Mugo Pine First Steps

[mikemking]

Recently picked up this mugo pine at the local garden center. Don't plan on doing much with it initially, other than learning to care for it.

I'd like to get it out of this nursery pot and into something more suitable. I won't disturb the root ball.

Should I go with a bonsai soil mix, or a regular potting mix? My goals this year are to keep it alive, and help it grow.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

In this case I'd go with regular potting soil and not watering it too often, but when you do, do it thoroughly.
It's too late in the growth cycle for a solid repot, I would do that next spring.

One mugo I got a couple years ago was grown in a container like this for 8 years. Yours can handle another year or two.

 

[radhatter]

Recently picked up this mugo pine at the local garden center. Don't plan on doing much with it initially, other than learning to care for it.

I'd like to get it out of this nursery pot and into something more suitable. I won't disturb the root ball.

Should I go with a bonsai soil mix, or a regular potting mix? My goals this year are to keep it alive, and help it grow.

You may find this helpful.

Resource icon

Compiled Vance Wood on Mugo Pines

Jun 5, 2015

Posts compiled from Bonsai Nut by Vance Wood from 2010 onward on mugo pine care and development

• Lazylightningny
• mugo pine pine care
• Tutorials

 

[pandacular]

I’d put it in economic pre-bonsai soil and reduce whorls to 2 or 3, then let it grow for a year or 3 or 33.

 

[Shibui]

Definitely soil similar to what it has, unless you're prepared to open out the roots and replace some of the original soil.
Slip potting into a vastly different soil can be a big mistake. Water does not cross boundaries easily leading to wetter or drier interior soil and dead trees. Roots also don't seem to like to cross boundary between different soil types so, if you can manage to keep it alive for a year (see above) you may find there's no roots in the new soil and therefore no advantage in the slip pot to a larger pot.
At a very minimum, tease out some roots so they are already in the new soil mix after repotting.

Looking at the root photos it appears the tree is in a reasonable sized pot and certainly a long way from being root bound. I'd be happy to let this one go another year in the same pot in order to be well prepared next Spring. That will leave you free to do any pruning this season. Best not to do repot and pruning in one season for Mugho and many other conifers.

I find pines cope quite well with repotting mid Spring, even when candles are opening. I'm aware that different growers follow different timings and different climates may have different requirements but I'd still do a full repot on a Mugho at the stage of growth shown in the photos.

 

[mikemking]

Thanks everyone! I'll plan to leave it alone this year and focus on care.

 

[Horsefeathers]

You may find this helpful.

Resource icon

Compiled Vance Wood on Mugo Pines

Jun 5, 2015

Posts compiled from Bonsai Nut by Vance Wood from 2010 onward on mugo pine care and development

• Lazylightningny
• mugo pine pine care
• Tutorials

I just want to quote this for emphasis in case anyone else runs across this thread. I dug a mugo yamadori last year, following all of this advice, and the tree is doing great. As far as I'm concerned this is the Mugo bible, haha.