How long for craggy bark to grow back on pine?

[badatusernames]

I got a white pine this year that has a couple minor spots where it looks like some of the bark got knocked off when it was wired by the prior owner, and it made me curious...

If you're working a JBP or white pine and knock off some of the craggy bark, how long / how many years until it replaces itself? I've heard for more mature trees it may only take a couple/few years. Luckily, I haven't really had an issue with it before, though I do have one black pine with some particularly interesting areas on the trunk that feel like they could fall if one were to breathe on it wrong. I certainly hope to avoid that entirely.

I'm aware of the superglue technique if you still have the piece that fell, but I imagine it's always nicer to avoid that

 

[Shibui]

Mature trees that already have rough bark seem to replace it in just a few years. In lots of cases it's hard to see after just a few months. I guess it depends how far down the bark is removed. I try to handle with reasonable care but I don't worry unduly about knocking a few bits off while working on these rough bark trees.

 

[badatusernames]

Makes sense! Thank you.

 

[badatusernames]

Here’s an example from a black pine - see bottom right.

Just happened to have this one in to clean up, I’ll try to get an example from the white pine if I remember

Given that this is what I feel is quality material in the hands of someone who is perhaps not a master, I do want to impress upon people that I am not the one who knocked this bark off

 

[clem]

It takes 5 or 6 years for a scale of bark to developp. (i learned that on Kitadani youtube channel) That's why it is important to not touch the bark with fingers because when a scale of bark falls down, the value of the tree (market and aesthetic) decreases.

Sometimes, on pines with fragile mille-feuille bark, we can see very fine wires which holds it ->

 

[badatusernames]

It takes 5 or 6 years for a scale of bark to developp. (i learned that on Kitadani youtube channel) That's why it is important to not touch the bark with fingers because when a scale of bark falls down, the value of the tree (market and aesthetic) decreases.

Sometimes, on pines with fragile mille-feuille bark, we can see very fine wires which holds it ->
View attachment 572141

Coop! Hadn’t seen the wire trick before

 

[namnhi]

Mature trees that already have rough bark seem to replace it in just a few years. In lots of cases it's hard to see after just a few months. I guess it depends how far down the bark is removed. I try to handle with reasonable care but I don't worry unduly about knocking a few bits off while working on these rough bark trees.

This is also my experience. Once the tree has already barked up, the bark will come back much quicker than starting from a young tree.

 

[badatusernames]

Here’s the spot on the white pine that inspired this thread

 

[vp999]

I read some where that the trick to not accidently knocking off the bark is plastic wrapping it before doing repot and such.

 

[vesper818]

I've read of some people using wood glue for cut paste. Would that not work for "repairing" knocked off bark?

 

[clem]

Here’s the spot on the white pine that inspired this thread

View attachment 572222

You can find out for yourself when the bark peels off the trunk again. I'm also interested in knowing if it takes 5 - 6 years for the bark scale to develop and peel off again on its periphery

With UV, the color of the bark will become lighter (light brown or gray) and uniform as on the rest of the trunk. It’s especially this difference in color that stands out when a piece of bark falls IMO. The stronger the sun shines, the sooner it will become gray or light brown again.

 

[Paradox]

Whenever I repot my pines. I take great care not to touch the trunk when moving the tree if at all possible. I was taught to hold the tree on the branches that don't have the flaky bark.

When I first started, my first pine was a scots pine which are known for their loose bark. The first time I repotted that tree, I knocked a lot of the bark off. It took the tree many years to replace that bark but it did do it.