Collected Lodgepole pine: anyone with relevant experience?

[Tycoss]

I recall a comment earlier that some of you were getting two flushes of growth on your Pinus contorta. Even though I’ve only had these four for just over a year, two appear to be pushing out a second flush of growth after the first ones have hardened off. Some buds further back on the trunk are suddenly extending too. I doubt this is reliable enough to consider these a two flush pine, but it is interesting to be sure.

 

[grouper52]

I recall a comment earlier that some of you were getting two flushes of growth on your Pinus contorta. Even though I’ve only had these four for just over a year, two appear to be pushing out a second flush of growth after the first ones have hardened off. Some buds further back on the trunk are suddenly extending too. I doubt this is reliable enough to consider these a two flush pine, but it is interesting to be sure.

These look like interesting and potentially promising trees to work with! Sorry I can't give much help/advice, though - I'm very familiar with the related Shore pine, but the needs of these seem very much different. Seems like lots of others commenting here are very familiar with them, though, and even from similar climates to yours - which seems important given the seasonal factors involved. Good work so far!

 

[August44]

Has anybody collected the Lodgepole during the summer while they are growing strong? There was another thread about a guy collecting pines, spruces and some others during growth period and doing fine. Just wondered. Peter

 

[parhamr]

Has anybody collected the Lodgepole during the summer while they are growing strong? There was another thread about a guy collecting pines, spruces and some others during growth period and doing fine. Just wondered. Peter

I’ve previously repotted my larger lodgepole on July 4, 2016. I had let it build up strength in 2014 and 2015, so it was ready for this.

The tree had fully hardened off its growth and seemed to have started summer dormancy, that year.

It survived and then flourished from clearing out some of the more heavily organic and sandy loam soil for free-draining pumice.

 

[Vance Wood]

I would love to have another Contorta. I owned a collected one int 1963. We knew absolutely nothing about these trees or any other trees for that matter, we just had to learn as we stumbled along. I knew then of a place where there were some really spectacular Yamadori of this tree. I wish now I was fifty years younger I would make a trip to get my hands on one or two of them.

 

[Tycoss]

Has anybody collected the Lodgepole during the summer while they are growing strong? There was another thread about a guy collecting pines, spruces and some others during growth period and doing fine. Just wondered. Peter

I’ve never done it, but it would be great to have summer collecting worked out. I’m a teacher, and collecting would be much easier than in spring and fall ( my two busiest times of the year). I’ve just had good enough luck so far that I don’t want to Change much.

 

[Yosemite Goat]

I’ve never done it, but it would be great to have summer collecting worked out. I’m a teacher, and collecting would be much easier than in spring and fall ( my two busiest times of the year). I’ve just had good enough luck so far that I don’t want to Change much.

I would not worry too much about normal springtime collection. There is still snow in patches around the upper elevations where lodgepole (v. murrayana) grow and the conditions are spring(ish) now in July. They are tough as long as you are not butchering the roots.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Has anybody collected the Lodgepole during the summer while they are growing strong? There was another thread about a guy collecting pines, spruces and some others during growth period and doing fine. Just wondered. Peter

I repot my Jack pines during the last 2 weeks of August. Jack pines are related to lodgepole pines, though they are a distinct species. I have done major root work at this time of year. If you give the tree more than 12 months to recover, it works in my climate.

By extension from the above, you could just experiment. Collect a small handful every few weeks, keep track of which ones survive, and when they were collected. Then you will know. Key to success is your after care. You are in the "high plaines" even though the lodgepole are 2 or 3 thousand feet higher up from your place.

There naturally is a episode of root growth that pines do right about the autumn equinox, Sept 21, the point of late summer repotting and or collecting would be to get the tree into it's new pot just before this push of root growth happens.

Try it, it has a chance of working.

 

[Tycoss]

Here is the smallest one right now. I'm waiting for next fall to start styling the others

 

[Vance Wood]

Here is the smallest one right now. I'm waiting for next fall to start styling the othersView attachment 334267

I love the tree and I love the species. I used to collect them when I lived in California in the 60's before I was inducted into the service. What you need to do is discover how to get them to back-bud effectively.

 

[August44]

I have collected quite a few of these in the Mountains outside of town where there are millions of them. Just last year I fertilized every two weeks with Miracle grow and got excellent back budding and a late flush with them. I was pretty amazed considering what I have read. Here is my post with pictures etc.

