All aboard the Mugo train!

[Julio-Rufo]

nice！do you mean you manage to transform nursery stock that you acquired this past spring to these? How much percentage of foliage you cut off?

Both are nursery materials. The first one was started this spring and I was a bit aggressive with the first pruning, I didn’t touch the roots much, but planted in a training pot.

It has responded quite well, creating new buds. This is how it looked like before pruning.

I acquired the second tree a few months ago. It is also from nursery material that has been trained in the last 2-3 years.

Yeah, I am also trying to follow Vance’s guidelines, even though I removed more that 50% with the first tree.

Julio

 

[Pine_nut]

Thought needlecast made the needles band orange, not yellow and you saw that mostly in spring not in summer.
I am not 100% sure though so could be wrong.

Check the undersides of those needles where they are turning yellow. Do you see any white or brown specs?

Bonide Infuse is a systemic granular fungicide

The needles look the same all the way around.

 

[Shogun610]

This Mugo pine needles hardened off and is now setting buds for next year. I feel it’s going to become a very nice tree one day. I have plans to make Jin and Shari on the right side that’s essentially deadwood already. Let the top grow out and elongate and set branches when it’s ready. Nice plated bark forming

 

[Pine_nut]

This Mugo pine needles hardened off and is now setting buds for next year. I feel it’s going to become a very nice tree one day. I have plans to make Jin and Shari on the right side that’s essentially deadwood already. Let the top grow out and elongate and set branches when it’s ready. Nice plated bark forming

Really cool tree!

 

[Pine_nut]

View attachment 387203View attachment 387204View attachment 387205Wintergold and Pumilo (spring acquisition).
Does any one have experience with Mugo var. Humpy? I recently saw a nursery tree with lots of potential.

Julio

I really like the taller one. It has great movement in the trunk that makes it very interesting!

 

[Esolin]

Crazy question here, but has anyone ever ovewintered a tree in the refrigerator? I was reminded of this method today and it always seemed silly, but I'd really like my mugo pumillo to survive here in zone 10, and for just one small tree, it's a viable option in terms of fridge space. The questions then are, how long do I leave it in (chill hour requirements)?, and do I seal it up to keep the fridge from dehydrating it, or just keep 'watering' it in there?

Yup, I think I've truly gone bonsai crazy to be considering this, but I'm wiling to try it.

 

[A. Gorilla]

Crazy question here, but has anyone ever ovewintered a tree in the refrigerator? I was reminded of this method today and it always seemed silly, but I'd really like my mugo pumillo to survive here in zone 10, and for just one small tree, it's a viable option in terms of fridge space. The questions then are, how long do I leave it in (chill hour requirements)?, and do I seal it up to keep the fridge from dehydrating it, or just keep 'watering' it in there?

Yup, I think I've truly gone bonsai crazy to be considering this, but I'm wiling to try it

Some guy here (Anthony) from the carribean maintains that he did it for seed grown japanese black pine.

.

 

[Paradox]

Nope
Gets cold enough here that the good Ole outdoors in a cold frame works just fine

 

[Nickagainst1]

Here's mine. Afraid it may be suffering from noob bonsai handler. Trying to leave it the heck alone and let it recoup. But I love this little tree.

 

[Vance Wood]

You need to leave it alone for at least a year. It looks pretty dry, make sure you are watering it properly, they don't like to be soggy but they do need water to keep circulating through the soil. It would also help if you review the information about this tree found on this site. Too often I see the end result of a lot of improper things performed at the wrong time of year done by people, who at the end, are looking for absolution and redemption. You have the possibility for a nice tree but you have to learn to leave it alone and give it time to develop.

 

[Nickagainst1]

You need to leave it alone for at least a year. It looks pretty dry, make sure you are watering it properly, they don't like to be soggy but they do need water to keep circulating through the soil. It would also help if you review the information about this tree found on this site. Too often I see the end result of a lot of improper things performed at the wrong time of year done by people, who at the end, are looking for absolution and redemption. You have the possibility for a nice tree but you have to learn to leave it alone and give it time to develop.

Heard. And yes I discovered this place and read your amazing source guide on mugos about a 2 months too late but patience will win the day I'm hoping. Thank you for the breadth of the knowledge being shared here .

