto the net before I even start to write... but I have to load them into my computer as well, after I write the thread, when I read it myself....

It takes a huge amount of time and effort for me to do the photo spreads that I do here... along with whatever article/thread may be written.

One hopes... the time it may take for other dial up folks to look, will be well repaid by what I have to share.

And as cheesey as it sounds... if I... with my prehistoric dial up speed... can do it... you can do it....




Your dear friend in all things,

Victrinia

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Ms. Vic

Le belle cose prendono tempo...

www.elandangardens.com

zube

Ms. Vic, I'm not suggesting one way or the other, but I resize all my stuff with Corel and can put up a pretty respectable image under the 80kb limit. The only drawback is that it still displays thumbnailed. Is that what you are trying to avoid? Or is it image quality?
zube

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Victrinia_Ensor

Hehehehehe.... This is soooo not the conversation I envisioned. lol

I am not wanting to lose image quality or detail... but also I want the photographs in sequence to what is written....


Warm regards,

Victrinia

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Ms. Vic

Le belle cose prendono tempo...

www.elandangardens.com

Graydon

Those of us with DSL love the imbedded photos, so keep on doing it. Great write up and photos by the way.

What's up with the air craft cable? Are these in a high theft area? Or are they installed so you don't take them home?

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zube

This is soooo not the conversation I envisioned. lol

Sorry. How 'bout this instead - that's sure one nice pine tree! And a most unusual variety as well. Irreplacable, I'd think.

'Nite,
zube

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Sorry doesn't put thumbs back on the hand, Marge.
H. Simpson

tachigi

Hi Ms. Vic,
Great thread and pictures. I have a question though. As the tree develops and you want to tone back the back budding. In most cases you pinch earlier on when the meristem hormone is weaker. So how does his method play out in this scenario?

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Shady Side Bonsai
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irene_b

Great pics and great story.
I'm on dial-up as well.
Irene

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