Bonsai Nut's personal pine entry thread

[Bonsai Nut]

You only lost one in 2 months? I think you are good to go. I have noticed some of mine are starting to dampen off. I waited too long and we are getting to the really humid stagnant summer .

I culled down to 75 trees by removing the ones that looked weak or were developing slowly. I decided I simply didn't have the room to properly care for more.

Of course I still have three other trays packed with seedlings that I didn't cut. Interestingly, I placed them out in my general bonsai area, and the ones that are in scattered sun are doing much better than the ones in full sunlight. It has not been a warm spring for us (at least so far) so I was surprised at the ones that appear to be suffering from sun/heat stress.

 

[RobertB]

Out of around 100+ cuttings, I lost 1 within the first week after cutting. My most recent cuttings are around 4 weeks old now and rooted.

 

[GGB]

Just seeing this thread for the first time, awesome note taking! Especially pumped that treeseeds.com got a shout. They are now the only website i get seed from. Scheffields dropped the ball.

 

[SnowfallenGarden]

@substratum
It is not too late to start some seeds yourself, and join the fun. You could order them, pop them in the soil and have tons of seedlings by the end of March.

I wish I would have seen that, I really wanted to do this.....

 

[Dav4]

I wish I would have seen that, I really wanted to do this.....

You've got another 2 months to sow seeds in GA... easy.

 

[SnowfallenGarden]

Alright, I'll try!!

 

[Dav4]

Alright, I'll try!!

Get it done sooner then later, though.

 

[ysrgrathe]

Of course I still have three other trays packed with seedlings that I didn't cut. Interestingly, I placed them out in my general bonsai area, and the ones that are in scattered sun are doing much better than the ones in full sunlight. It has not been a warm spring for us (at least so far) so I was surprised at the ones that appear to be suffering from sun/heat stress.

I saw a similar pattern in PA 6b on the batch I did last year -- the seedlings that got a bit of shadow from other trees actually did better than the ones in full sun.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

After approximately 6 months, I thought it would be worthwhile to share a "progress" photo comparing my cuttings to the raw seedlings:



The cuttings are in the front, and I am starting to see strong growth from them. I have four trays just like this - which should be more than enough going forward. The tray in the back is nothing more than the raw seedlings that I sowed back at the beginning of the year. They have been growing uncared for (and unfertilized) in their starter mix of sieved peat moss. It gives you a general idea of how much taking a cutting will set a seedling back - in terms of just raw growth.

 

[plant_dr]

Wow. That quite a difference! I guess we'll see if they can catch up to the others in the future

 

[Fonz]

How are your pandoragarden sees doing? I only got 1 seedling out of 150 seeds and it doesn't even look like a jbp seedling....

 

[Bonsai Nut]

How are your pandoragarden sees doing?

I only got a few to germinate, though they do all look like JBP. Pandoragarden was my worst-performing vendor. I would not order from them in the future...

 

[my nellie]

I would like to ask you @Bonsai Nut what is the lowest temperature which the pine seedlings can safely handle during their 1st winter.
At your 10A zone would you overwinter them outside under some protection?
And if positive, what is the kind of protection you would give them?
Thank you in advance!

P.S.: I am trying to collect info from some members (h. zone similar to mine) which I can use for my own seedlings as this is the first time I am growing pine seeds.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Did some Fall maintenance (weeding, etc) on the seedlings so I thought I would post some photos.

Here is what the cuttings look like. I have four trays that are more or less like this. Huge disparity between what they look like - some are tall and gangly, some are short and stubby. Numerous low buds and several multi-trunks.



Because they are in small nursery pots in larger trays, for most of them the roots have escaped the pots and are running in the bottom of the trays. It makes me wonder whether I should replant - even though the nurseryman in the Bonsai Today articles waited until the end of year two to replant into colanders.



Here is what the trays of seedlings look like - the ones I didn't cut. They are too overgrown now to be able to grow much more. The largest cuttings are just about the same size as the largest seedlings - though it is a somewhat unfair comparison since the cuttings were transplanted into better mix and have more space to grow. However many of the cuttings appear to have caught up to the seedlings - particularly if you add in the fact that they are better quality with low buds and multi-trunks. Even though this is early in the season (I normally transplant pines in December or January), I transplanted 32 seedlings into two Anderson flats just to clean up the area. The rest I tossed.



Next steps - all of the cuttings and the seedlings that remain will be wired in January.

I forgot to add - I have never fertilized the seedlings with anything. They are simply growing in the seeding medium. The cuttings I have been lightly fertilizing with the acid fertilizer SUPER IRON 9-9-9.

 

[barrosinc]

Wow you have so much more growth than me with 2 springs!

 

[plant_dr]

The rest I tossed.

In the future you could toss 'em my way of you want.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

In the future you could toss 'em my way of you want.

I feel bad throwing away any live plant material, but I am quickly reaching an inflection point where I have too many trees to care for. I already have some other tree promises that I have yet to fulfill for cuttings, etc, so I decided against giving away my seedlings simply because I didn't want another commitment / project right now. Lot of other stuff going on in my life and I feel my lack of accomplishment keenly Plus, it is easy enough to buy JBP seeds by the 1000, and in one season you will have more than I do

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

My seedlings are about 4 inches tall in bonsai mix and mine in potting soil are maybe 5-6 ish I just feel like I'm doing something wrong looking at these. I started mine a little late tough, they started sprouting around April and I got mine from treeseeds.com

 

[Bonsai Nut]

My seedlings are about 4 inches tall in bonsai mix and mine in potting soil are maybe 5-6 ish I just feel like I'm doing something wrong looking at these. I started mine a little late tough, they started sprouting around April and I got mine from treeseeds.com

Just document exactly what you do so people will learn from it. I have tried to post exactly what I did, when I did it, etc. I have a big advantage (I think) with our weather - lots of sun and warmth. However I don't know that it equates to more growth per year... my black pines still go dormant during the winter, for example, even if the days are in the 60's and 70's.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

Just document exactly what you do so people will learn from it. I have tried to post exactly what I did, when I did it, etc. I have a big advantage (I think) with our weather - lots of sun and warmth. However I don't know that it equates to more growth per year... my black pines still go dormant during the winter, for example, even if the days are in the 60's and 70's.

There’s also differences in the way they grow and I don’t know how they will affect future development. Mine are not as tall but their needles are way bigger and more developed. Yours seem to be juvenile needles whereas mine already have a lot of mature needles.