Japanese Black Pine longitudinal study; Collaborators needed

[Grant Bowie]

Still looking for Qld and Tassie participants.

Grant

[Ash]

Hi Grant,

There are a few Japanese Black Pine growers here in Cairns so happy to help out. Will chat via PM.

Ash

[Grant Bowie]

Hi Grant,

There are a few Japanese Black Pine growers here in Cairns so happy to help out. Will chat via PM.

Ash

Thanks.

[mtarros]

Hi,

I can help out also I have over 1000 black pines that I'm going to try lots of different techniques after my 2 months of training in Japan. Lots of new things I need to try out and adjust.

Already made some oil seed slow release fertiliser, that I want to test out and also adjust.
They are just drying out now.

Thanks
Michael

[Grant Bowie]

Hi,

I can help out also I have over 1000 black pines that I'm going to try lots of different techniques after my 2 months of training in Japan. Lots of new things I need to try out and adjust.

Already made some oil seed slow release fertiliser, that I want to test out and also adjust.
They are just drying out now.

Thanks
Michael

Excellent,

Brisbane was still missing from my study. Any fertiliser that a grower would like to use will be OK.

I will be asking the participants to put aside 2 pines and start fertilising one of them from June 1st so that we will have the tree fertilised all over the winter period. You in Brisbane and further north will probably see the most benefit from this with varying degrees of benefit as we go south.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

Anyone from Tassie out there?

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

Tassie is very important to the overall study.

A few years ago I was approached by a Tassie artist and asked what they had been doing wrong in regards to pines and a certain technique. They were following a program from a well known Pine grower from Australia but the techniques described were not working or were taking much longer to achieve.

I put the differences down to lack of fertilising rigour ( not enough, not frequently and maybe needing a lot more than mainland bonsai in the shorter Tassie season)

After decandling the buds were not setting, elongating and hardening off as expected. Sometimes the buds formed but then did not elongate till the next year.

However I would like to know for certain and can't do it from here myself.

So if you are from Tassie and can help please let me know.

I have enough growers from around Australia now but can still do with more from Blue Mountains, Central coast NSW and further north to Brisbane/Gold Coast.

Grant

[Neli]

Interested in one from Africa?

[Ray]

Hi Grant,

I'll pass on your request to the Gold Coast Tweed bonsai club. We did a series of black pine workshops last year, so we will have someone able to help you I'm sure.

I myself have no luck with them, not through lack of trying though.

[Grant Bowie]

Hi Grant,

I'll pass on your request to the Gold Coast Tweed bonsai club. We did a series of black pine workshops last year, so we will have someone able to help you I'm sure.

I myself have no luck with them, not through lack of trying though.

Thanks,

Pines are great if you are willing to persevere. They are complex but not difficult.

Grant

[Neli]

Hi Grant,

I'll pass on your request to the Gold Coast Tweed bonsai club. We did a series of black pine workshops last year, so we will have someone able to help you I'm sure.

I myself have no luck with them, not through lack of trying though.

Sorry to hijack the topic...Ray you said you failed to grow pines...What do you think is your problem? I looked at you temperatures and they are the same as mine...Is it your rainfall? Or high temperatures?
I keep all my pines under light shade cloth...so far I think they are growing not too bad.

climate zambia1Zambia - 20121017105113.jpg

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06 05 023 (550x344).jpg

13 05 2014 017 (550x488).jpg

07 04 2014 019 (522x550).jpg

[Grant Bowie]

Interested in one from Africa?

Knowing a bit more about growing pine in tropical areas would be interesting; so you are free to follow my thread and do the suggested routines and report on observations and significant dates.

Now if I could just get someone from Iceland interested. I am even prepared to go there to assist (in 3 years time).

