Species suggestions

[tmmason10]

Ya, I lost this beautiful shohin pine, I believe, this year. It was only in training for about 7 months.

Rob

Well that was certainly a much nicer tree, sorry to hear it had the same issues. I gues it's back to the drawing board with pines myself.

 

[tmmason10]

Identical to a couple of JBP that i lost this year. Due to way too big of a soil particle which allowed way too much air to the roots. So I learned that JBP not only dislike a wet environment but they hate super coarse soil. Whats weird is they seem like to be suffocated in lightly damp to dry potting soil in a nursery can. I hardly see a black pine happier than at a nursery in a tall plastic can. Even if it has been there for years. Watering too often seems to be a slower demise. a general yellowing of needles, slow growth, week buds.

You know that's interesting, I used the regular premium soil from NEBGs but maybe I should be using the premium shohin soil. Same substrate, just smaller particles.

 

[tmmason10]

Thanks for the support guys and girls, I'm bummed because it had such a good year otherwise. I'm glad it was this starter pine, which is why I got it. I thought it'd be a good intro to JbP. Guess there's going to be room on the bench for a new one!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

You know that's interesting, I used the regular premium soil from NEBGs but maybe I should be using the premium shohin soil. Same substrate, just smaller particles.

I don't know that I'd be in too big a hurry to use small grain with pines. Mine have done very well in coarser mixes, and next year, more will be moved into coarser soils, losses came after years in finer soils.

This one is in 3/8"-1/4" grains, lava and akadama, 2:1, and is doing great. I'll use if for all the pines I'm repotting next year. Akadama and lava rock is surprisingly retentive, but the larger size means air circulation is good too...

 

[fore]

I don't know that I'd be in too big a hurry to use small grain with pines. Mine have done very well in coarser mixes, and next year, more will be moved into coarser soils, losses came after years in finer soils.

This one is in 3/8"-1/4" grains, lava and akadama, 2:1, and is doing great. I'll use if for all the pines I'm repotting next year. Akadama and lava rock is surprisingly retentive, but the larger size means air circulation is good too...

That pine is looking great Brian! Interesting you use such large particles. That JBP I got from Brussels still stays moist most of the time in the bottom 1/3 despite me drilling holes in sides, bottom, tilting it on an angle, and the rebar/aggregate trick I did when I got it. So I'm thinking of repotting it next yr...though on the other hand, it's staying healthy if I limit watering it.
So this thread is quite pertinent to me right now.