Variegated Pine Adventure

wiggs · Post by **wiggs** » January 25th, 2020, 8:19 pm

Picked up this little fella the other week, be interesting to see what I can do with it.

Doesn’t hold the same class as standard JBP but I like the point of difference to the standard ones I have.

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shibui · Post by **shibui** » January 25th, 2020, 8:38 pm

That one does not appear to be a Black pine. Looks like some sort of white pine. Needles will be in bunches of 5 rather than 2s like black pine.

It also seems to be grafted which is normal for white pine varieties. Did they give you a name when you bought this?

wiggs · Post by **wiggs** » January 25th, 2020, 8:43 pm

Not specifically no, I was advised it was a variegated black pine, but if it’s I white that’s fine no bother, I bought it for the difference more to the point.

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KIRKY · Post by **KIRKY** » January 25th, 2020, 9:02 pm

Looks like it might be a grafted Pinus wallichiana
Cheers
Kirky

wiggs · Post by **wiggs** » January 26th, 2020, 7:15 am

Ok cool, anything outside of the ordinary I need to consider for care and ramification?

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shibui · Post by **shibui** » January 26th, 2020, 8:21 am

Black pine family have 2 needles in each bunch. White pine family have 5 needles in each bunch. Go out and have a look.
White pine family tend to have a silvery stripe down each needle giving the characteristic whitish silvery look to the foliage which gives them the common name. There are lots of species in the 5 needle pine group. Japanese white pine is just one but this does not look like JWP which was why I asked about a possible name.
The long needles suggest that Kirky may have the answer. A quick search shows there is also a dwarf form and I would guess that it is more likely that a commercial supplier would grow the dwarf because that suits more gardens.

I don't know that species but it should have similar characteristics to Japanese White Pine so start with the established techniques and see how that works. The long needles and coarse growth pattern are likely to cause some difficulty for a bonsai but you may be able to overcome those. The grafted base is likely to cause some visual issues as well so It will be interesting to see how much trunk is buried before you see good roots.

wiggs · Post by **wiggs** » January 26th, 2020, 8:41 am

Much appreciated on the feedback and response.

It was something different I saw and cheap so no loss if it isn’t 100% desirable bonsai outcome but I’ll give it a good go anyway.

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KIRKY · Post by **KIRKY** » January 26th, 2020, 3:54 pm

Common name Himalayan White Pine.
These tend to want to be on the larger side of bonsai. Grow it more like a Mexican Pine. It will ramify a little but the needles don’t really reduce much. Not sure why it is grafted they grow very well on their own roots. I had one a few years ago but gave it away due to size. If wiring watch for wire cutting in the bark is easy to mark. If this was mine I would pull it out of the pot cut off about an inch from the bottom put a handful of soil in the bottom of the pot and put the plant in lower. I would the do an air layer above the graft and cover to regrow the roots for a better nebari without graft.
Cheers
Kirky

wiggs · Post by **wiggs** » January 29th, 2020, 7:14 pm

Thanks for the heads up, I will see how it goes the next 12 months and go from there, your suggestion is a bit out of my comfort zone in terms of ability.

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