The $30 dollar 30 minute junk pile Mugo pine.

[scottc]

I know this thread is about your Mugo. I can’t help you much there. Vance is your man.

I do know quite a deal about JWP. Your JWP is cute. But it will not tolerate the treatment you did to the Mugo. They are much harder to make back

thanks for the advice. I’ll watch that video today. The JWP is still sitting in the garage. I’m waiting till I know nights won’t go down to super cold and then I’ll set it out. I don’t think I’ll be doing with it much but will hit you up before I do.

 

[Potawatomi13]

White pine looks like Bristlecone with resin spots on needles. That or "something else" on needles. Tree is obvious graft and will become much more obvious as tree ages.

 

[Adair M]

Spruce will back bud from stems without needles, mugo doesn't. So you will eventually see that your mugo has no future as anything other than as a pom-pom tree, unless you can bend those branches to compact the whole thing.

I talk like I am some sort of fucking expert because I've been down this path. It took me several years to see firsthand how mistaken most of my steps were.

So, yes, you're a bonsai genius. You copied what Ryan did with a spruce (that will back bud do that the foliage will fill in) with a mugo pine. You learned something. GOOD! There's a lot more to learn. Sorry your ego is so fragile. Maybe you shouldn't post until you've grown up a bit.

But then again, maybe I'm just an old fart talking shit to a noob. Hard to tell. Meanwhile, keep your enthusiasm and keep trying. Enjoy what you are doing. That's all that really matters.

Nice motto! Do I get a royalty every time you post?

 

[0soyoung]

Nice motto! Do I get a royalty every time you post?

Well, ...
No.

This works the other way. I am promoting you, so you pay me.
First week is free.

 

[Victorim]

Nice motto! Do I get a royalty every time you post?

Ah get it now. Very confused trying to figure that one out. But then 0so's sig wasn't in the quote.

 

[Paulpash]

thanks for the advice. I’ll watch that video today. The JWP is still sitting in the garage. I’m waiting till I know nights won’t go down to super cold and then I’ll set it out. I don’t think I’ll be doing with it much but will hit you up before I do.

JWP are high mountain trees - they need cold temperatures to stay healthy. Putting it into a garage will do it more harm than good.

There is a mugo tutorial on this forum under the resources section. I'd refer to this often before you work your mugo again til the techniques and timing is learnt. Note the words 'overworking', 'insult' and particularly 'patience' - you will need this in spadefuls if you intend to develop pines from nursery stock.

Pines are probably the most challenging tree to turn into a bonsai, especially if you are new for several reasons:

1. They are very sensitive to root work and will swiftly become firewood if you remove too much.

2. They need time sensitive intervention. Get it wrong or forget and your season can be a train wreck.

3. Their growth pattern is oriented towards growing whorls. This means that the grower must identify & reduce these before inverse taper ruins the trunk line.

4. Backbudding is not consistent. In mugo I've found that there's a sliding scale of probability for backbudding - the older the branch the less chance of adventitious buds. Your tree has 4-6 inches (?) of budless / needle bare branches. This means that you firstly have to get it to bud in these areas then develop them in to shoots. At the same time you are fighting apical dominance and the tree wanting to suppress those valuable inner buds. To say this is challenging is an understatement.

I wrote this not to put you off pines, quite the contrary, but to highlight some of the potential pitfalls the inexperienced grower must navigate to turn raw stock into a presentable bonsai.

JWP are even tougher than mugo - as @Adair M has pointed out - and I've grown both. I would strongly recommend that you use it as a learning opportunity by taking it to a workshop or club meet where you can get some hands on help. Without guidance it would be exceptionally hard to develop a JWP as a neophyte.

This is my non asshat, helping post that I hope you listen to....