If/when to remove pollen cones on newly repotted JWP

[takira]

I know there are varying takes on how to deal with pollen cones on JWP - I'm mostly concerned with how much it is or isn't likely to stress the tree. I've only been at this a year and this is my first spring with most of my bonsai. TLDR: I bought two JWP off Etsy and they arrived with very inadequate-looking root systems encased in clay. The day they arrived (March 14th) I removed as much clay as I could (didn't wash them) and put them each in a pond basket with a mix of 2 parts pumice and 1 part akadama.









Since then they've been doing really well with daily waterings and are enjoying the outdoor life, putting out some early new growth, complete with pollen cones! My concern is whether removing the pollen cones early would help the tree put its energy into recovering from its rather abrupt (and arguably early, since neither was showing new growth at the time) repotting, or whether it would just be one more added trauma and I should just let them grow this year, starting attempts at pruning/wiring in fall at the earliest?




Thanks for any advice! They're pretty spindly little things and haven't gotten the best start in life, but I figure they'll be good practice for pine husbandry at the very least.

 

[Dav4]

I think your repot was right on time, though you did go pretty hard on those roots. My inclination is to leave it alone. My reasoning is that the cones really aren’t a big energy drain, but any mucking around with the tree will potentially damage the new roots.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

@takira Your JWP look like they're doing great. I also got two from the same seller (you may remember), I repotted one & once I saw the roots on the first one I left the other one alone. Neither one of them have any new growth on them. Not sure what that means, other than I may be watering a corpse.

 

[takira]

I think your repot was right on time, though you did go pretty hard on those roots. My inclination is to leave it alone. My reasoning is that the cones really aren’t a big energy drain, but any mucking around with the tree will potentially damage the new roots.

Good to know! And yeah, I know you're not supposed to bare-root these guys, but I was worried about the clay choking them - I didn't actually cut anything off, that's just all they had. >_< They will hopefully enjoy a nice quiet gap year before I ask them to do anything else.

@takira Your JWP look like they're doing great. I also got two from the same seller (you may remember), I repotted one & once I saw the roots on the first one I left the other one alone. Neither one of them have any new growth on them. Not sure what that means, other than I may be watering a corpse.

I am forever in your debt for having mentioned it! If I hadn't seen your comment about Buford clay and made the connection, I wouldn't have thought to repot them as soon as they arrived. I can't write their success off to anything else but dumb luck, though. I've got a couple of other trees that are likely well-hydrated corpses, myself - still in denial. -_-;;

 

[Dav4]

@takira Your JWP look like they're doing great. I also got two from the same seller (you may remember), I repotted one & once I saw the roots on the first one I left the other one alone. Neither one of them have any new growth on them. Not sure what that means, other than I may be watering a corpse.

Are the buds plump and have a little green color to them? If so, you're probably ok. Dry and shrunken is no good, and neither is black or grey-brown.

 

[Shibui]

As already mentioned, pollen cones take little of the tree's energy. I usually just let nature take its course and leave them be.
If you are still concerned they can be removed quite easily but it may take a while to do them all. Try not to move the trunk too much after the recent repot.

I have not had any problem with bare root on pines. Removing the clay was almost certainly a good move and the trees seem to be happy with your work. Pines can take some time to realize they are in trouble so I never really consider transplant a success until after middle of summer but good new growth is always an encouraging sign.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Are the buds plump and have a little green color to them? If so, you're probably ok. Dry and shrunken is no good, and neither is black or grey-brown.

They look brown and not so plump, pretty much the same as when I got it 6 weeks ago. The other pines I have are budding normally so these two JWP really stick out.

Here's a pic of the one I didn't touch. The yellow tips are also new.

 

[Dav4]

They look brown and not so plump, pretty much the same as when I got it 6 weeks ago. The other pines I have are budding normally so these two JWP really stick out.

Here's a pic of the one I didn't touch. The yellow tips are also new.

View attachment 542941

Give it time. Sometimes, recently collected conifers will literally stall with no new growth for a year or two before growing again. Those trees are usually much older and stunted/stressed to begin with, but it shows the resiliency inherent in some conifers. The needles are still a healthy green and the buds look like they want to do something. Full sun, appropriate watering, and time... good luck.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Give it time. Sometimes, recently collected conifers will literally stall with no new growth for a year or two before growing again. Those trees are usually much older and stunted/stressed to begin with, but it shows the resiliency inherent in some conifers. The needles are still a healthy green and the buds look like they want to do something. Full sun, appropriate watering, and time... good luck.

Cool man thanks! I was thinking of putting the one I didn't touch in the ground at some point. Should I wait to do that? I'm a professional procrastinator so I can wait.

 

[Dav4]

Cool man thanks! I was thinking of putting the one I didn't touch in the ground at some point. Should I wait to do that? I'm a professional procrastinator so I can wait.

If they're in crap clay soil and haven't really started to push, I'd go ahead and do a partial soil change... maybe a third from one side of the root ball. Lightly scrape/remove soil from the rest of the root ball to expose the roots everywhere to your soil mix. Pot into a pot that'll fit the roots with a bit of extra room, then back out on the bench.