Last of the Ovens test plots

[alpineart]

These are some of the tree's from the ovens test plots that remain , originally planted back in the early 1920's they were used to scale the growth rate of the various pines and cedars from around the world .

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The test plots can clearly be seen , the different canopies and heights are a dead give away now the surrounding area has been clear felled

[alpineart]

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[alpineart]

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Hope you enjoy a tour through my play ground .

Cheers Alpineart

[Craig]

Hope you enjoy a tour through my play ground .

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi Alpineart,

The first three photos are simply breath-taking! Are they arial photos? And are these tests conducted by a government body or a private enterprise?

The Ponderosa pine in the photo, is it the same type of Ponderosa that is used by American artists? E.g. Ryan Neil Ponderosa Pine Demo - Midwest Bonsai Society 2011 -- viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9434 ?

Thank you for the posts and best regards.

[alpineart]

Hi Craig , that's it, i know i'm blessed !!! .

Hi Daiviet , The pics are taken from the plantation as i was throttling through there this morning on the bike .These test plots were planted by Bills grandfather an old friend of mine i met when i moved here , he actually devulged the whereabouts of most of the plots . All i know is the were contracted to the Blacksmith of the day in 1918- 1925 by an unknown department . All where planted by a bullock and draft horse teams owned by the blacksmith . Elevation is around 1100 meters from where the last pic were taken , this is the highest point in the ovens plantation .Mt Buffalo in the distance is 1575meters high .There is only 1 Ponderosa Pine , Western Yellow Pine , most don't like them because of the huge needle , up to 200mm in length . As with most pines they reduce well if worked on regularly .The bark is very similar to the Pinus Nigra except it has a brown/grey bark with reddish outline rather than the Silver / white bark with a black outline. Ponderosa Pines very rarely self sow , again i have only came across 2 dozen self sown seedling which i managed to collect a dozen or so before the were slashed .

Cheers Guys . Alpine

[Craig]

Hi Craig , that's it, i know i'm blessed !!! .

Thanks mate, you certainly are. Ian all of you posts on collecting pines are starting to get to me, I know of some areas up in the hill near home where there are masses of pines, not sure which type but i might go for a wander up there soon( the ground is very hard and rocky-not sandy soils like on the flats ).I did collect some pines from another area when i first started but only 1 remains healthy, now i'm a little more experienced with collecting and also pines in general ,i should have better results. Cheers for the inspiration

[alpineart]

Hi Craig , do a google earth search of the area and it will show unusual color variations in the pine plantations , this is the easiest and quickest way to locate differing species is by this colour change or foliar difference , yes it can be seen from Google earth, then zoom in for a sneak peak and tilt the horizon to see the differing heights ,Not all hard work and foot slogging this end .Unfortunately most of the Google earth shots were done in 2004 so things have changed a lot over this way , bush-fires and clear felling has changed the landscape to baron hills as shown in the pics . Good luck with your search , remember to ask permission from any plantation corp and in most cases they will agree to you collecting self sown seedling as long as you do the right thing its all good .

Cheers Alpine