Black Pine Seedling Cuttings

[markyscott]

LOL I changed it hours ago. I should have said something

Thank you. Who knows what might have happened if that date had stayed wrong. Human sacrifice? Dogs and cats living together? Mass hysteria? Anything is possible.

S

 

[markyscott]

Root over rock update.

 

[markyscott]

Here’s how I start exposed root JBP plantings - I’ve really liked the results I’ve gotten in a fairly short time with the batch I documented in this thread. So I’m starting another batch. I start with a couple of pots - this year I’m using 5.5” mum round pots.

 

[markyscott]

I cut out the bottom of both pots and wire them together (the tape is just there to hold them together temporarily while I get them secured).

 

[markyscott]

Then I fill a pond basket with bonsai soil and secure the stacked 5.5” pots to the top of the soil with wire.

 

[markyscott]

Then I fill the stacked pots with large lava rock. I use the lava stone you get for grills - it’s available at any box store. You want the big voids between the stones - don’t put any smaller medium between the larger stones. The idea is that the roots will extend down through the stones into the soil below. You want the twists and turns.

 

[markyscott]

On the very top I put a bit of soil - this is just to keep the tree alive until the roots get down into the pond basket. I like to use a seedling cutting like this - lots of roots available to start extending down into the big lava rock. Then I work the soil into the roots and water it in. For the next 2-3 of seasons - fertilize heavily and let a sacrifice shoot extend. The roots will colonize the pond basket quickly - during the first season. The more growth and the longer you wait, the more roots you will have in the lava rock. Then you can start exposing the roots - do it over 2-3 seasons. Once they’re exposed you can bend the exposed roots as a unit to get the look you’re going for. That’s all there is to it - a fun and rewarding project!

 

[Millard B.]

I recently bought a 7 gallon Japanese Black Pine Witches Broom. Over 3/4s of the many branches will need to be removed to cut it back to a hard line. I just started applying airlayers on the larger branches using Dip-N-Grow undiluted and damp spagnum moss with SuperThrive added, starting at the top and working downwards to get more sunlight to the inside branches. I estimate that over 50+ branches will have to be removed. This might make good use of the Airlayers if they are successful. This has JBP rootstock with a JBP scion grafted to it about 8" above the soil level, it has bad reverse taper at the graft that will need to be carved out over several years. In 2020 I put cleft grafts on JBP rootstock with Pinus Clausa Witches Broom scions, I had two that made it, it has 1.25" needles without any reduction! I just bought two dozen JBP seedlings in 3" bulb pans that are waking up this week, I'm gonna try your technique with the new seedlings and leftover 3 year seedlings, I have everything except for the BBQ lava rocks. I'm located in zone 10b that is towards the south end of JBPs range. I'm gonna try using both large size BBQ lava and use 1/4" red lava as I have over (30 ) 20 lb bags of 1/4" lava as a control.
Thanks for passing your knowledge to All !
Millard

 

[Maiden69]

@markyscott when you were in Houston, when would be the earliest/latest you would do a hard prune on a JBP? I was watching Mirai last month and Ryan said that doing the hard prune now (before candles start to open) would be good because the tree will just push growth without any issues. I repotted 5 of my JBP this year, so I will be waiting till summer to see how they react to it before touching them again, but I have 2 that I will like to re-direct the energy into a new sacrifice branch.

 

[markyscott]

@markyscott when you were in Houston, when would be the earliest/latest you would do a hard prune on a JBP? I was watching Mirai last month and Ryan said that doing the hard prune now (before candles start to open) would be good because the tree will just push growth without any issues. I repotted 5 of my JBP this year, so I will be waiting till summer to see how they react to it before touching them again, but I have 2 that I will like to re-direct the energy into a new sacrifice branch.

In Houston, you have some flexibility. I always thought the best time was late winter/early spring. In Houston, however, I’m not sure there is ever really that much of a dormant season and the weeks between late fall/early winter and late winter/early spring can be counted on one hand with fingers to spare. I’d be comfortable hard pruning anytime between late December and early February. I also pruned larger branches around decandling time (early to mid July). If you wait too long in the summer though, the tree will just set buds rather than extending summer candles. In summary, the main times I avoided hard pruning were late summer/early fall (late August-early December) and late spring/early summer (March-June) as the spring shoots were extending.

