Poisonous Pines and Care For Pines

[Rykalikespine]

I have asthma and a lot of allergies too nature. So, 3/4ths of the bonsai kit my mom got cannot be used, the bonsais cause inflammation. I really like pines though and want one that grows it's own pinecones.

1) Is it possible too do so?
2) How tall does it need too be to grow pinecones?
3) Will it grow less pinecones due too it's "mini" (bonsai size)? The largest I will go is 1.5 Feet.
4) What species are the most likely too cause asthma and allergies? The only tree that bothers me are dogwoods.
5) Should I avoid pines altogether? Mine will be indoor plants (with minor exposure too the outside) I have many outdoor cats who may get sick eating it.
6) How do you control a pines height? They're very local here.
7) Right now I collected Shortleaf and Lobloly ppinecones too extract seeds from them.
8) Any tips handling pine?
9) Ideas for less "dangerous" bonsais?

 

[TomB]

Pines cannot be kept indoors. That should answer most of your questions.

if you want to grow indoor trees, look for a Ficus.

 

[Rykalikespine]

They did it. How's it different in bonsai form?

 

[Tieball]

If you have springtime allergies.....most pines, but probably not all, produce a heavy amount of “pollen dust” in spring as they burst into growth. I am surrounded by Easter White Pines. There’s a lot of pollen dust every late spring....it looks like a haze in the air and accumulates like a light snowfall of a greenish yellow dust. I don’t think a bonsai tree will produce a terrible amount of pollen dust. With a pine, that dust, if produced, can easily be washed away with a garden hose.

I've not seen pinecones on bonsai trees...it’s possible and probable...but not something I’ve seen that’s all. A lot of pines produce pinecones as a result of stress in nature....the need to reproduce if there is a growing threat. Someone is likely to show me here though.

Pines...they belong outside. Pines are not an indoor tree. Outside...all year...rain, sun, wind, snow, ice, freezing, thawing....all year. Outdoors only. Outside....not inside.

You sound like you have a phobia about pines....a health fear. So, find other kinds of trees. You should research pine allergies on Google to learn more. Also read each here and everywhere about pine bonsai....you can find more applicable to your needs if you target a specific type of pine rather than using a general “pine” search. when you say the word pine....I also do not know what trees you are actually referencing. you need to communicate more specifics.

You might consider deciduous trees rather than pines if you really have a health fear. Or consider trees that can survive with the right lighting, humidity and air movement indoors such as the Ficus trees. They do need care though. Trees generally are not indoor trees...you’ll need to create the right environment to grow indoors. But not pines...outdoors only.

 

[Dav4]

View attachment 276445

They did it. How's it different in bonsai form?

That's a norfolk pine- tropical and not a true pine.

 

[Forsoothe!]

How about something looks like a spruce and can be held as an indoor tree? Black Dragon may be what you want. Cryptomeria get tiny cones at the tips of branches early in life. You will want to pull them off as soon as they begin to turn brown because there will be lots of pollen that will discharge when they open. An Italian Stone Pine might make a suitable substitute for a northern Pine like you're used to. They too, can be indoor trees, if you have a good window. I have no idea at what age ISP get cones or what they look like.

 

[TomB]

View attachment 276445

They did it. How's it different in bonsai form?

That’s not a pine. Looks like some kind of Araucaria species.

 

[Rykalikespine]

If you have springtime allergies.....most pines, but probably not all, produce a heavy amount of “pollen dust” in spring as they burst into growth. I am surrounded by Easter White Pines. There’s a lot of pollen dust every late spring....it looks like a haze in the air and accumulates like a light snowfall of a greenish yellow dust. I don’t think a bonsai tree will produce a terrible amount of pollen dust. With a pine, that dust, if produced, can easily be washed away with a garden hose.

I've not seen pinecones on bonsai trees...it’s possible and probable...but not something I’ve seen that’s all. A lot of pines produce pinecones as a result of stress in nature....the need to reproduce if there is a growing threat. Someone is likely to show me here though.

Pines...they belong outside. Pines are not an indoor tree. Outside...all year...rain, sun, wind, snow, ice, freezing, thawing....all year. Outdoors only. Outside....not inside.

You sound like you have a phobia about pines....a health fear. So, find other kinds of trees. You should research pine allergies on Google to learn more. Also read each here and everywhere about pine bonsai....you can find more applicable to your needs if you target a specific type of pine rather than using a general “pine” search. when you say the word pine....I also do not know what trees you are actually referencing. you need to communicate more specifics.

You might consider deciduous trees rather than pines if you really have a health fear. Or consider trees that can survive with the right lighting, humidity and air movement indoors such as the Ficus trees. They do need care though. Trees generally are not indoor trees...you’ll need to create the right environment to grow indoors. But not pines...outdoors only.

I don't have a health fear, that's ridiculous. Life is too short for worrying. I have googled the specific pines "Shortleaf" "lobloly" pines, and it describes them as inflammation causing, it's why I asked. Try googling yourself and you'll see I referenced the specific pines, I just used the laymens term for them not the scientific name.

