THE PINE PROJECT

[Keels]

Your pines are going from strength to strength.

[Ryceman3]

Another one ...
I added a few extra shots of the root reduction, which is quite similar in terms of volume removed to the others I have posted. This is pretty conservative trimming considering the amount of fine roots that the tree has, but no real need to take off more right now, and I am still looking for development this year with the goal of decandling in summer, so I am trying to avoid any possible setbacks in growth if I can help it.

JBP RP_C IG_02.jpg

JBP RP_C IG_03A.jpg

JBP RP_C IG_03B.jpg

JBP RP_C IG_01.jpg

[TimIAm]

(R3, hope you don't mind me posting in this thread, just thinking to keep all of the knowledge together and follow your steps)

My question: When do you suggest I plant these out of a tray and into their own pots? As per my earlier update, they were replanted when I brought them home mid-April. I'm concerned about touching them again too soon? I don't even know if now is the best time to repot? I looked through this thread and noticed you doing some transplanting in November and also August. They currently have plenty of space, but I also don't want to miss a good window for replanting.


My update:

The majority of my seedlings made it through winter (it's already warm in Sydney and trees have already kicked out of dormancy), I only lost about 10 of the seedlings which I think was due to a mix of having to transplant them immediately at the end of Autumn (due to crowding, which can be seen in my previous picture) and I did some root work on them as they were being touched anyway.

Just starting to push new growth out and the good news is most of the seedlings that browned off at the base have budded low down, which will improve my chances for better looking mature trees. I'm thinking if the low budding turns into reasonable growth, I may take the tops off some of the lankier trees to make them more compact.

jbp.jpg

[Ryceman3]

My question: When do you suggest I plant these out of a tray and into their own pots? As per my earlier update, they were replanted when I brought them home mid-April. I'm concerned about touching them again too soon? I don't even know if now is the best time to repot? I looked through this thread and noticed you doing some transplanting in November and also August. They currently have plenty of space, but I also don't want to miss a good window for replanting.


My update:

The majority of my seedlings made it through winter (it's already warm in Sydney and trees have already kicked out of dormancy), I only lost about 10 of the seedlings which I think was due to a mix of having to transplant them immediately at the end of Autumn (due to crowding, which can be seen in my previous picture) and I did some root work on them as they were being touched anyway.

Just starting to push new growth out and the good news is most of the seedlings that browned off at the base have budded low down, which will improve my chances for better looking mature trees. I'm thinking if the low budding turns into reasonable growth, I may take the tops off some of the lankier trees to make them more compact.

Hi TimIAm,
The way I see it given the above you have 2 options.
1. Leave them as they are. You say you did root work mid April and they have plenty of space. This means to me they don't really need further root work and they have room to grow... there is no real advantage to further intervention from you ... unless ...
2. If they are in trays and you want to get them into individual pots, then you could transplant them now (no major root work, as you already did that in April), as it is a good time to do that provided they are healthy.

As for the growth/budding you just need to let it happen and be sure to keep water, sun and fertiliser at appropriate levels to maximise the chances these continue to flourish.

In terms of me "transplanting" in November, I think you're referring to either the stem cutting on pine seedlings, or maybe when I put the larger pines into the ground? If the latter is the case, it was November because we were in lockdown for the whole of winter/spring and I was unable to get to the garden beds to do it when I should have ... which is now!

[Ryceman3]

Couple more pines from this morning.
Still a few more to go and I can definitely see the buds starting to elongate so things are about to move. I need to get a wriggle on to finish them all.

JBP CompRP IG_04.jpg

JBP CompRP IG_05.jpg

JBP CompRP IG_06.jpg

JBP CompRP IG_03.jpg

JBP CompRP IG_02.jpg

JBP CompRP IG_01.jpg

[melbrackstone]

Looking good Ryan. I'm impressed with how they're coming along! Strangely enough I noticed Harry Harrington saying that repotting pines at this time of year is the go in the UK as well!

[Ryceman3]

Looking good Ryan. I'm impressed with how they're coming along! Strangely enough I noticed Harry Harrington saying that repotting pines at this time of year is the go in the UK as well!

