A little something I collected today.

Walter Pall said:
The usage of sand has nothing to do with Jack Pines specifically. Scots pines in Europe often grow in pure fine sand. And still it is very bad to plant them into this medium.

You will be surprised: I own six Jack Pines which are better material than I have ever seen in person with my students or on the net. Seventy years ago the Polish government decided to plant something on the huge gravel mountains around the coal pits. They tried out every conifer in the world. One batch was a couple hundred Jack Pines. Now these are big old trees. Many did not do well. These are very good bonsai material. So we have very good Jack Pines here.

Jack pines are treated exactly as Scots pines - it is that simple.

i know that in America there are endless Jack Pines growing in some areas. Why are there so few as bonsai? Because the vast majority die after collection. Same with Scots pines from sand! It took me ten years and to find out that Scots pines from sand are almost always dying and one better takes them from rocks or from the bogs.
Click to expand...
But from everything I know I'm not supposed to bare root a conifer at time of collection.
Am I wrong?
All of the Jack's I've ever gotten to survive collection stayed in the sand for a year or more.
Any that I had where the sand fell off died.
What is proper aftercare?
The larches fare better after collection with native soil on them too.
 
Great find Mike! These jack pines need to be used and learned by all of us in the North East, great potential!
 
Walter Pall said:
I think that's very true. It does not mean, however, that the trees prefer sand and peat. They would much rather grow in good soil. In a container one should not use fine sand or peat as growing medium even if the tree before grew exactly in this kind of stuff.
Click to expand...
I agree. Sometimes nature can show us the limits of a tree's tolerance. This does not mean that this is how they have to grow. A good example is the BristleCone Pine. It normally grows above 9,000ft. because it is at this altitude where the beetle does not get it easily. It also grows in dolimetic limestone another unnecessary condition. It also prefers a dry condition at that altitude.
 
Why does modern substrate and not bare rooting have to be mutually exclusive? When I collect spruce I leave the root ball intact and use modern substrate to fill in the space in the container. When I repot almost all the new roots are in the new soil, not the old stuff. But that is just my experience.
 
Could be the find of a lifetime. Don’t let the voles get to it, pay someone to overwinter it in a cold greenhouse somewhere near you. Awesome, awesome tree, better than most of the jack pines collected up north here.
 
Saddler said:
Why does modern substrate and not bare rooting have to be mutually exclusive? When I collect spruce I leave the root ball intact and use modern substrate to fill in the space in the container. When I repot almost all the new roots are in the new soil, not the old stuff. But that is just my experience.
Click to expand...
It isnt.
I knock a little sand out o
Cosmos said:
Could be the find of a lifetime. Don’t let the voles get to it, pay someone to overwinter it in a cold greenhouse somewhere near you. Awesome, awesome tree, better than most of the jack pines collected up north here.
Click to expand...
If it recovers from collection it will likely get it's own cage.
It is pretty cool.
I'll be finding more.
Found one last year but it's only about a foot away from the trunk of a large oak. I'm awfully sure I would be a losing venture to dig it out. Got to pick your battles.
I'll find more I'm sure.
I live in jack pine central and have only skimmed the surface.
 
Hi @M. Frary I didnt see this one first time around. She is a beauty! I agree it is hard to get these in modern substrate at the time of collection. They are in such sandy soil around here that to not try and pot them in the native soil you would be dealing with a 100% bareroot which has happened to me on accident many times with Jack Pines. Each time that happens it dies. Each time I plant them completely in the native soil for 2 years they seem to survive with no issue at all.

Imagine a kids playbox sand with a pine tree growing in it, that is nearly what we are dealing with here. :). Your Jack is better than what I find and I love seeing this because it gives me hope. There have to be some great ones out there.
 
mattspiniken said:
Hi @M. Frary I didnt see this one first time around. She is a beauty! I agree it is hard to get these in modern substrate at the time of collection. They are in such sandy soil around here that to not try and pot them in the native soil you would be dealing with a 100% bareroot which has happened to me on accident many times with Jack Pines. Each time that happens it dies. Each time I plant them completely in the native soil for 2 years they seem to survive with no issue at all.

Imagine a kids playbox sand with a pine tree growing in it, that is nearly what we are dealing with here. :). Your Jack is better than what I find and I love seeing this because it gives me hope. There have to be some great ones out there.
Click to expand...
I repotted the Jack you gave me for the first time this summer and is't doing great. I put it into a pond basket with my bonsai soil mix.
 
mattspiniken said:
Hi @M. Frary I didnt see this one first time around. She is a beauty! I agree it is hard to get these in modern substrate at the time of collection. They are in such sandy soil around here that to not try and pot them in the native soil you would be dealing with a 100% bareroot which has happened to me on accident many times with Jack Pines. Each time that happens it dies. Each time I plant them completely in the native soil for 2 years they seem to survive with no issue at all.

Imagine a kids playbox sand with a pine tree growing in it, that is nearly what we are dealing with here. :). Your Jack is better than what I find and I love seeing this because it gives me hope. There have to be some great ones out there.
Click to expand...
I have my eyes on some more like it.
This one didn't make it.
It was sickly to begin with.
I've been out fertilizing the others to get them healthy for digging.
 
Vance Wood said:
I repotted the Jack you gave me for the first time this summer and is't doing great. I put it into a pond basket with my bonsai soil mix.
Click to expand...
I helped,remember?
It was in a brick of sand.
I was wondering how it took the move.
We actually went harder at that one than any other I've done.
That's great news Vance!
 
M. Frary said:
I have my eyes on some more like it.
This one didn't make it.
It was sickly to begin with.
I've been out fertilizing the others to get them healthy for digging.
Click to expand...
Same over here, the best one I collected this spring died. I have a few that I have dug around the root ball and amended the soil out in the "wild". Hopefully that won't really be needed but I thought it was worth a try. Hopefully you will post a few new ones and have some success next year.
 
mattspiniken said:
Same over here, the best one I collected this spring died. I have a few that I have dug around the root ball and amended the soil out in the "wild". Hopefully that won't really be needed but I thought it was worth a try. Hopefully you will post a few new ones and have some success next year.
Click to expand...
I found this along a snowmobile trail over toward Lewiston.
Got a little twitchy when I saw it and went for it.
There are more along those trails.
Also I believe I should have reduced the canopy at time of collection.
By about half.
 
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