This was purchased a couple of years ago and had been damaged in transit .When i received the trunk it was all but stubs and a block. It was obvious to me that it spent most of the 2000 klm journey From Queensland to Victoria  rolling around in the back of a delivery truck .I removed it from the transit pot and the roots where all but damaged and basically non existent . I potted it into this big pot using my bonsai blend , hoping to produce roots as good as the pines i have collected in the past without good root masses . Thinking it would grow exceptionally well i was basically disappointed , it has take 2 years to develop a small canopy from the stub that were damaged and a few meager roots . Due to the fact that no roots were on the trunk when delivered it did loose half the base due to rot , so last season i removed the soft tissue with the chain saw and basically gave up on the tree as Bonsai potential . Well i glad to say it did spark up and grow a few new shoots , but very little roots . I have re-potted the trunk and in the process cleaned up the cut from the chainsaw , Idid paint the carved section with Steri-prune , a bitumen based wound sealer prior to  embedded a scoria rock into the hollowed section . The rock basically balances the trunk back to the original size and shape . With the trunk reset it will be allowed to grow on , i’m hoping it will eventually grow over the rock incorporating it into the trunk as one , this will  only receive tip pruned to improve ramification . The frosts of late was the reason i have taken the steps to work this trunk .More carving is required to the apex of the trunk itself It was about to burst into flower mode however the icy conditions have damaged the new growth . I have applied wires to the old stubs an up into the new growth , its very brittle and a few broken shoots  have resulted . If they heal it will be a good thing if not it will need a few more years to recover . This can now grow on with minimal care until i re-visit it in a year or two. It is still suffering from frost bite and the leaves are continuing to drop , hopefully it will survive as new shoots are appearing and it should grow on to become a worthwhile future project .

 

Cheers Alpineart

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