 

[Moridin]

A little browning of needles after the repot but it seems to be doing good

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Crazy question here, but has anyone ever ovewintered a tree in the refrigerator? I was reminded of this method today and it always seemed silly, but I'd really like my mugo pumillo to survive here in zone 10, and for just one small tree, it's a viable option in terms of fridge space. The questions then are, how long do I leave it in (chill hour requirements)?, and do I seal it up to keep the fridge from dehydrating it, or just keep 'watering' it in there?

Yup, I think I've truly gone bonsai crazy to be considering this, but I'm wiling to try it.

I have not done it myself, but have seen a set up or two where it was done. Both were large walk in coolers, where the grower set up light stands with lights on a 10 hour cycle and FANS on 24 / 7.

Ideal for winter storage temperature must be below 40 F for at least 900 hours. In a refrigerator, as in for food, temperature control is not very good. If the refrigerator is set at 38 F, every time someone opens the door, the temp may climb into the 50's, and if you have a teenager in the house, the door is open while they decide, temps may climb to upper 60;s. These temperature variations can be frequent enough that the tree doesn't maintain dormancy. Lack of air movement, and overly dry air in the refrigerator can be problems too.

If you can stay up on watering, sometimes the spare refrigerator where you keep beer, in the garage might actually work.

 

[Esolin]

I have not done it myself, but have seen a set up or two where it was done. Both were large walk in coolers, where the grower set up light stands with lights on a 10 hour cycle and FANS on 24 / 7.

Ideal for winter storage temperature must be below 40 F for at least 900 hours. In a refrigerator, as in for food, temperature control is not very good. If the refrigerator is set at 38 F, every time someone opens the door, the temp may climb into the 50's, and if you have a teenager in the house, the door is open while they decide, temps may climb to upper 60;s. These temperature variations can be frequent enough that the tree doesn't maintain dormancy. Lack of air movement, and overly dry air in the refrigerator can be problems too.

If you can stay up on watering, sometimes the spare refrigerator where you keep beer, in the garage might actually work.

Thanks for the great info! Thankfully I don't have to worry about a teenager, but yes, still a lot of issues to consider. I do also have access to a chest freezer which would certainly stay cold enough, but I'd still be dealing with a lack of light / poor air circulation. And that might be too cold if the roots freeze.

Well, I think I'll still give the fridge a shot. Worst that can happen is the tree dies, and without dormancy that's likely to be it's fate regardless. I guess I have until late December to figure this out.

 

[LindaPat]

Baby mugos. This is their second summer. I cut their tap roots when i transplanted them in their first fall. They are still in potting soil. I lost all but one transplanting a bunch of seedlings to bonsai soil their first fall a few years ago. So waiting this time. Should I put in bonsai soil this fall? This is about half of them and some putting out little clumps of new needles, some with clusters of buds

 

[just.wing.it]

I fell off the Mugo Train several times now.....just fell right off the back, smashed my head on the ground and rolled down the tracks.....and though I'm beaten, I'm not giving up!
Mugo Pine Bonsai WILL happen in my yard dammit!

Ok....well, its a local garden center find, I dug around in several and was finding several plants planted together in pot after pot.
Though it looked similar from the outside, when I dug around in this one, I didn't even need to look, felt that single fat trunk, and it went home with me.
All I did this year was remove unwanted branches to what you see, and I scraped away about an inch or 2 of the top soil, attempting to find a nebari...not sure whats really hiding under there yet.... but I need to HBR this Mugo in the spring, so we'll get a better idea then.

It has loads of buds near the ends of the branches, both terminal buds and some behind them down the branches. so I plan to let it grow wild until fathers day next year and then do the HBR and cut back all the new growth.....then watch my back buds form all year.
Gotta chase it back a bunch to compact it.

I've also been considering slowly removing all but one sub-trunk and then developing a more traditional pine-tree-like pine tree bonsai....but for now, the wildness and weirdness of this tree is fun to look at.

 

[vienna1201]

I went hiking today in Lower Austria and want to share the abundance of mugo crazy here:

 

[vienna1201]

... And I have a Mugo #2 now

 

[sorce]

Sorce

 

[Jiminsauga]

Mugo - Sherwood Compact.

This cultivar as far as I know only comes grafted, even still, it's hard to pass up a tree that says it wants to be a bonsai.



I did some light clean up of dead branches and removed sets of three branch ends and yet it still very full. No large branch removals at this stage.

Just to help set direction for next year I wired the first branch in place, nothing more.