Pinus Pinea for a beginner

[Wulfskaar]

Good progress. The top sacrifice will always be the strongest. It’s the nature of the tree.

Wait until the weather has cooled off, then chop.

Do you plan for a new sacrifice to thicken the trunk while creating critical mass and pushing back below?

Cheers
DSD sends

Thanks DSD!

I think the trunk is as thick as I need for my umbrella design.

I have no plans for a new sacrifice, except to strengthen and thicken the lower branches. I have been thinking of this main trunk sacrifice with all the removed branches as a way to strengthen the lower branches.

My main question is if I chop it this fall or wait for the lower branches to gain strength. I'm just worried I might kill it, although it's already survived losing most of it's branches, a bare-root repot where I removed most of the roots, and a massive scale attack last year that went unchecked until it was too late.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

You are welcome.

Here’s what I do. If the new buds are old plainly evident throughout the majority of the undergrowth it’s ok to chop. This can be done anytime. Better from Oct-Jan, but still fine afterwards.

Thinking it might be best for the design/taper to choose a new leader to develop upper trunk growth.

DSD sends

 

[Wulfskaar]

You are welcome.

Here’s what I do. If the new buds are old plainly evident throughout the majority of the undergrowth it’s ok to chop. This can be done anytime. Better from Oct-Jan, but still fine afterwards.

Thinking it might be best for the design/taper to choose a new leader to develop upper trunk growth.

DSD sends

Thanks again! I take your advice seriously and I appreciate it.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I have not yet cut off the sacrificial trunk.

Currently, the sacrificial trunk has 4 strong, short branches.

If I keep it, is it best to prune down to 1, or is it best to just let that part grow wild?

Photo from September.

 

[souvik1811]

Question from a pine newbie: how do you keep the needles down low so short, while the needles on the sacrifice branch are more likely the natural longer size? Do you just cut them short?

 

[Wulfskaar]

Question from a pine newbie: how do you keep the needles down low so short, while the needles on the sacrifice branch are more likely the natural longer size? Do you just cut them short?

This species has juvenile and adult needles. I'm not sure how it all functions, but adult needles seem to come out of the stronger branches. I have read there are ways to keep the juvenile needles, but I'm not advanced enough to worry about that yet.

 

[souvik1811]

I see, thanks. And its the adult ones that are longer, right?

 

[Wulfskaar]

I see, thanks. And its the adult ones that are longer, right?

Yes. If you were to let the tree mature, it would have all long foliage.

I'm not sure if this is ISP, but it's what I imagine mine will look a bit like at some point.

 

[souvik1811]

I see. Thank you so much.

 

[Goodroot]

Nice to see your progress, I have a couple hundred Stone Pines I grew from seed, my first 3 year olds are starting to get mature needles, will have to experiment to see how it goes. The mother tree doesn't have really long needles so maybe they will say JBP length.
I sold most of my older ones but the young ones are fattening up fast.
I finally mastered the art of ISP cuttings last month, all my cuttings in the past looked like the lower left one, just 1 root. Now maybe I will get some nebari that matches my JBP cuttings.
Good luck and I will be watching your tree.
View attachment 390797

I have 3 ISP’s. I would love to learn how and when to take cuttings.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I am still undecided if it's time to remove the sacrifice. I could use some guidance on properly using a sacrifice trunk.

1. Would anyone recommend removing it now or would you keep it for another spring/summer?
2. If keeping, should I remove any of the four vigorous branches on top and keep one or two? Keep the strongest or weakest?

NOTE:
The lower branches did grow a bit last year before the major scale attack. What's left seems fairly healthy.

Here is the tree as of this morning.