Collecting Pine

Darren

I have some sort of pine growing in the ground that I want to collect and put in a 2' grow box. It has a nice 2" trunk, so I want to perform a trunk chop also. Is it possible to perform the trunk chop and collect at the same time, or will this surely kill the tree?

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A trunk chop with collection might be possible; it might even be the only practical way. Every tree is different and if it's in rocky ground it's anyone's guess what the state of the root system might be or how compact. Older trees are less amenable to collection, young trees usually are very resilient.

Leave a generous stub when you cut the trunk, because the sap will probably withdraw. Leaving a eight or ten inches might be a good idea.

BTW - trees collected from the sandy growing fields in Nipomo, CA are all trunk chopped when they are collected. They are usually 2" trunks above a 4 or even 5" base. They are vigorous Japanese Black Pine Mikawa variety, and under ten years old. Most around 5.

BTW, with pines, paying respect to the season is very important. It would be a good idea to do your collecting before the new candles start to open.

Regards,

Matt

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