Pinus mugo

[Jzack605]

I grabbed a mugo pine nursery stock today. Awesome little tree I think has a lot of potential. The cultivar is Jakobsen and grown by Iseli nursery; a grower I hold in high regard. Not 100% sure where I want to go yet so looking for suggestions. It’s a bit of a clump right now but I promise the main stem has good movement. Could I do an initial styling to expose that movement in the main stem, open it up and repot this year? If so what would be the best method of approach?

 

[Paul G]

Check out the resources section. There's a ton of mugo tips.

 

[Jzack605]

Thank you! Haven't really checked much else on this site other than the forum to be honest. Pretty in depth post by Vance Wood that answered pretty much all my questions.

 

[Adair M]

I’ll defer to Vance for anything Mugo specific. But the main thing you need to decide is how big do you want your tree to be. That looks pretty small. So, styling “what you have” will produce a Shohin sized tree. If you want something bigger, you’ll need to let it grow in the ground (best), or in a grow box your several years.

 

[Jzack605]

What is the size range for Shohin trees? I think it may look smaller than it is, though it’s still a small tree no doubt.

I plan on putting it in a grow box.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

What is the size range for Shohin trees? I think it may look smaller than it is, though it’s still a small tree no doubt.

I plan on putting it in a grow box.

I wouldn’t over-pot it for fear of root rot. Pines don’t need a ton of room to grow strong on top.
Shohin is 6” to a maximum of 8” tall.

 

[Jzack605]

Should I cut more than 1/2 the root mass like Vance wood suggests?

I think it’s on the big end for a Shohin, I need to measure it. But probably 8” at minimum.

 

[sdavis]

I have several P. mugo "Jakobsen." They have great color and stiff, smaller needles, and are slow growers. The stems also break easily. I do more clip and grow with them versus wiring. You have go look carefully at the graft (they are all grafted) to be sure it is done well. Yes, Iseli does great work. They trunk-up readily.

 

[Jzack605]

I couldn’t even find a graft line and I removed some of the top soil last night.

So I read to repot and prune around Father’s Day. Is there any harm in doing the initial prune sooner than that?

 

[sdavis]

I have several P. mugo "Jakobsen." They have great color and stiff, smaller needles, and are slow growers. The stems also break easily. I do more clip and grow with them versus wiring. You have go look carefully at the graft (they are all grafted) to be sure it is done well. Yes, Iseli does great work. They trunk-up readily.

Here are a couple of pre-bonsai Jakobsens.

 

[Jzack605]

So I got a box and a pot to choose from. Not quite sure if they are big enough for the first repot. The plant is 4.75” diameter (9.5” across) and 7.5” deep.

Box dimensions- 8”x8”x3.5”
Pot- 7.5”x9.5”x3.5”

Will either of these work? One better than the other? I have no quarrels with making a new box if need be.

 

[Vance Wood]

This tree is no where near ready for a bonsai pot. The most significant thing you can do at this point is determine the best trunk line and root base. Those two things will determine where the tree is going to go from this point forward. As far as thinning the top, that can be done in order to open up the tree and reveal the branch structure some thing else that needs to be done. These first stages can be the most difficult in the evolution of a Mugo bonsai and should be taken seriously.

 

[Jzack605]

This tree is no where near ready for a bonsai pot. The most significant thing you can do at this point is determine the best trunk line and root base. Those two things will determine where the tree is going to go from this point forward. As far as thinning the top, that can be done in order to open up the tree and reveal the branch structure some thing else that needs to be done. These first stages can be the most difficult in the evolution of a Mugo bonsai and should be taken seriously.

So should I hold off on repotting into a training pot and leave in the nursery pot for further development?

 

[Jzack605]

I’m liking this as the face so far. It’s still a bit on the crowded side.

Thinking the lowest right branch needs to go and one of the upper branches; maybe the one just to the right of the highest point. Thoughts?

 

[Vance Wood]

As long as you have it down this far you should carefully remove soil from the top of the soil mass to try and see where the large surface roots start to appear. Putting a tree into a bonsai pot at this point will slow the tree down. Don't do too much until you know what the tree is going to do and how it is going to react.

 

[Jzack605]

As long as you have it down this far you should carefully remove soil from the top of the soil mass to try and see where the large surface roots start to appear. Putting a tree into a bonsai pot at this point will slow the tree down. Don't do too much until you know what the tree is going to do and how it is going to react.

Ok, I’ll do as advised further. I guess no harm in keeping it in nursery pot longer.

 

[BubblePopScott]

Cool tree looking forward to seeing what you do with it

 

[Vance Wood]

A couple of questions: One, does the chop-stick in the soil show your proposed front, and can you look at your own picture and see what you understand the tree to be? Think about that, why show someone something that does not show what it is that you want to show. The base of the trunk is here not much more than a dark blur. Put some light on the base of the tree.

 

[Jzack605]

A couple of questions: One, does the chop-stick in the soil show your proposed front, and can you look at your own picture and see what you understand the tree to be? Think about that, why show someone something that does not show what it is that you want to show. The base of the trunk is here not much more than a dark blur. Put some light on the base of the tree.

The chopstick (actually a skewer) seen is a “secondary” viewpoint but has the major downside of the trunk being fairly straight at that angle. The angle at the photo shown has/had one but was removed for the image. Right now the image shown is where I see the tree the most apparently.

 

[Vance Wood]

The chopstick (actually a skewer) seen is a “secondary” viewpoint but has the major downside of the trunk being fairly straight at that angle. The angle at the photo shown has/had one but was removed for the image. Right now the image shown is where I see the tree the most apparently.

I'm sorry I did not make my point very clear when I pointed out: The base of the trunk here not much more than a dark blur. Put some light on the base of the tree. In the art of bonsai the single most important element is the nebari, the base of the trunk and the emergence of the surface roots. The entire personality, artistic presentation and quality of the tree starts with the base of the tree, it can also fail there as well. This is also the most important potential aspect of any tree.

If you are seeking advise on a tree you have to start to understand what makes a good bonsai. When you are posting things up on a forum like this one you should pay attention to the quality of your photograph. SO-----what do you do? First of all; photograph the tree you are looking for help with against a dark back ground that is uncluttered. Any thing lighter than the tree, or visually busy will overwhelm the image of the tree which for the most part will be dark. Most of these automatic cameras and cell phones are driven by settings that set the correct exposure according to the dominant light sorce/level, in this case a back ground which is very light, leaving the important element, your tree, badly underexposed. Our eyes are so sophisticated that a lot of times we do not recognize what is going on, our photos can only give us what the settings and light will give us in-spite of what your eyes tell you. This is also true in the design overall.