Mugo Mops Beginnings.

[Vance Wood]

This is the Beginnings of a bonsai using a Mugo Mops cultivar. I started working on this just before our club show this last week end. I videoed the process and stumbled across it while downloading the Juniper pinching video. I think you may find it amusing. This tree is just as it came out of the container and this is the process I go through to develop a bonsai from a Mugo. With this kind of material it is substantially more difficult because the tree does not posses a single trunk line but instead is more of a Krumholz, a term that will be explained in the Video.

 

[Adair M]

Vance, it does appear that the natural form of Mugo is more like a bush than a tree. Much like azalea.

 

[Vance Wood]

Actually the Mops is one of the extreme cultivars, if you want to understand the actual Mugo species you have to study Pumilio , Montana, and Mugus. They are not any less trees than Bristlecone Pine when grown in similar environments.

 

[Alain]

A question: I saw one of your video yesterday (for the 2nd time actually) where you cut off the growths of 'this year' and let the growths of 'last year' on a mugo.
I understood (I think at least) how you determine which are this year and which are last year but my question is: why do you do that?
Does it promote the grow of several news buds on each branches or something like that?
And what on the following year? (as if each year you cut the growths from the year then I don't understand how the mugo will grow at all) So do you do this process every other year or every x years?

 

[sorce]

"What's this?, twist tie" toss.
I love that part.!

And the phantom watch! Lol.

Sorce

 

[Vance Wood]

A question: I saw one of your video yesterday (for the 2nd time actually) where you cut off the growths of 'this year' and let the growths of 'last year' on a mugo.
I understood (I think at least) how you determine which are this year and which are last year but my question is: why do you do that?
Does it promote the grow of several news buds on each branches or something like that?
And what on the following year? (as if each year you cut the growths from the year then I don't understand how the mugo will grow at all) So do you do this process every other year or every x years?

The elimination of the current years growth in this way takes all of that energy and forces the development of multiple new buds down the branches, sometimes on old wood. The point being to encourage new and many buds, that will open and develop next season. Unlike JBP and JRP that both will produce new growth the same year, Mugos and Scots Pines do not they just form buds. If you have not followed all of this all along there are basically two groups of Two Needle Pines: Single flush like Scots, Mugos, Jack, Shore/Lodge Pole, and almost any other two needle Pine I can think of. The second group are the double flush Pines like JBP and JRP which will both produce new growth when clipped as above.

 

[Alain]

The elimination of the current years growth in this way takes all of that energy and forces the development of multiple new buds down the branches, sometimes on old wood. The point being to encourage new and many buds, that will open and develop next season. Unlike JBP and JRP that both will produce new growth the same year, Mugos and Scots Pines do not they just form buds. If you have not followed all of this all along there are basically two groups of Two Needle Pines: Single flush like Scots, Mugos, Jack, Shore/Lodge Pole, and almost any other two needle Pine I can think of. The second group are the double flush Pines like JBP and JRP which will both produce new growth when clipped as above.

Thanks a lot!

So if I understand well: if I eliminate the current year growths on some branches of my mugo (which I won't as for the moment it is just in the process of recovering from the re-potting and 1st pruning) these branches will produce several new buds, buds that will becomes new growths the next season. Doing that I'll force these branches to pass from a 'single shot' branch to some sort of ramify branches and this part of my tree will become 'denser' and also it will produce some new growths in lower parts of the branches (sorry, English isn't my first language so I don't really find the exact terms, a drawing will be nice )

So if I want a part of my tree to become denser with more growths coming out of 1 branch I do that, if I want some branches to keep growing as single, long, branches I don't. Is that it?

 

[Vance Wood]

You have described the ideal and best scenario if all things go as planed. Is that what's going to happen?? Don't know. If the tree is doing well something like I described will happen.
Following is the second part of the Mops Video.

 

[Txhorticulture]

I never heard the Krumholz term before learNed something today

 

[Vance Wood]

It has been a very long time for me to find a book that enthralled me like Yuji Yoshimura and Giovana M. Halford's original book published in 1957 except a book I purchased last summer in one of the park's visitor's center entitled The Bristlecone Book by Dr. Ronald M. Lanner. Much of the new horticultural knowledge and technique I have learned from this book. It has also given me a lot of ideas and understanding about the way many trees grow and why. It is from this book I too learned of the Krumholz.

 

[Alain]

"What makes me think I'm doing it right?"

Geez I don't know...may be the fact that you are doing it since one 1 year before I was born

 

[Vance Wood]

One could take that position but remember modern science does not know why Asprin works, just that it does.

 

[Txhorticulture]

I purchased last summer in one of the park's visitor's center entitled The Bristlecone Book by Dr. Ronald M. Lanner. Much of the new horticultural knowledge and technique I have learned from this book. It has also given me a lot of ideas and understanding about the way many trees grow and why. It is from this book I too learned of the Krumholz.

I have one of lanners books around here. A history of the pinyon pine.

 

[Gilad]

@Vance Wood , actually, we do know now how aspirin works. It is true, though, that for the first 20 years of FDA approval, science didn't understand how aspirin works. It is solved now.

 

[Vance Wood]

I have one of lanners books around here. A history of the pinyon pine.

I did not realize he had published another book. The book on Pinions I would very much like to find.

 

[Vance Wood]

Here is the last video on the subject of developing a Mops nursery tree into a pre-bonsai.

 

[barrosinc]

Is there a part III that hasn't uploaded yet?

 

[Vance Wood]

Yes but for some reason it did not load. I will have to go back and figure out what happened.

 

[barrosinc]

Yes but for some reason it did not load. I will have to go back and figure out what happened.

cool, thanks.

 

[Alain]

May be I'll wait the part III to avoid spoiling part IV