Pinus Rigida - 3 needle pine

Jay

Thought I'd ask for some advise. I collected a Pinus Rigida from Cape Cod a week ago. I've been working this tree for the prior two years so as to get it ready to collect. Each time I visited the tree in the wild (OK my sister-in-laws property) I would place a spade into the ground in several places around the tree. This happened 3 times.

When I collected the tree it had some feeder roots near the trunk that were collected. This tree is very nice and I want to give it a good chance for survival. I placed it into a grow box and do not know which of two logics hold...

1- leave as much foliage as possible to help the tree grow new roots.
2- cut back the obvious unwanted parts to not stress the tree.

I do not know which is the proper course of action. Can someone help with some thoughts?

Jay

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Advertisement

gregb

It's hard to be specific without the benefit of a photo. Current practice with pines is to leave as much foliage on as is practical; if the tree was 20' tall and had a nice full branch one foot off the ground, I'd top it and go with the lowest branch as my tree. Remember that the branches you cut off have been feeding the tree. If your tree consists of a few spindly branches, keep them all.

I can tell you what I do with a newly collected pine; I try to save all the branches I can until I know the tree will survive (until it buds) While the tree is acclimating is the time I use to decide which branches, if any, will be pruned off. DON'T BE HASTY! Unstudied pruning is impossible to reverse

Jay

Thanks for your input. I've attached three pictures of this tree. As you can see there is a new branch very low that I'm sure will be kept, possible to restyle the tree around. Does this help with my original question of what to do?

As for the long term on this tree. I will allow it to recover for a couple of years and then decide if I want to sell it or keep it. The answer to that question will depend on my feeling of my ability at that point. At this point I do not have any true conifers (less one white cedar) and I feel I do not (at this time) have the knowledge to do this tree justice.

Jay

Attached Images

	Pine.jpg (66.5 KB, 96 views)
	pine1.jpg (68.3 KB, 75 views)
	pine3.jpg (38.8 KB, 61 views)

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

gregb

The pictures are a big help--I would not prune any foliage off at this time. I can see that you want to eliminate the long straight part eventually in favor of the lower trunk, which has all the movement. But the foliage is all out on the end with the exception of the one branch closer to the base. Keep all the branches for now and fertilize well through the growing season; they will help to strengthen the tree. If all goes well and growth is good, you can begin to chase the foliage back closer to the trunk. Grafting may be an option for you to get branches lower down on the trunk while you are whittling the branches further out closer in to the trunk. Are you close to nurseries that offer workshops? It would be a great help to you to take the tree to a "bring your own tree" workshop with an experienced professional.

Jay

Your points are well taken. I will not touch the foilage at this time.
I will let the tree adjust/survive to having been collected. I will leave it be as is for now, feeding it in a couple of weeks. At the moment it is in morning sun only, will move it to a sunny spot in a week or two.

I do have my club to fall back on and Mill Brook Bonsai (nursery). When I know it has adjusted I will surely bring it there. Hopefully David Easterbrook from Montreal will be by and I will draw on his expertise. Just didn't want to bother him till I know it will survive.

Thanks for the advise
Jay

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

rockm

Pitch pine is one of the only pines that will bud back on very old wood pretty easily, even when all the foliage has been removed. This is true for healthy plants. This one needs alot of recovery time.

I'd wait for a couple of years before doing anything to it. It's loose foilage suggests it's not strong at all.

Marty Schmalenberg, in Pennsylvania, I think, is an expert on this species.