Your critique in styling this mess.

[marc206]

Ok this is my first Big yamadori mugo pine. Please help me with a virtual. All your opinions will be considered thanks.

I am just going to clean up dead branches and foliage and water.

 

[Dan W.]

Hi Marc,

First, when was this collected? I wouldn't suggest doing any styling work on it if it was collected recently. Generally you want to wait at least year or two before styling to let the tree rest and establish in its pot/collection box.

-- If it has been long enough, then there are a lot of good artists out your way and your best bet would be to take it to a club event or workshop. It looks like the tree has a lot going on that would make it hard to come up with style options from pictures.

Good luck with it I like mugos, and Vance Wood can help you out a lot with thier care if you have any questions.

 

[marc206]

yes I collected it today I was just wanting ideas for its future. The only work that will be done is Cleaning up the trunk and dead foliage.

 

[A Random User]

Without having the luxury of seeing it in person...
I would have to say to me, pic 4 has the most interest by far.
The trunk from this view reminds me of a rock. When styling
I would play off this feature, and rather than working this as
one big tree... I would instead style it as many small trees,
like in a forest planting.

Check out Kimura's rock planting.

 

[Vance Wood]

I don't have much to tell you at this point except what a great tree. All it needs is care and time. As to care be careful that you do not water it too much, only when the soil starts to dry out. It might also be helpful if you were mist the foliage twice a day as long as that water does not impact the water level in the soil.

 

[nathanbs]

Out of curiosity what soil is the tree now in?

 

[marc206]

well the tree still has all of the soil that was stuck to the root ball. from the yard it was in. I just added soil around it. 30%peat 20% perlite 10% pumice 30% diatomite 10% chick grit, top dressed with chick grit and diatomite. I made a video of the potting and will upload to youtube soon.

So no work can commence? no guy wires? besides cleaning up dead foliage.

 

[Vance Wood]

well the tree still has all of the soil that was stuck to the root ball. from the yard it was in. I just added soil around it. 30%peat 20% perlite 10% pumice 30% diatomite 10% chick grit, top dressed with chick grit and diatomite. I made a video of the potting and will upload to youtube soon.

So no work can commence? no guy wires? besides cleaning up dead foliage.

Give it at least two complete growing seasons before doing anything serious. You can apply guy wires just to make sure the wind won't blow it out of its pot.

 

[Dav4]

So no work can commence? no guy wires? besides cleaning up dead foliage.

A tried and true method of killing nice stock is working it to soon after collection...give it a few years to actually see that it's recovered before doing anything at all to it other then feed and water. Fwiw, I agree with Dan that a workshop would be a great place to take this tree....once it's ready to be worked on.

 

[Poink88]

Awesome tree. I am excited for you.

Please listen to the folks about not touching it for a year or two.

I am the impatient one here and even I will do as they say when it comes to pines and junis. A tree this nice is not worth gambling with. Play it safe.

Good luck with it.

 

[pwk5017]

I agree with all the above. You simply cant rush this stuff. Look at the schedule Kimura uses/used on his collected trees. 1st year, potted it up/got most of the old soil off, fed well. Second year, feed and water well. This is when you should experience a lot of backbudding, which is the cue to move onto the other steps. Third year, repot to finish removing old soil. Third year fall/fourth year style. Fifth year show. 5 years till a MASTER expected his collected trees to be show ready. I can tell you, these are the steps i follow for all my collected material. The 5 year schedule is really the best case scenario. I have ponderosas that are 4 years from the mountains, backbudding like crazy, and in bonsai pots ready to be styled this fall/late winter, and I have ponderosas 4 years from the mountains that I decided were not on the same schedule and they went back into pond baskets. What is the gain from me rushing those weaker ponderosas a year or two? An inferior tree with less backbuds, more susceptible to pest/disease, possible dieback from styling, inferior design options because of less backbuds etc. The list goes on and on. You have a really nice tree in front of you, respect it, dont rush it and kill it/experience dieback that diminishes the potential awesomeness.

 

[Paradox]

Very cool tree.

Ill echo the others here. Do not rush this pine.
The time you think you will save won't do you any good if it dies.

 

[october]

Nice tree. Although you can't do physical work for a year or 2. Coming up with a good plan can be time consuming, but fun. I agree with sawgrass that pic 4 might provide the best front. However, I do not agree with making small trees. I would use the beautiful trunk that nature created probably as it is. However, I would shari and jin it in certain areas. Also, when it comes time to style. I would pic the branches you need and pull them down to create a nice shape. Something like in this virt. Basically, you the beautiful trunk would be on display, but have a nice silhouette that sort of complements and showcases it.

Here is a virt of my suggestion. Also, the next pic is the Kevin Willson yew. Although different, I am showing it to show what I mean about the beautiful trunk being showcased and enhanced with some shari. Also, notice the foliage is complementing and letting the natural trunk shine.

Rob

 

[MACH5]

Congrats this is great material!! Nice virt Rob. I would go a very similar route based on the pics provided.



It is also interesting to me how the top is so neat and full and the bottom so unruly and wild. The top looks like a landscape shrub.

 

[pwk5017]

I like where Rob is going. Honestly, I would spend an hour or two combing through walter pall's blog. He has had plenty of mugos and scots like this one. You might find elements from those trees that catch your eye and influence this tree's design. Precedents never hurt.

 

[fourteener]

I am on board with the advice given so far. I do like pictures three and four as they seem to hide the biggest problem of too much extension. Next year I would consider cutting out some of the branches that are the worst offenders in regard to extension.

Your tree is going to need every bit of backbudding you can get and the key to getting some of that is light. This year I'd try to identify the branches that offer foliage closest to the trunk.

 

[monza]

Great mess you collected, that should be a impressive bonsai in a few years.

 

[marc206]

Give it at least two complete growing seasons before doing anything serious. You can apply guy wires just to make sure the wind won't blow it out of its pot.

It is wired in the training pot right now. It will not move.

 

[marc206]

I am on board with the advice given so far. I do like pictures three and four as they seem to hide the biggest problem of too much extension. Next year I would consider cutting out some of the branches that are the worst offenders in regard to extension.

Your tree is going to need every bit of backbudding you can get and the key to getting some of that is light. This year I'd try to identify the branches that offer foliage closest to the trunk.

Yea I'm still cleaning out the dead foliage and needles. I read somewhere to cover the pot with saran wrap to let the roots get some warmth in the summer. Which would help the roots a little more. When I'm done I will take better pictures of what really going on in the inside. Its a nice one. It's definitely my oldest potted pine. I have seedling ranging from 1-5 years old. My landscape mugo is maybe 30 years old. Does anyone know how to tell the age of a pine? Or has some material I could read to figure out the age?

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Hi Marc!

I wanted to let you know that there's a great many people in our area who would be happy to help you evaluate that tree. Myself included... lol It's easier to see it in person and get a sense of what direction to take the tree. You'll know by next summer what parts, if not all, have survived. That makes a lot of choices for you right there. The tree will definitely need some carving work and as I'm sure you know, it'll back bud like mad... so don't fret about what isn't there yet.

Kindly,

Victrinia