Who is growing Pinus radiata (Monterey Pine)?

[Jarrod]

Jarrod, how long does it take to get a layer for say 50mm dia and in what month do you set them?

Mick

We set the layers about this time last year and removed them in spring. So Autumn for spring which is about 6 months.

[Jow]

Hey Jow, great topic you have going here.
I to am interested in the growing of Radiata, I collected 4 last winter, I live in the middle of a couple of pine forrests so they were easy pickings.
When i collected, i bare rotted them as it is sandy soil the soil just fell away anyhow, but i brought some soil home with them, when i potted them up the medium i used was about 1/3 original sand/soil, 1/3 gravel or crushed brick, 1/6 potting mix, 1/6 riversand. a very open sandy mix.
The whole 4 kept growing like they did not even know they were moved and put in pots, i pinched them back in the next season, spring. i had also pinched back new buds and removed older needles this season. they are happy and so am i.
I will post pictures later.

Mick

I am interested in how big the air layers were that Jarrod had done and how big does he think he could do. As i said i'm basicly between two forests, we have large Radiatas linning the roads and some have shot where they were trimmied and would make awsome bonsais.

Hi Mick,

I think what you have found confirms what i and other members experience is with this species. Small seedlings and young Radiatas seem to handle collecting far better than their larger and older siblings.
Be sure to share their progress as they develope and the results of any techniques you apply to them.

[Jow]

Just thought i would add some images to spur on the discussion.

Two trees. Both treated the same as far as feeding and pruning timing. I pinched the strong candles on both trees as they formed in spring. One is older and needs a repot. The other is a younger tree and was repotted this year.

IMG_0005a.jpg

IMG_0004a.jpg

IMG_0002a.jpg

IMG_0001a.jpg

Anyone have any comments or observations? Do you trees look like either of the above pics at this time of year?

Hi Jow,
I think the bud response of both trees tells a story here. The older tree that needs repotting shows signs of very limited growth this season and it now looks like it has stopped growing for this year. It looks like a Radiata does in mid winter, before buds begin to swell. The younger tree on the other hand, appears to have a profusion of buds as a result of the earlier candle pinching and is bolting along happily, as there is still some growing season left.

I'm sure that the comparative age of the trees plays a part in the difference in vigour, but I reckon the biggest factor is that one tree has a bit of root run, while the other has restriction below soil level that is mirrored in lack of growth above. Mature Radiatas do behave like younger trees when provided with fresh, open soil with plenty of feed and water.

This is an excellent topic, this species grows well in most parts of Australia and is readily available as collected material. I hope we can discover how to use both of these types of growth to achieve what we should all be looking for with this species: Well structured, ramified branches with shorter needle length.

Cheers,
Mojo

You have hit the nail on the head as far as diagnosing the photos Mojo.
The older tree has been fed heavily closer to when it was re-potted and had more growth (but still not as much as the younger pine).

What I wanted to illustrate with those images was that one of the trees had short, neat needles.
Black pines will develop short needles if they need re-potting, but once re-potted they become long again. BUT, techniques were developed to force black pines to produce short needles even close to a re-potting. In Black pines case it was the removal of spring growth at a certain time of year that forced a second weaker flush that in turn had short needles.

What i am wondering is if there is a way to induce weak growth similar to how you might in a black pine to get short needles in Radiatas? They do have the potential to produce neat needles, we just need to find a way to get them to behave.

Joe.

[Jow]

Jarrod, how long does it take to get a layer for say 50mm dia and in what month do you set them?

Mick

We set the layers about this time last year and removed them in spring. So Autumn for spring which is about 6 months.

Hi Jarrod, I cant wait to see your results of 10-20cm layering. It may become a good method of collecting interesting branches that you often see growing on old radiata pines.

[Handy Mick]

Here are the photos I said I would post of my radiata's.

The first is quite large at the base and has some nice bark and is leggy in the branches, I want to use this tree to do sone approch grafts, I have not done any so would be good to try, I would like to make it a formal upright, I do have a better photo but it is .01mega bites to big.

Pine 1

Pinus radiata 1 (1).jpg

Pinus radiata 1 (2).jpg

The next is quite immature and has a faminine look about it, I like the look of it and dont want it any bigger, just filled out more.

Pine2

Pinus Radiata 2, Monterey Pine.jpg

Pinus Radiata 2, Monterey Pine (1).jpg

Pine 3 I have no idea as yet as to what to do with it. (any ideas welcome) It does however have some nice bark and a little twist in the trunk down low.
What do you think?

Pine3

Pinus Radiata 3, Monterey Pine.jpg

Pinus Radiata 3, Monterey Pine (1).jpg

This one i'm sure you know where i'm heading

Pine 4

Pinus Radiata 4 Cascade, Monterey Pine.jpg

I would love some comments and a critique.

Mick

[dragon]

hi mick
i got 1 good comment give it to me i got a radiata that looks like yours but to wet to go and play i need a boat to get in back yard
as water is 1 foot high at moment so i need to wait
cheers dean

[Handy Mick]

You and me both brother.

Mick

[Craig]

Hi Mick, no 3, i think would be perfect for a two tree literati, nice pines, good work ,,

[Handy Mick]

Craig, how do you mean?
Can you draw some lines in the picture? I'm also up for some bending.

Mick

[Jow]

Hi Mick,

You seem to have some nice material there. The first pine has quite an aged appearance to it. Be sure to keep us up to date with anything you discover with them.

Joe.

[baturb]

I have been following this thread with great interest, I have always liked radiata and thought it underused, I have been growing 15 trees from seedlings and I have so far collected 8 nice trees 7 have survived the move with one more mature tree not making it, the ones that have made it were collected in Jan so are just in grow boxes to give them some time to recover, and for me to plan on how to style them, here is a couple of the ones I have, since potting the trees have started to push out new growth

[Jow]

Hi Baturb.

It is great to see so much interest in this species. 7/8 is a good hit rate for collecting.

Thanks for being a part of the discussion. I hope you can contimue to update us with any results you may have (good or bad)

Thanks,

Joe

[baturb]

the best thing I have found when collecting is to keep as much of the root ball as possible, I dig just around the base to about the size of the branches, then when I get home I soak the root ball in water and a soluble fertilizer solution for about 5 mins, then pot up into a grow box with some good quality potting mix, nothing special, then keep feeding and well watered, I will trim a little to remove some height and some bad looking branches if need be, when I see good growth it is always a good sign, I will leave them for 6-8 months before working to hard on them, a couple have even started growing little cones

[Jow]

the best thing I have found when collecting is to keep as much of the root ball as possible, I dig just around the base to about the size of the branches, then when I get home I soak the root ball in water and a soluble fertilizer solution for about 5 mins, then pot up into a grow box with some good quality potting mix, nothing special, then keep feeding and well watered, I will trim a little to remove some height and some bad looking branches if need be, when I see good growth it is always a good sign, I will leave them for 6-8 months before working to hard on them, a couple have even started growing little cones

Thanks for the further information. It seems quite a few members have had luck when keeping most of the original rootball. Let us know how you get on when repotting and how they recover after removing the original soil.

Joe.

[rowan]

The ones I dig are in sand so it impossible not to bareroot them. I find that if I fill a pot up with their original soil and plant them in it and keep it wet to the point of risking rootrot they have a good chance of survival.