How to train/care for ponderosa pines???

[Carapace]

Hi guys, I just got a 2 yo ponderosa pine, I plan on making it a very tall literati and with what I've watched on youtube and read online about them, I understood that I shouldn't decandle them and. Does this mean that I shouldn't touch the candles at all or just that I need to cut them above a few new needles? Also, if anyone has any tips on growing them, could you please tell them to me?

 

[Colorado]

I love ponderosa pine!

I would recommend giving it lots of sun and a moderate amount of water. They don’t need near as much water as other trees, but I also don’t let mine dry out too much. It is a challenging balance which is part of the fun

You are correct about no decandling. If yours is just 2 years old, you won’t need to prune the foliage for at least a few years. They grow very slowly so you have a long term project on your hands.

Good luck!

 

[Carapace]

Thanks, it will get plenty of sun, heat and dry summers, I hope that this will help with any fungal problems it might have.
And you are correct, I will not prune it at all for atleast 2 years, except for any big structural issues like bar branches.
I have a small ponderosa forest planted on a piece of land and I just fell in love with them.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I wonder sometimes if their slow growth rate statement can be attributed to age of the yamadori people are growing. Because my seedlings on average, grow as much as any other single flush pine.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I wonder sometimes if their slow growth rate statement can be attributed to age of the yamadori people are growing. Because my seedlings on average, grow as much as any other single flush pine.

Correct! Have seen trees in ground grow 1.5-2 feet a year. However developing bark, ramification different story.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Correct! Have seen trees in ground grow 1.5-2 feet a year. However developing bark, ramification different story.

Snip a bud off in winter. Back- and side buds as a result. But my N=3 so I'm not sure if it translates to every tree, I do have a couple different phenotypes it seems. And not all of them responded equally.
I think the ramification is also a thing we could potentially speed up with a little experimentation.
You could very well be right about the bark though! However, I haven't seen a lot of people grow them from seed at all. No clue on how long it would take but I've read 40 years and I honestly don't believe it.
Mugo in the ground never makes decent bark but that's entirely different in a pot. I'm hoping ponderosa is the same.

 

[Carapace]

So why don't you decandle ponderosa? Do they just not grow back, or atleast grow new buds there?

 

[Potawatomi13]

Multi flush pines grow new buds/maybe sprouts same season. Single flush pine do not. Growth/maybe even buds do not appear(normally)until next year if decandled. Slows development of Ponderosa. Guru Ryan Neil advocates higher needle count more growth generates back budding/ramification best.

 

[Carapace]

Thanks, makes sense.