AusBonsai

Have about 40-50 pines at my parents place i planted them about 12yrs ago i use to cut the roots on one side with a shovel each year an prune them down. Now they are about 10-12 feet high an haven't been touched for at least 6 yrs an i haven't seen them for about the last 12months.
Whats the best way to go about collecting these pines thinking of cutting them back hard an try to cut under the trunks with a shovel. Then spring cut the side roots an try to lift a few any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated as all pines i collect seem to die Ill try to get a picture as i haven't been there in a long time .

Olivecrazy wrote:Have about 40-50 pines at my parents ------- any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated as all pines i collect seem to die .

What type of pines are they mate

Radiata pines i grew them from seed im trying to get there today

Hi Olivecrazy , a question , why would you only cut the roots on one side .When i collect large old pine material most Pinus Nigra i spade the roots 4 sides leaving a gap between each spade then the following season spade the other 4 sections and leave them for another season . This gives the tree time to produce good feeder roots in two area's of the root ball close to the trunk .It doesn't always work but it give big material the best chance .I have just cut and removed but it does knock the chances of survival back , can't recall how many Radiata's i have killed but there's not enough fingers and toes on this body to count them all . I dig pines in early to mid Winter, with so many growing try a few methods of removal over a couple of years .

Cheers Alpineart

I have had a little experience with digging radiatas. I was told its best to dig them early to mid spring, and to dig deep around the tree to keep as much of the root-ball intact and undisturbed. Once you have it out of the ground, wrap root-ball in plastic with twine or something to tie it up nicely so it cant move. Then when you get home put into a large foam box with diatomite around the edges of the root-ball filling up the box. DO NOT WATER THE TREE at this stage. Mist the needles and candles of the tree 2-3 times a day, and try to avoid the root-ball getting wet from this. The reason for this is you want the roots to search for water and extend into the diatomite making in more stable in the box, and also allowing the tree to recover quicker. After about 8-10 weeks you should be able to water the root-ball, but only do this every so often. In fact I only started out watering mine every week and a half to 2 weeks.

The one Radiata that I let the root-ball get too loose ended up dieing but the other one has put on two spurts of growth since mid September. viewtopic.php?f=131&t=9543&hilit=+crawford

Hope that helps, if anyone else has other suggestions, Id be interested to hear them also, as there will be another SA bonsai Society pine dig later this year

I have collected radiata's in spring and summer with no losses, i water sparingly straight away. good luck

What are the key factors as far as seasons are concerned with digging radiata??? Iv been told to do it in winter, is that because they are dormant???

dug one up today but got the numbers way wrong lol only 4 left but im sure there where a lot more there but i no one thing i must of like Chinese elms back then must be over 50 or more most have ruff bark to. Any way was as careful as i could be no real tap root as the pines are in a sandy loam which sits on lime stone will load pictures tomorrow just got home . I pruned the others down a lot Ive got 3 to practice on as there is one that must survive i like it a lot
I potted the tree up an gave it some seasol it be ok will not water it for a while now .

Olivecrazy wrote:will not water it for a while now .

As Pines love water but not wet feet, i would be watering them , but what you do is up to you

Collected a little pine about 2 weeks ago now seems to be doing ok been misting the foliage 2-3 times a day an keeping it in the shade never did this for all the others ive collected. Will water as needed i check them daily

Interesting reading. I have two crackers near my house and was wondering when to dig.. Would love a nice elm if you could part with 1 of the 50 you got growing up there

I've found autumn best for radiatas!

After reading this it seems you can only dig in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The rest of the year you can forget about it. Oh and don't water them but they love water so give them a good drink ?????

A confused squizz

The above post is a winner

Hi Guys , its amazing how many people collect in different states at different times , best throw all the written material out in the rubbish and write an Aussie version and trial each area as one would do growing plants . Goes to prove what is written doesn't always work here in Australia . Good to see so many different responses from the Eastern States to the Mighty West .There is a lot of difference between collecting one tree and collecting a hundred , success rate cant be measure in single digits it take hundreds of successful collected specimens to work out the best season /time for your area and climate .

Cheers Alpine