Pinus echinata (Shortleaf Pine)
Pinus taeda (Lobloly Pine)

 

[Rykalikespine]

How about something looks like a spruce and can be held as an indoor tree? Black Dragon may be what you want. Cryptomeria get tiny cones at the tips of branches early in life. You will want to pull them off as soon as they begin to turn brown because there will be lots of pollen that will discharge when they open. An Italian Stone Pine might make a suitable substitute for a northern Pine like you're used to. They too, can be indoor trees, if you have a good window. I have no idea at what age ISP get cones or what they look like.

Thank you! I will look into the Italian Stone Pine, and get seeds for it. (I know the seed process is longer than the nursery, or cuttings route, but it's much more affordable on my budget)
Okay, so the only issue I'm seeing is pollen. Most of our native pine trees drop cones around October and have a few late ones in December (this is how I collected cones during December). So, during Fall/Winter I will just leave it outside. It should be decently tall too leave outside next Fall/Winter. So, when the cones open and release seeds, and pollen comes out, it will be outdoors and shouldn't bother me too much.

Thank you all for your help!! I really love pines and the cones, so I hope I will be successful with my bonsai idea!! I doubt I'll post much after this thread, but who knows maybe I'll be back too share my progress.

 

[Adair M]

Pines don’t release pollen when they drop cones. That’s when the seeds have matured. Pollen is generally produced in the spring and that’s the time the cones start to grow. The cones take months to mature before they drop off the tree.

Pines require full sun to grow. An indoor grow light set up generally won’t work. They also, generally, need 4 seasons. Most pines require a winter chill period. They definitely like the summer sun. And they probably like having it cooler at night.

Most bonsai aren’t allowed to set cones. They will do it, but cones require a lot of energy, and we’d rather the tree spend its energy fattening the trunk or making more branches and twigs, or just producing needles rather than cones. If it does make cones, they will grow to full size. We can often reduce the needles to be short to be in scale (somewhat) with the tree, but the cones will grow to be full size. Another reason they’re generally removed.

I don’t know of any pine being “poisonous” per se. They do produce pollen. Some people are allergic to the pollen.

They will not live for very long indoors. That tree you pictured is a Norfolk Island Pune, which is not really a pine. It will grow indoors, but they make poor bonsai. I had one in college. Nice houseplant.

The two pines you listed might be good for bonsai, but they are not commonly grown for bonsai. As a beginner, I recommend you start with a tried a true species such as Japanese Black Pine, or perhaps a Scots Pine. I would avoid the Italian Stone Pine as it has two foliage types, a juvenile form, and an adult form. And the adult form has extremely long needles.

If you are keen on having an indoor tree, forget pines entirely! Something like a ficus is much more suitable.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I just watched South Park, and I'm beginning to feel this OP is one of cast of escaped characters. Stone Pines aren't hardy in OK, it's a houseplant for us outside of FL. You can get one or a few after-Christmas discounts in the $3 to 5$ range, cheaper than seeds and faster if you have a big box nearby dumping Christmas decorations like Stone Pines. It won't have cones for the foreseeable future. Outside of that, I think I'm getting pranked and talking to a cartoon...

 

[_#1_]

I really love pines and the cones, so I hope I will be successful with my bonsai idea!! I doubt I'll post much after this thread, but who knows maybe I'll be back too share my progress.

I know it's wrong, but I LOL

 

[PABonsai]

I'm not too familiar with pines but couldn't he also just cut the pollen cones off before they fully mature and release the pollen? Can the seed cones he is seeking fully form, mature and open if not fully pollinated? Wouldn't they just be pine cones without viable seeds?

 

[Shibui]

I'm not too familiar with pines but couldn't he also just cut the pollen cones off before they fully mature and release the pollen? Can the seed cones he is seeking fully form, mature and open if not fully pollinated? Wouldn't they just be pine cones without viable seeds?

Yes, you can cut off male pollen cones as they develop but if and when female cones form they do not develop if not pollinated. They just dry up and drop off after a few weeks. The trees are more sensible than to waste all that energy maturing an empty cone.
Pines as bonsai rarely form cones because the maintenance pruning required to keep the trees small and tidy requires us to trim off all the new growth each spring/summer and that new growth is where the cones (male and female) are.

Definitely look into ficus as indoor bonsai. They do not release pollen so should not affect asthma and grow very well as indoor plants. Also excellent as bonsai - very forgiving of beginners and easy to renovate when that's required because you did not know what you were doing.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to as fleeting a Crazy as you wish.

Sorce

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

All conifers are known to cause inflammation.
It's either the pollen, or the sap, the foliage or the turpenes that they release.
If you have asthma, you might not want houseplants at all; mites that usually worsen asthmatic moments thrive on humidity.

Then again, I've cured my own allergies through exposure.

 

[sorce]

Mind over Matter all Day.

Sorce

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Mind over Matter all Day.

Sorce

I tried to train my mind but it didn't matter.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I tried to train my mind but it didn't matter.

As a matter of fact, I think many don't mind.

 

[M. Frary]

I've not seen pinecones on bonsai trees

My jack pine grow them.