JBP are a different kettle of fish in the UK from the anecdotal stuff I have read online. Should I ever need to work on one there I would defer to the experience of the long term bonsai residents, including Harry!
I know he considers them to be single flush in his environment, and although I haven’t ever done an autumn repot on a pine, I know others have and I guess this timing correlates (kind of) with that in the northern hemisphere.

[Ryceman3]

Here's the neagari model getting ready for another year. I had visions of putting this in a proper pot also, but I think it'll benefit from another year or two with room for the roots to run a bit free and hopefully thicken up the exposed ones a bit more. I really should have left it buried for a bit longer rather than exposing them all last year (and I suppose I could have re-buried them) if I wanted the process to go quicker ... live and learn. There's still another inch or so left to uncover at some stage in the future.

JBP CompRP IG_08.jpg

JBP CompRP IG_07.jpg

[SuperBonSaiyan]

Very nice - haven't seen many exposed root pines in Australia.

I'm going to try my hand at a few, hope they turn out as well as yours.

[Ryceman3]

Another couople of JBP. These 2 show a direct comparison between a "semi" ground grown tree and another just in a pot since seed over the same time frame... both will be good trees I think, but the development of trunk girth is apparent on the ground grown version.

JBP-04 RP-0823 IG_02.jpg

JBP-04 RP-0823 IG_01.jpg

JBP-05 RP-0823 IG_02.jpg

JBP-05 RP-0823 IG_01.jpg

[Ryceman3]

... and because this is the PINE project and not the JBP project, here's a few Austrian Black Pines (Pinus Nigra) from the initial seed batch after a repot.
These have only been in pots since seed, and in terms of girth/development are really matching the JBP grown in the same way.
I want a bit more development on the trunks of these before they go in a bonsai pot, so back into plastic to grown on.
The plan with the first one is outlined in the second image. The red line is the current functioning sacrifice, thickening up the entire trunk line from the top of the tree. I will keep this for another year or so (depending on development), but in the meantime I am going to develop the blue line out and up, and this will take over from it to help build further girth near the base of the tree specifically. Always trying to implement a plan where possible to keep development pushing forward!
The second tree (in the third image) shows that second sacrifice now in action ... the first one was removed in autumn.
The third tree is pretty much ready to have it's sacrifice removed soon, it has done its job ... before it extended the whole trunk was about as thick as the part I'm looking to keep on the left.

PNP RP IG_01.jpg

PNP RP IG_01B.jpg

PNP RP IG_02.jpg

PNP RP IG_03.jpg

[Matt_W_NZ]

Inspired by Ryceman’s journey, I started my own pine odyssey this year… two trays of JBP and one of P. radiata.



I had to smile when I noticed this captured droplet today -



Those who’ve read back to the start might remember the reference image (my iphone photography isn’t as good though)

Hoping my trees end up as good as those seen in this thread!

[Ryceman3]

Inspired by Ryceman’s journey, I started my own pine odyssey this year… two trays of JBP and one of P. radiata.

Those who’ve read back to the start might remember the reference image (my iphone photography isn’t as good though)

Hoping my trees end up as good as those seen in this thread!

Definitely remember the reference image, and I’m happy to see someone copy it.
Wishing you all the best, hope they go well for you. Particularly keen to hear how the P. radiata go.
Good luck!

[JustSomeRandomStranger]

Thanks for sharing your journey in this thread.
It has inspired me to plant 100 jbp myself at the start of spring.
About half have germinated, so I have around 50 seedlings to play around with.
I have already read through all the post a few times and found them to be a great guide

[TimS]

Thanks for sharing your journey in this thread.
It has inspired me to plant 100 jbp myself at the start of spring.
About half have germinated, so I have around 50 seedlings to play around with.
I have already read through all the post a few times and found them to be a great guide

This is THE pine thread on here as far as i am concerned!

This kind of knowledge being feely shared and shown with the pictures as well as a guide, progressed over time so you can follow the outcomes is honestly the pinnacle of what community is and should be about.

Others would guard their knowledge, or maybe throw the odd crumb out for those who show enough interest, but Ryan just gives and gives. Amazing stuff.

Good luck with your 50 seedlings, follow along here and you'll have some great material for the future on the way