New growth on Lodgepole pine

I collect Lodgepole pines here in the Mountains. I usually don't get a lot of growth or bud back in the summer so this year I decided to change my fertilizer and now not only did I get some good growth (very long needles) but got lots of bud backs on branches etc and those buds are pushing...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Tycoss]

I'm working on it Vance. I have gotten an encouraging amount of back budding as well with lots of water and fertilizer during the summer, while pruning back the tips in fall.

 

[MaciekA]

I have collected quite a few of these in the Mountains outside of town where there are millions of them. Just last year I fertilized every two weeks with Miracle grow and got excellent back budding and a late flush with them. I was pretty amazed considering what I have read. Here is my post with pictures etc.

New growth on Lodgepole pine

I collect Lodgepole pines here in the Mountains. I usually don't get a lot of growth or bud back in the summer so this year I decided to change my fertilizer and now not only did I get some good growth (very long needles) but got lots of bud backs on branches etc and those buds are pushing...

www.bonsainut.com

Nice post. I have collected lodgepoles in the Cascades, both larger ones and smaller ones and have found them very durable to collection. I have seen the same things seen elsewhere in this thread, i.e. additional enthusiastic flushes after fertilization as well as very good back budding, especially on laid flat / descending branches.

Also as @parhamr mentioned upthread a lot of Cascades-collected lodgepoles seem to be infected with dwarf mistletoe, but it doesn't seem to have much in the way of negative effects on their health (though may depend on how far it's progressed). Out of morbid interest I actually collected one of these mistletoe-infected lodgepoles a year ago, chopped the mistletoe off and let the tree recover in a basket with a mix of larger pumice and native soil from the collection site, fertilizing regularly starting in mid-spring. It responded with a considerable amount of budding and I've got roots popping out of the bottom of the basket. No return of mistletoe yet.

 

[Tycoss]

Nice post. I have collected lodgepoles in the Cascades, both larger ones and smaller ones and have found them very durable to collection. I have seen the same things seen elsewhere in this thread, i.e. additional enthusiastic flushes after fertilization as well as very good back budding, especially on laid flat / descending branches.

Also as @parhamr mentioned upthread a lot of Cascades-collected lodgepoles seem to be infected with dwarf mistletoe, but it doesn't seem to have much in the way of negative effects on their health (though may depend on how far it's progressed). Out of morbid interest I actually collected one of these mistletoe-infected lodgepoles a year ago, chopped the mistletoe off and let the tree recover in a basket with a mix of larger pumice and native soil from the collection site, fertilizing regularly starting in mid-spring. It responded with a considerable amount of budding and I've got roots popping out of the bottom of the basket. No return of mistletoe yet.

The lodgepoles I see in the Canadian Rockies don't seem to suffer as much from dwarf mistletoe. Asian pine beetles and needle cast are another matter.

I'm very encouraged by how the four I have collected have done. I'm looking for a collecting area of good quality legally collected lodgepoles. I'll post when I do.

 

[Ravaginggoatman]

I have collected a few lodgepole pines this year in the mountains near me. I left the really nice stuff on the mountainside until I am more sure of my techniques. These were collected before the new growth began to extend. They were put in a very fast draining oil dry and lava mix, with the root balls full of field soil. I am watering quite heavily. I plan to leave them for one to three years to grow, depending on how they respond. Does anyone have some climate relevant information on the species. My climate is rather brutal (zone 3, cold, windy, dry and unpredictable). I have looked through old threads and only found advice to treat them as ponderosa or scots pine. Anything more specific?

I have collected a few lodgepole pines this year in the mountains near me. I left the really nice stuff on the mountainside until I am more sure of my techniques. These were collected before the new growth began to extend. They were put in a very fast draining oil dry and lava mix, with the root balls full of field soil. I am watering quite heavily. I plan to leave them for one to three years to grow, depending on how they respond. Does anyone have some climate relevant information on the species. My climate is rather brutal (zone 3, cold, windy, dry and unpredictable). I have looked through old threads and only found advice to treat them as ponderosa or scots pine. Anything more specific?

After reading this post I'm wondering how your trees are doing. I collected three Lodgepole pines last October and still hoping that they will survive.

 

[Tycoss]

I still have all of them. I've been mostly working with some "better" collected spruce material so I haven't done much with them, but they are very hardy, vigorous plants

 

[kinon_]

Glad to see that they are doing well. Do you mind if I ask how you have been overwintering the pines? I want to go out an collect some this spring and want to replicate your success.