Type of pine

[Mitch_28]

I am no expert on Pinus sp. but there are more then one species of three needle pine. Pinus elliotti can often show a 3 needle characteristic. As mentioned earlier I suspect some cross pollination in the area from P patula, which is also a 3 needle species.

Thanks for this info. I have alot to learn about bonsai in general as well as different species and individual needs and characteristics. All a learning curve and have to start somewhere.
People on here are a great wealth of knowledge and I find it amazing that just by sticking a picture up of a random pine in a paddock that I thought looked like would make a nice bonsai has now lead to me learning numerous different Pinus sp and given me a starting point to be able to further research so I too can one day pass this info on.



Best of luck with your collection and transport. Getting as much fibrous roots and keeping them moist during transit shall help your cause, Digging these from open red soil in this area is hit and miss. Being from Wollongong you have access to some of the best Pine material in the country just up the road. There are also some great local freelance artists in the area such as Hugh Grant to source material from.

Will see what I can find and post back down the track should any survive into something admirable.

[Being from Wollongong you have access to some of the best Pine material in the country just up the road.]

^^Can I naively ask where you mean??^^

Thanks again jarryd [THUMBS UP SIGN]

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[Mitch_28]

Now there's a couple of pine species I've heard of but not familiar with so I won't offer any suggestions on telling which is which.
P. radiata is quite good at budding from the trunk when it is cut as shown in the photos. It is likely that the other 2 species are closely related and have the same characteristics but it is useful for bonsai. Hopefully you can find a few older/thicker trunks than those little baby ones. in some areas where they are mowed regularly there are lots of quite old trunks all shorter than the mower.
re collecting:
I don't think you need to be too pedantic about protecting the roots after digging. I normally just pull them out, shake off most of the soil and throw into the back of the ute for the trip home. up to an hour uncovered would probably be OK, maybe longer. Obviously the more care you take the better the result so if you want to spend the time; dig, wrap the roots in damp paper, cloth, plastic bag, etc. Keep the tree out of the hot sun as much as possible between digging and repotting. I don't think there's any need to be misting the foliage but I usually remove any obvious excess parts before or just after digging the trees.
Some people try to keep as much native soil as possible on the roots. I find that soil in post causes far more problems than benefit so, as mentioned above I try to shake off as much as will easily come off without further damage to the roots. there will still be plenty of mychorriza left to recolonise after you pot up
There are also those who religiously soak roots after collection for various lengths of time in various concoctions. I don't find that is necessary and just trim off excess roots when I get home and pot up into my potting mix as soon as possible.

Good luck with your collecting.
Incidentally, I have had good success transplanting pines in both spring and late summer/autumn.

Shibui, Neil I believe from past posts I've read, thanks for your comments. You are definitely one of the knowledgeable contributors on this forum and it's people like you helping people like me sometimes all with very similar questions, learn and enjoy this hobby we all share.

Definitely taken as much info on board as I can.

As I'm limited this trip to luggage weights I'll dig what I can and see how I go. At the moment it's more about learning to deal with a few of the different species of material that interest me, Pinus, Cedrus, Azaleas and Japanese. Maples and not so much about expecting fantastic results just yet. But I'll get there. If you don't start, you can't finish.

Cheers, Mitch

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