Oh Lord Mugo, Where art thou?

[Johnathan]

So.... I just had a baby. A son. My mother is in town and she's a flower/ plant person and wanted to go to the garden center... I took her to the best place in the city.

I wasn't really looking for any trees, but of course I was looking.... and I came across an ugly, probably dead, in bad shape tree...



And I said to myself, I bet @Vance Wood could make this something special. Hell I bet @sorce or @M. Frary or any of my Bnut homies could make this awesome!

Then I saw the price...



Shiiiiiit, surely my bonsai bros would pass on this... but my Mother who's is in town for the birth of my son, her only grandson ( she has 2 granddaughters already) said, I bet I can get that for cheaper...

So, I said go for it....

She comes back and says, they will sell it, as is, no refunds or returns, for 75% off... a total of $29.

I start to think about it and she says, $29 ia your max. I'll buy you anything you like for $29 or less, Happy Father's Day.

Now surely I'm not gonna pass this up, especially if someone else is paying

Sooooooooo...... I know the whole expose the nebari and stuff. I'll do that hopefully Sunday if I get enough alone time

But I just wanted to ask is there anything else anyone would really for a tree in such a bad looking state.

Here are more pics!











That is all.... help a brother out!!! Do you guys recommend full sun?

 

[Carol 83]

Congrats on your little one, happy early Father's Day!

 

[sorce]

Yeah Dad!

Did you name him Black Miyagi?

The boy...lol!

Nice!

Sorce

 

[Vance Wood]

Congratulations on the tax deduction, and so begins a journey for all of you.

As to the Mugo; it does look pretty bad but it could come back with the right care. I would first remove the tree from the container, it should just slip out of the pot with no problem. I would remove all of the loose junk from the top of the soil ball and check the rest of the soil mass to see if it is too wet or too dry. Do not break into the soil mass at this time. Do you see any white roots growing around the outside of the soil ball? If you do, that't good news. Put the tree back into the pot and water it if it's dry, or take some pictures and post them and I'll keep my eyes for a response.

 

[AJL]

I suggest you also put it in quarantine well away from your other pines until you figure out whats really up with it !!

 

[Gsquared]

Good luck. I bought a collected shore pine (pinus contorta) last September. Did great through the winter but this spring about half of the lower needles turned brown. Yet there are green candles poking through at the tips of nearly all of the branches both brown and green. @vancewood would the same treatment you suggest be good for a shore pine?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Congrats on the birth of your son!

I'd put the mugo in the sun, clean out dead needles and just leave it alone for a year or two or three. It might, maybe, if you are lucky, perk up.

 

[Johnathan]

Thank you everyone! I have a daughter, she is 5. She has been a great big sister. But as a dad.... and the last Male of my name... its pretty nice to have a son now. And yes, he is a Junior.

Anyway, here is what we are working with. Out the pot, it looked pretty bad lol





So it was pretty bound up top, but I powered through it.





It looks like I went bananas on it, but As @Vance Wood suggested I tried to not do anything with the sides or bottom of the rootball until after I heard more from the Master!

 

[Johnathan]

Congrats on the birth of your son!

I'd put the mugo in the sun, clean out dead needles and just leave it alone for a year or two or three. It might, maybe, if you are lucky, perk up.

Would you fuzz up the sides and slip pot into something else? Bonsai soil or a more "nursery soil" kinda mix?

 

[Vance Wood]

Good luck. I bought a collected shore pine (pinus contorta) last September. Did great through the winter but this spring about half of the lower needles turned brown. Yet there are green candles poking through at the tips of nearly all of the branches both brown and green. @vancewood would the same treatment you suggest be good for a shore pine?

Your guess is as good as mine but I think so. I am sure someone knows of this condition, if that is what it is and not just a bad reaction to environmental or cultivational problems.

 

[Johnathan]

Would you fuzz up the sides and slip pot into something else? Bonsai soil or a more "nursery soil" kinda mix?

@Vance Wood which would you slip it into?

 

[Vance Wood]

@Vance Wood which would you slip it into?

I would put it into my Pine bonsai soil mix which is 30% composted Pine bark, 30% #3 or #2 sand blasting sand or Swimming pool filter sand and 30% calcined clay. You can use Turface or Akadama, I prefer a hard fired version called Espoma soil conditioner. I also use a good deal of small red lava gravel, as much as an additional 30%. But; in the case of this tree I would try to determine if the tree were suffering from an overly compacted soil with spots that are not getting watered. This is a problem that needs to be addressed without tearing the root system apart. If you believe the root system is in this condition you can take a 3/8" drill bit and drill some holes vertically through the soil ball and pour some of the above soil mix into the holes. In all honesty I am just reconing by fire here. Without seeing the tree, smelling the soil ball and getting a feel for the tree I cannot know for sure. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

 

[Tycoss]

As a father of 6, I congratulate you. I have nothing to add, except that I had a lodgepole pine that looked just as bad, but is fine now. Perhaps all hope is not lost.

 

[Gsquared]

As a father of 6, I congratulate you. I have nothing to add, except that I had a lodgepole pine that looked just as bad, but is fine now. Perhaps all hope is not lost.

Good to know. Especially since we’re talking the same species, just different environments. I’m kind of in between the mountains and the ocean here, so hopefully it will rebound like yours.

 

[sorce]

smelling the soil ball

Hell Yeah!
6 senses Bonsai!

Sorce

 

[Johnathan]

smelling the soil ball

This is new to me. What kind of odor am I looking for?

 

[Vance Wood]

This is new to me. What kind of odor am I looking for?

Does it smell like sewerage? If so you might have a water retention problem where the soil is staying wet enough to sour.

 

[Japonicus]

This is new to me. What kind of odor am I looking for?

Happy Father’s Day Johnathan!
When I thought I had root rot in one of my hinoki s I shot a video of it when I lifted it from
the pot, and demonstrated for Vance, sight feel and smell. It looked root bound.
It felt normal, not dry nor wet, but being root bound, no loose soil, just a smooth feel
like the inside of the pot itself. I bent over and smelled it, and remarked that there was just an earthen
smell to it since I was concerned with root rot based on the foliage state. If you ever experience root rot
you will know exactly what to smell for, and will probably see gnats about the soil as well.

QT mentioned above by AJL maybe not a bad idea, but personally I would strive to keep it
generally down wind from the rest of your collection and spray now with fungicide.
I’m not saying it has a disease, but it certainly is vulnerable. Also, if it did have say needle cast
spraying will help reduce the transmission to your other pines or fruit trees.
My neighbor has peach and apple trees he’s always having to spray, that makes my pines vulnerable.

All said said, I think you owe your Mother a good dinner. Tree looks promising with some TLC

 

[Johnathan]

I didn't notice any foul smells from the roots.

Recently I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos. I came across a video of Peter Chan mentioning his famous "moss trick" for sick trees. Basically he plants the tree into 100% sphagnum moss, and I guess the moss promotes root growth which encourages healthy trees.

I know the window for major root work on Mugos is almost here. I was wondering if this moss trick was a good idea or not?

 

[Vance Wood]

I didn't notice any foul smells from the roots.

Recently I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos. I came across a video of Peter Chan mentioning his famous "moss trick" for sick trees. Basically he plants the tree into 100% sphagnum moss, and I guess the moss promotes root growth which encourages healthy trees.

I know the window for major root work on Mugos is almost here. I was wondering if this moss trick was a good idea or not?

I have not tried it but it should work.