The Vance Wood Memorial Mugo 4yr. Contest

Messages
377
Reaction score
486
Location
Eastern MA, USA
USDA Zone
5B
I’m happy to give this a shot. Never grown mugo but I know of a landscape nursery that has ones not too terribly setup for bonsai. Would be a good learning opportunity
 

Dabbler

Shohin
Messages
338
Reaction score
502
i'm in - don't know if I can find any but I get what I can
 
Messages
402
Reaction score
1,699
Location
Milwaukee, WI
USDA Zone
5b
I'm interested! I'm at the 1 in 1 out point of bonsai so I'll have to take a few trees to the next club meeting to offload which I probably should do anyway.
 

The Barber

Shohin
Messages
294
Reaction score
981
Location
Kentucky
USDA Zone
6
Count me in, I have several already, sadly I just chopped one all to pieces that would have been awesome. Unless it still counts lol
 

Kaleb

Seedling
Messages
23
Reaction score
14
Maybe I am over thinking this but what size would we start out with?
 

Brian Van Fleet

Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Messages
14,005
Reaction score
46,245
Location
B’ham, AL
USDA Zone
8A
I’ll give it a try. I sparred with Vance on more than one occasion about the viability of repotting a pine in July in the South, but have not actually tried it. I might be out in a few months, but I’ll find one and give it a shot.
 

JeffS73

Shohin
Messages
422
Reaction score
786
Location
South Yorkshire, UK
USDA Zone
8b
I always enjoyed Vance's posts.
I've had this the ground as a landscape tree since about 2018. No idea what the trunk is like, the location was never very good so I will dig it up and make of it what I can, I'm in!

20240325_160136.jpg
 

cishepard

Shohin
Messages
353
Reaction score
710
Location
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
USDA Zone
8
Count me in, I have several already, sadly I just chopped one all to pieces that would have been awesome. Unless it still counts lol
If you just did the work in the last few weeks and you have a “before” photo, then I’ll say yes, it can count.
 

Gabler

Masterpiece
Messages
2,524
Reaction score
3,535
Location
The Delmarva Peninsula
USDA Zone
7a
I have a job, so it looks like I'm not going to be able to water often enough to grow a Mugo. I tend to keep thirsty trees in wet soil, since I can't just go home and water in the middle of the day. Most thirsty trees are fine with wet soil. Apparently, Mugos are not.

@Vance Wood said:
Mugos cannot stay dry like other pines. They need to be watered constantly; sometimes two to three times a day when it's hot. However, they cannot sit in wet soil.
 

TrevorLarsen

Shohin
Messages
423
Reaction score
696
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
USDA Zone
7a
Just to be clear it has to be purchased from a nursery this year to count right? Some people are talking about trees already in the ground so I want to make sure that we are all on the same page. Also I believe part of Vance’s guide is that one should use pond baskets not ground grow Mugo.
 

cishepard

Shohin
Messages
353
Reaction score
710
Location
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
USDA Zone
8
Let’s stick with the original rules and say it should be a nursery tree starting off this spring in a nursery pot. If you bought one previously and it is still in the pot with no work done on it then it will be acceptable. This way everyone is staring off with essentially the same material. Any size to start with is acceptable as well, as is the final bonsai size.
 

Paradox

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
9,468
Reaction score
11,735
Location
Long Island, NY
USDA Zone
7a
I have a job, so it looks like I'm not going to be able to water often enough to grow a Mugo. I tend to keep thirsty trees in wet soil, since I can't just go home and water in the middle of the day. Most thirsty trees are fine with wet soil. Apparently, Mugos are not.

@Vance Wood said:
Honestly....I've never had to water anything 3x a day. When temps are above 90 I might water 2x a day. My watering system goes off every morning before work and if I need to, I run it for 10 minutes after I get home using a manual setting that runs it for the specified time then shuts if off.
 

The Barber

Shohin
Messages
294
Reaction score
981
Location
Kentucky
USDA Zone
6
If you just did the work in the last few weeks and you have a “before” photo, then I’ll say yes, it can count.
No before photo, it was a small bush and needed cut back hard and I didn't even think about it. No worries though, I have others I recently purchased, this one was definitely my favorite though.
 

TrevorLarsen

Shohin
Messages
423
Reaction score
696
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
USDA Zone
7a
I have a job, so it looks like I'm not going to be able to water often enough to grow a Mugo. I tend to keep thirsty trees in wet soil, since I can't just go home and water in the middle of the day. Most thirsty trees are fine with wet soil. Apparently, Mugos are not.

@Vance Wood said:

I have only watered my Mugos once a day in the morning and they have done great. I have one in a nursery container 2 in pond baskets with perlite and coco with a sphagnum top dressing. I repotted in the summer like Vance said and I live in Utah so it’s pretty extreme heat and lack of humidity. But maybe I have just been lucky.
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
Messages
13,120
Reaction score
30,217
Location
SE MI- Bonsai'd for 12 years both MA and N GA
USDA Zone
6a
I have a job, so it looks like I'm not going to be able to water often enough to grow a Mugo. I tend to keep thirsty trees in wet soil, since I can't just go home and water in the middle of the day. Most thirsty trees are fine with wet soil. Apparently, Mugos are not.

@Vance Wood said:
I think you and I will be finding out just how thirsty Mugos really are. I pretty much water all my trees, including JWP, JBP, Scots pine, junipers, spruce, flowering quince, ivy, maples, crab apples, ume, etc.- just once daily unless it's quiet hot and breezy with low humidity. Only then will I water more than once, and usually just the D trees. I don't water my maples 2-3 times/day and you can bet I won't be watering a Mugo like that either... and if I'm no longer actively participating in this contest in 1-2 years, y'all now know why:p.
 

PaulC

Seed
Messages
2
Reaction score
5
I bought a nursery Mugo (my first) last week and on my way out grabbed another from the discount shelf. Unfortunately the latter turned out to be about eight plants bunched together so not much potential there yet but I'll have a closer look at both tomorrow and see what I've got.
 
Top Bottom