 

[Maiden69]

In Houston, you have some flexibility. I always thought the best time was late winter/early spring. In Houston, however, I’m not sure there is ever really that much of a dormant season and the weeks between late fall/early winter and late winter/early spring can be counted on one hand with fingers to spare. I’d be comfortable hard pruning anytime between late December and early February. I also pruned larger branches around decandling time (early to mid July). If you wait too long in the summer though, the tree will just set buds rather than extending summer candles. In summary, the main times I avoided hard pruning were late summer/early fall (late August-early December) and late spring/early summer (March-June) as the spring shoots were extending.

Thanks, I guess I am a little late for doing what I planned. I will wait till June/July to see how the trees respond and then work on them if necessary. Ryan also mentioned that pruning Aug-Oct helps when you want to set buds for the next season, glad to know it is around the same time frame here.

 

[markyscott]

2023 batch.

 

[markyscott]

Seedlings ready for cutting.

I have a little experiment planned for this batch. I’ll start all the cuttings out the same (a 2 minute soak in dip n grow at 5x dilution). I’ll keep all the cuttings at the same light level and temperature with bottom heat. But I’ll start the cuttings in 3 different medium. I have peat moss plugs, rock wool and a 80/20 perlite/coconut coir mix. I’ll keep them all under humidity domes and we’ll see which medium works best for me.

 

[wheatcherryowl]

Thanks for sharing those awesome resources for growing Japanese Black Pine seedlings. It's always great to find a fun and inexpensive project to work on, and this seems like a perfect one. I love the idea of growing from seed, and it's inspiring to see the progress you've made with your own seedlings. It's true that not all seeds will sprout, but it's still exciting to see what develops.

 

[markyscott]

I recently bought a 7 gallon Japanese Black Pine Witches Broom. Over 3/4s of the many branches will need to be removed to cut it back to a hard line. I just started applying airlayers on the larger branches using Dip-N-Grow undiluted and damp spagnum moss with SuperThrive added, starting at the top and working downwards to get more sunlight to the inside branches. I estimate that over 50+ branches will have to be removed. This might make good use of the Airlayers if they are successful. This has JBP rootstock with a JBP scion grafted to it about 8" above the soil level, it has bad reverse taper at the graft that will need to be carved out over several years. In 2020 I put cleft grafts on JBP rootstock with Pinus Clausa Witches Broom scions, I had two that made it, it has 1.25" needles without any reduction! I just bought two dozen JBP seedlings in 3" bulb pans that are waking up this week, I'm gonna try your technique with the new seedlings and leftover 3 year seedlings, I have everything except for the BBQ lava rocks. I'm located in zone 10b that is towards the south end of JBPs range. I'm gonna try using both large size BBQ lava and use 1/4" red lava as I have over (30 ) 20 lb bags of 1/4" lava as a control.
Thanks for passing your knowledge to All !
Millard

Good luck and let us know how they do. I believe that grow natively along the coast in Kyushu, Shikoku, southern Honshu and Awaji. I think those areas are 8b to 9b - so you might not be as far off as you think.

- S

 

[markyscott]

Took 220 cuttings today. Here’s the process:.

1) Sterilize everything with rubbing alcohol, prep the work area and mix the dip n grow (5x concentration).


2) Select a seedling with true leaves (not just cotyledons) and a purple stem and gently pull it out of the soil.


3) Keeping about an inch or so of stem, slice through the stem with a sharp razor blade.

 

[markyscott]

4) right away, drop the cutting into some fresh water


5) repeat

 

[markyscott]

6) take a small batch and place them stem downward into the dip n grow solution. Allow them to soak for one minute.

 

[markyscott]

I put 50 cuttings into the peat plugs, 98 into the rock wool and 72 into the perlite/coir (70/30) mixture. That was about 1/2 the seedlings - I’ll let the other 1/2 mature a bit more. Each tray was covered with a humidity dome and bottom heat was applied. 20 hours of light per day. Any thoughts about which batch will be most successful?

 

[Wulfskaar]

Any thoughts about which batch will be most successful?

I'll guess the rock wool, but I'll be really interested to see which ones are the winners.