Where to cut my 5 needle??

Neli: If anyone's determination is up to the task it is yours. However I think it goes far deeper than just the temperature. There are issues of the wind and snow playing a part in sculpting the tree's future. It is uncertain how important those natural abuses are to the tree, but I feel they are important. I think you all know that there are some Pines whose cones will not open and release seeds unless they go through a fire.
Darling,
I am just having fun...nothing to loose and I might as well try it. I am so envious of other people's pines, so I know I will regret if I dont try.
And it will be an experiment :rolleyes: he hehe!
 
Darling,
I am just having fun...nothing to loose and I might as well try it. I am so envious of other people's pines, so I know I will regret if I dont try.
And it will be an experiment :rolleyes: he hehe!

I support you fully. I have grown things for years that many told me couldn't be done or shouldn't be done but I did it any way. I merely wanted to point out what I knew so that you can consider work arounds.
 
Neli: If anyone's determination is up to the task it is yours. However I think it goes far deeper than just the temperature. There are issues of the wind and snow playing a part in sculpting the tree's future. It is uncertain how important those natural abuses are to the tree, but I feel they are important. I think you all know that there are some Pines whose cones will not open and release seeds unless they go through a fire.

Vance please clarify as this sounds like without wind, snow and hellfire a white pine cannot be bonsai'd
 
I support you fully. I have grown things for years that many told me couldn't be done or shouldn't be done but I did it any way. I merely wanted to point out what I knew so that you can consider work arounds.
Thank You , I might as well prove that I am a stubborn big headed woman.;)
 
Vance please clarify as this sounds like without wind, snow and hellfire a white pine cannot be bonsai'd

In a cooler you have stagnant, cold and man made air. You don't have the movement these trees were evolved in. How they will respond to an artificial environment is unknown. It is for this reason I understand why they have very poor luck trying to keep a great white shark in captivity. There is something about the magnetic field of the Earth that motivates them and ultimately causes them to swim around counter-clock-wise in the tank until they die. All I am saying we accomplish more by doing bonsai than we give ourselves credit for or even understand.
 
As earlier posted, Arthur Joura at the NC Arboretum, though in a cold, snowy, mountainous environment, successfully uses cold storage for the best trees in the collection. This includes pines and junipers with no lighting. He also can control when trees come out of dormancy so he can stage or postpone repotting. As long as humidity is monitored, I don't see any reason Neli can't successfully grow white pines in Zambia.
 
As earlier posted, Arthur Joura at the NC Arboretum, though in a cold, snowy, mountainous environment, successfully uses cold storage for the best trees in the collection. This includes pines and junipers with no lighting. He also can control when trees come out of dormancy so he can stage or postpone repotting. As long as humidity is monitored, I don't see any reason Neli can't successfully grow white pines in Zambia.

Preston, I've been in 10,000 sq/ft coolers in the industry specifically for this purpose.. It works or they would go broke. I'm not talking about 1 or 2 bonsai but thousands and thousands of trees or cuttings for landscape or orchard. Physiology does not react as if it can think like a human
 
Preston, I've been in 10,000 sq/ft coolers in the industry specifically for this purpose.. It works or they would go broke. I'm not talking about 1 or 2 bonsai but thousands and thousands of trees or cuttings for landscape or orchard. Physiology does not react as if it can think like a human

That sounds promising also. Thanks.
 
Preston, I've been in 10,000 sq/ft coolers in the industry specifically for this purpose.. It works or they would go broke. I'm not talking about 1 or 2 bonsai but thousands and thousands of trees or cuttings for landscape or orchard. Physiology does not react as if it can think like a human
It sounds like you think I disagree with you.
 
My wife is a florist with a large walk in cooler set at 40F. She has some extra space until Valentines. I was thinking about using it for my white pines during the strange fluctuations in temp we have been having. What do you all think?

(Edit: Neli- The cost of running a 10'x12' walk in cooler is usually less than $150 USD a month. You could fit a ton of temperate material in that space...I'm just saying. lol)
 
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My wife is a florist with a large walk in cooler set at 40F. She has some extra space until Valentines. I was thinking about using it for my white pines during the strange fluctuations in temp we have been having. What do you all think?

(Edit: Neli- The cost of running a 10'x12' walk in cooler is usually less than $150 USD a month. You could fit a ton of temperate material in that space...I'm just saying. lol)
We have one already at home behind the bar a cold room, where we keep the drinks almost that size but no natural light inside, that is why I wanted freezer with glass top.. Electricity here is not too bad cost.
 
We have one already at home behind the bar a cold room, where we keep the drinks almost that size but no natural light inside, that is why I wanted freezer with glass top.. Electricity here is not too bad cost.
Why do you want light? Dormant trees don't want light.
 
We have one already at home behind the bar a cold room, where we keep the drinks almost that size but no natural light inside, that is why I wanted freezer with glass top.. Electricity here is not too bad cost.

Well there you go. Put them in the cooler for 4-5 months and mind the soil moisture. Problem solved. Don't worry about lighting.
 
I thought pines and junipers have light in winter???? They keep their foliage...it might be better for them.
 
I've been growing JWP on black pine roots for about ten years here in Aust. It gets frosty here in winter, but never any snow with temps ranging from -3C to 13 in the coldest month. Summer gets up to about 35C with extremes of 42. I find it surprising that it is difficult to grow white pine in Michigan with its very temperate climate. To be honest, I find JWP to be less of a problem than Japanese maples.

This is my fourth growing season I've been experimenting with constant nutrient feeding and have found that my white pines (and other plants) like a low ammonium based fertilizer with high potassium and some magnesium.

My fertigation mix is 6ppm N- ammonium, 8 ppm P, and 46ppm K, and 20ppm Mg. Now we are moving into summer I have raised the N to 8ppm. This is too low for some plants, but seems to work for the white pines (and mugo's).

Black pines would prefer more N, but still grow well in this solution.

Plants get full sun till about 1pm, then in dappled shade till late afternoon.

What I am gathering from this thread is that people are only looking at a very small part of the much bigger picture of horticultural management. Climate is important, but plant nutrition is no less important.

Paul
 
Pines are similar to great white sharks. A great white shark is like the King of the ocean. They are tough creatures that are built to be survivors. However, they cannot survive in an aquarium. They need the flowing currents and other habitat qualities the ocean offers. Pines are seemingly also at the top of the plant kingdom. They can survive incredible obstacles. They live for centuries even against nature's many obstacles. These trees are so tough that some survived the atomic blast in Japan during the world war because they were shielded by a wall. They can survive an atomic blast, but bring them indoors or deprive them of dormancy for a few years and they die

It has been mentioned in this thread about success with cold storage areas and rooms. I think what needs to be mentioned is that these areas are in climates that have, to some degree, cold winters anyway. It is true that quite a few people put there trees in a place and then close the door and pretty much forget about them. With the exception of maybe watering a time or 2. However, once again, these tend to be in climates that have some degree of cold in winter anyway.

I am not saying that someone in a hot climate can a pine alive for more than 4 years. However, as far as I know, I have never seen it. If we approach it from the point of view of what a plant needs, you could use the refrigerator idea. If you want to go all out. You could do the following. A small walk in refrigerator. You could set the temperature for 39 degrees F. Maybe have a small fan set on low in there or just rely on the fan in the fridge. Maybe have the fan (not blowing on the tree) on a timer that circulates the air a few times a day, Next, set up a humidifier. Also, have a window with just a little outside light (no sun). Although light might not be necessary, I usually have a little light coming in through the windows in my storage area. No sun, just a little natural light.

Rob
 
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