Grant

[Neli]

Grant We are no tropical here...we are sub tropical...and our longtitude and climate is the same as in Qweensland...We are 1300m above sea level.
I am not very sure bout this climate observations from the internet, but this is what they say:
• Lusaka, Zambia is at 15°25'S, 28°27'E, 1280 m (4199 ft). See map.
• Lusaka has a humid subtropical climate that is mild with dry winters, hot summers and moderate seasonality (Köppen-Geiger classification: Cwa).
• According to the Holdridge life zones system of bioclimatic classification Lusaka is situated in or near the subtropical dry forest biome.
• The mean temperature is 19.9 degrees Celsius (67.8 degrees Fahrenheit). See the temperatures page for a monthly breakdown and the fixed scale graph.
• Average monthly temperatures vary by 9.2 °C (16.6°F). This indicates that the continentality type is hyperoceanic, subtype barely hyperoceanic.
• In the winter time records indicate temperatures by day reach 26.1°C (78.9°F) on average falling to 17.1°C (62.8°F) overnight.
• In spring time temperatures climb reaching 26.2°C (79.2°F) generally in the afternoon with overnight lows of 14.7°C (58.4°F).
• During summer average high temperatures are 23.4°C (74.1°F) and average low temperatures are 10.5°C (50.9°F).
• Come autumn/ fall temperatures decrease achieving average highs of 29.3°C (84.8°F) during the day and lows of 17.1°C (62.7°F) generally shortly after sunrise.
• Total annual Precipitation averages 1078.1 mm (42.4 inches) which is equivalent to 1078.1 Litres/m² (26.44 Gallons/ft²).




Our temperature actually goes down to 6C in winter...so I dont understand the above much...I have been freezing for the past two weeks, and it will be getting colder and colder...as winter progresses.
I think the graph I posted above for Lusaka is the correct thing, and it is the same as queensland for temperature but different for rain fall. We have no rain in winter.
Many people say our climate is fantastic...not too hot and not too cold.
I already have some observations on pines...but I dont think they will be of much interest to you since they involve adaptations of pines from the northern hemisphere to climate in the southern subtropical hemisphere. As far as I know it is almost impossible to import trees to Australia.
I think I have almost (not sure...need to count) 10 JBP, 2 white pines which are going in a deep freezer tomorrow, My JBP are going to be outside not in the freezer. Only trees that need lots of dormancy will be in the freezer...like my ezo spruce and some deciduous trees.
Wish you all the best with your research and I am glad if I can be of any help.

[Neli]

Hi,

I can help out also I have over 1000 black pines that I'm going to try lots of different techniques after my 2 months of training in Japan. Lots of new things I need to try out and adjust.

Already made some oil seed slow release fertiliser, that I want to test out and also adjust.
They are just drying out now.

Thanks
Michael

Excellent,

Brisbane was still missing from my study. Any fertiliser that a grower would like to use will be OK.

I will be asking the participants to put aside 2 pines and start fertilising one of them from June 1st so that we will have the tree fertilised all over the winter period. You in Brisbane and further north will probably see the most benefit from this with varying degrees of benefit as we go south.

Grant

Any particular fertilizer??? Or we can use our usual fertilizer? I rotate my fertilizer and use all sorts of things including home made cake.

[Neli]

I would like to gather information and do some experiments and observations with some people located in say(or thereabouts) Hobart/Sthn Tasmania, Devonport/Launceseton/Nthn Tasmania, Metro Melbourne/Sthn Victoria/coast/inland and mountain, Central/hot/cold Victoria maybe Daylesford,Bendigo/Goldfields, Sthn NSW Albury/Wagga, Western NSW, Canberra/Goulburn of course, Sydney/Wollongong/Newcastle, Central Coast, North Coast, Brisbane/ Gold Coast/Toowoomba, and then northern Brisbane and up as far as Japanese Black Pines grow and thrive. How far north I don't know.

Poor South Australia, Adelaide, didnt even get a mention. I'm sure there are a few JBP enthusiasts here in SA that might like to contribute to this study.

I was about to add Adelaide, Perth and the Blue Mountains in NSW. Probably no pines in Darwin.

As I stated in the thread the East West information does not change much; North South is where the biggest differences will be evident; but all are welcome. All the locations included are an example of where I would like participants but is not exhaustive,

Grant

Grant if it is of any interest to you, I tried to look at the temperatures in Queensland, along the same longitude... There are some big variations, influenced by sea level. Some places that are high have considerably colder temperature than others...so climate graphs of the areas where the data comes from will be important. My temperatures and longitude are the same as not too far west of Brisbane inland.