Well, here I go again

crankykitty

My two trees did not make it through the winter. I'm sure that I did something wrong but I've decided to give it another go. The fertilizer I have been using on my houseplants didn't seem to agree with the juniper was I think was the catalyst to its demise. Sooooooo last week I went to a local nursey that only grows thier own stock out of native species. What a concept for miss boxwood in zone 4a! I really just wanted a juniper but I also saw these adorable baby mugos. Of course I'm the queen of self restraint.....

Anyway, I now have this very young ( this was it's 2nd spring) little mugo that talked me into bringing it home. Upon reading today, I'm seeing that not only are pines not the best choice for a newbie, but the mugos are also a little finicky. Yay me!! I've been looking at pics trying to decide how to style it but I'm confused where to begin. Should I work on branches first or should I focus on roots ( I promise to not touch any part of it until august)? And as far as pruning and such, it's almost all "candles" ( if I'm understanding the term correctly) and the lower part of the branches is covered with needles as well. Are those needles to be romoved? Or should I just let the poor thing grow up some before I start?

Any tips, websites or book recommendations would be appreciated.

M

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Do not take your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

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anttal63

hey kit sorry to hear ya juni didnt make it . mugo's r good dont be scared. vance wood and hans vanmeer have some good reading on mugos. what you do now depends on how big you want it. post a photo when you can.

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Antonio . . .
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zube

M.,
Here's one of Vance's threads on mugos. Lots to read. You probably picked the best pine to start with, show no fear!
Good luck,
zube

http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/f14/cul...pines-9631.html

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

crankykitty

anttal, I was sorry too I have a soft spot for junipers but my new friend is much more robust. Lesson learned, no more online ordering for this girl lol. I'd like this mugo to get to be 4 or so feet tall when all is said and done.

thanks zube! I got pretty nervous after reading about pines and I'll check out that thread.

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Do not take your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

Mcspeed

- hope I am still around in 25 -30 years when you show us the finished version.

A 4' mugho bonsai from a seedling is going to take some serious time to accomplish. Plant it in the ground now if that is truely what you want, protect you lower branches for future use.

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If at first you don't succeed -- skydiving is not for you.


Always remember that you're unique -- just like everyone else

Enjoy this day.
Bill

anttal63

fear not kitty you will have a decent tree in much less time than macspeed would like you think. and remember a tree is never finished. how ever he is right about putting it into the ground or a large enough grow pot, dont be in a hurry to put it into a little bonsai tray. enjoy every stage of it .

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Antonio . . .
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crankykitty

Yuppers it will. I'll be moving around some over the next year so no ground time for this little guy this year but I'll keep that in mind. It's bigger than 4" though, it's closer to a foot or so tall from top of pot to highest branch. Since I can't "ground" it yet, I'm still trying to decide what I should do next. I have some really bad pics but they might give you an idea of what I'm working with.





Anttal- I'm in no rush with this guy. It does need to come out of the nursery pot, I noticed it's terribly rootbound. Maybe one of those growing pots I keep hearing so much about?

__________________
Do not take your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

zube

Well Kitty, this won't be what you want to hear, but I'll say it anyway. You will be much better off to buy a bigger tree to start with from a nursery. Read Vance's posts. You need to shop for the trunk mainly. Mugos are very common, so you can look at hundreds of them in the spring if you hit multiple nurseries. For less than $20 you can save yourself ten years of time. If you want to grow the little tree, by all means do so. But get something bigger as well. Years down the road you will realize it was good advice.
Take care,
zube

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

anttal63

with this one for a start perhaps try to arrange branches in an alternating form and get some bends going wot you think and see? zube 2 instead of 1 not a bad idea either.

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Antonio . . .
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