The Worlds Ugliest Black Pine, Unfortunately It Is Mine

[Mike Corazzi]

IF lack of green does not kill is interesting looking tree. Agree JBP is no excitement zone. Reverse taper can be somewhat compensated by pick of viewing angle/front. If surviving then passing on to fellow club member/auctioning is good option.

And thus fully describes the reason I won't be going to any more "club" auctions.
I should have taken a club to the last (and only) one I went to.

I confess I did not NOTICE the bored hole for a THREAD GRAFT on the JBP.

It's amazing how easy it is for an experienced person to conceal a fault so a less experienced person will bid on it.

My bad.

Never again.

I think GOOD trees are blind. They don't seem to be able to find their way to auction but they do find the way to the sales.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

And thus fully describes the reason I won't be going to any more "club" auctions.
I should have taken a club to the last (and only) one I went to.

I confess I did not NOTICE the bored hole for a THREAD GRAFT on the JBP.

It's amazing how easy it is for an experienced person to conceal a fault so a less experienced person will bid on it.

My bad.

Never again.

I think GOOD trees are blind. They don't seem to be able to find their way to auction but they do find the way to the sales.

I would not donate it to the auction if it was not expected to live, our club does not do that sort of thing, in fact, we have rejected some items just for that reason. The auction reference concerned the tree before my "styling", it was quite healthy then. It is a shame that you had a bad experience, you can sometimes get some good material at them.

John

 

[Wilson]

Hey John, has this guy woken up for spring, or have you passed it on?

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Hey John, has this guy woken up for spring, or have you passed it on?

Unfortunately, it expired, my fault for sure.

 

[Vance Wood]

A look under the hood, seems to have a good colony of the symbiotic fungi. I cleaned up the roots and took a few off, probably too many, the last time it made it though.

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Back in the pot.

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I really have no hopes that it will ever be anything other than hideous. It has the worst case of reverse taper I have ever seen and I don' know what is going on with the middle of the trunk, you would think that it would have thicken some with the rest of it. Anyway, just thought I would share my misery.

I think it is possible to make a decent bonsai out of this. The trunk is wonderfully interesting and deserves a good look. But you seem to believe that it is ugly and beyond hope which I don't believe it is you just don't see where it can go and I am not sure you have an accurate idea of what is possible with what you have done. Don't do anything more till well into the summer. I just noticed that you said the tree died. That's too bad and the system does not allow me to delete a post. By the way this really could have been a first rate tree.

 

[Dorky_gearhead]

Damn, it sucks to hear that it's moved to the great beyond. Although you dont find it.... er... didn't find it attractive, I would LOVE to call a tree like that mine!

 

[JosephCooper]

Weird, WEIRD tree.

If the inverse taper was less extreme and the needles reduce, some good literati there.

Maybe you'll see it in heaven and fix it up?

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I think it is possible to make a decent bonsai out of this. The trunk is wonderfully interesting and deserves a good look. But you seem to believe that it is ugly and beyond hope which I don't believe it is you just don't see where it can go and I am not sure you have an accurate idea of what is possible with what you have done. Don't do anything more till well into the summer. I just noticed that you said the tree died. That's too bad and the system does not allow me to delete a post. By the way this really could have been a first rate tree.

Thanks, Vance, the title was kinda a pun, since it was't one of the traditionally shaped ones. I was in over my head, didn't know much about pines and no one really does them here. I hate I lost it, especially since Mrs. Mullet really liked it.

 

[Dorky_gearhead]

I enjoy weird inverse taper like that. Looking at that tree I assume that it was halfway uprooted at one point in its life (landslide, boulder rolling down the hill) if so, that bulge was actually the original root flare. If that is true then that truly shows strength, and determination. Had more time been taken in working it, im sure this would become a very interesting piece to ponder upon.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I enjoy weird inverse taper like that. Looking at that tree I assume that it was halfway uprooted at one point in its life (landslide, boulder rolling down the hill) if so, that bulge was actually the original root flare. If that is true then that truly shows strength, and determination. Had more time been taken in working it, im sure this would become a very interesting piece to ponder upon.

Perhaps is tree to emulate in 6 year JBP contest?

 

[milehigh_7]

I'd sooner have fugly and hardy, than pretty and temperamental...

You callin me temperamental???

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Perhaps is tree to emulate in 6 year JBP contest?

Nope, I am giving up on pines, I hate losing a tree at my own hands. Plus I am 51, by time I got another one as old as that one, I too will be old, too old.

 

[Vance Wood]

Nope, I am giving up on pines, I hate losing a tree at my own hands. Plus I am 51, by time I got another one as old as that one, I too will be old, too old.

You shouldn't sell your self short. You're going on 51, that ain't old, don't start thinking like it is. What difference in the world will it make if you leave some trees behind for people to use as pre-bonsai or the good one as legacy trees? As far as losing Pines at your own hands ????? Maybe that would stop happening if you asked for advise before you did something as opposed to asking for absolution after the fact. Pines are pretty much a timing driven creature and much of what you need to know about Pines you are probably not going to discover by yourself, a little help would be of assist. Very often in the world of challenges we hear the term "suck it up" and try again. In the world of bonsai it sometime comes down to that---- and understanding if you swallowed your pride and asked you might find your solutions. I have found over the years it is pride that gets in the way. Ignorance can be cured arrogance is harder, and we all have a measure of that.

 

[sorce]

I though someone mentioned this looked like a dolphin. .

Maybe it was just in my head...

Either way, having killed the dolphin you may not eat Tuna this year, Dolphin safe or not.

In searching dolphin....
Lol!
Twice BVF adjectives "smooth" with dolphin.....

@Brian Van Fleet have you ever touched a dolphin!? I thought they were rough like sharks! I wonder what the tongues feel like.
Sorce

 

[sorce]

I am 51

Bullshit!

PBR in the fountain of youth?

Sorce

 

[Wilson]

Sorry to hear it expired, but at least you have all your beauty azaleas and others!

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Bullshit!

PBR in the fountain of youth?

Sorce

Yes, it is!!!

 

[Mellow Mullet]

You shouldn't sell your self short. You're going on 51, that ain't old, don't start thinking like it is. What difference in the world will it make if you leave some trees behind for people to use as pre-bonsai or the good one as legacy trees? As far as losing Pines at your own hands ????? Maybe that would stop happening if you asked for advise before you did something as opposed to asking for absolution after the fact. Pines are pretty much a timing driven creature and much of what you need to know about Pines you are probably not going to discover by yourself, a little help would be of assist. Very often in the world of challenges we hear the term "suck it up" and try again. In the world of bonsai it sometime comes down to that---- and understanding if you swallowed your pride and asked you might find your solutions. I have found over the years it is pride that gets in the way. Ignorance can be cured arrogance is harder, and we all have a measure of that.

Thanks again, Vance, for the words of encouragement, there is some good advice in there. I think my decision to give up on pines has more to do with too many other trees right now and lack of space. I would not have the time to give them the proper attention and I really have no interest in them until I get more space or thin the current herd. If the right one comes along, who knows...

 

[Adair M]

Mullet, Mobile AL is an ideal climate for JBP! They’re coastal trees, tolerant of salt air.

You killed that one by removing too much foliage.

Saying that no one near you knows anything about JBP is not true. BVF is in Birmingham. Kathy Shiner lives (at least part time) in Alabama. MarkyScott lives in Houston, TX, even farther south from you.

JBP aren’t hard to grow, but timing is key. They are very responsive! Do the right thing at the right time, you will be rewarded! Do the wrong thing, or at the wrong time, the tree will show you that you f%cked weyzup!

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Mullet, Mobile AL is an ideal climate for JBP! They’re coastal trees, tolerant of salt air.

You killed that one by removing too much foliage.

Saying that no one near you knows anything about JBP is not true. BVF is in Birmingham. Kathy Shiner lives (at least part time) in Alabama. MarkyScott lives in Houston, TX, even farther south from you.

JBP aren’t hard to grow, but timing is key. They are very responsive! Do the right thing at the right time, you will be rewarded! Do the wrong thing, or at the wrong time, the tree will show yo

Ok, thanks guys, like I said earlier, I hate I killed it, but the context of "giving up on black pines" was intended to mean that I really have no interest in them. They are beautiful trees, but to purchase one with some decent size and proportions would be out of my price range at the moment, the same reason why I don't have a really nice satsuki azalea ( youngest daughter starts college in the fall). I also have too many trees for my the available space so getting another pine right now would be tough, but if Adair would send me one of his, I would tough it out and find a spot.

They’re coastal trees, tolerant of salt air.

I know this, I read up on them since I had one and there are some growing in the landscape here, and, I think along the interstate.

You killed that one by removing too much foliage.

I think that this is obvious, and painfully so. I knew it right after I did it, I had done about 10 azaleas before this and well, "was in the groove", but unfortunately the groove was cutting back azaleas. To its credit, it did attempt to survive.

Saying that no one near you knows anything about JBP is not true. BVF is in Birmingham. Kathy Shiner lives (at least part time) in Alabama. MarkyScott lives in Houston, TX, even farther south from you.

Like I said, there is no one near me, meaning in Mobile, the closet one of those is 4 hours away. Those are all really cool people and I hope to meet them some day. I hope to meet BVF this year. I have a six pack of Shiner for Marky Scott whenever I get the chance. There was one guy in the club who had some really nice pines but he has young kids and a busy schedule, so we could not get together. So, I took it upon myself to proceed, live and learn. He is the only one that I know of who keeps pines here, and he complains of needle cast and other fungus always attacking, in spite of counter measures, he came to Mobile from San Francisco. They grow here, but I don't think well, too hot and humid maybe? Don't know.

Any way, R.I.P., world's ugliest black pine, you will be sorely missed, especially by Mrs. Mullet.

John