AusBonsai

Hi all. So I have come across these two collected pines which I am fairly sure are a radiata pine.

Both obviously have long straight trunks but I would still like to have a go at growing and training these pines. I like the look of them.

I think the first choice is where the chop the trunks - any thoughts?
The bigger of the two is pretty tall and will blow over in the wind if it’s not chopped down!!

Any inspiration or direction on what you guys would immediately do to these two trees?!?

Thanks.

Hi Jessepap

I will be interested to see what is said here. I abbe a 7 year old japanese black pine that i found stuck way in the garden. it is about 4 foot tall and, like yours, gets blown over, especially today with the strong wind in melbourne. It is a "To chop or not to chop" question.

jessepap wrote: ↑April 11th, 2020, 2:07 pm Any inspiration or direction on what you guys would immediately do to these two trees?!?

I collected some radiata pines little bigger then yours this time last year with cbs. I just potted them up and waited to see if they recovered. Now 12 months on i'll start to work and plan the future ahead. I found that anything i collected and worked on too soon after collecting always died or suffered really bad.

good luck with it mate

It is not quite clear when these pines were collected. I assume recently?
There is a lot of evidence that conifers transplant much better if you leave plenty of green needles to feed the plant and help establish new roots. We all want to start as soon as possible but you'll need to hasten slowly. Most conifers are slow to get going after transplant so you should leave them alone for at least a full year, longer if they don't grow well in spring.
If you really need to take a bit off just cut the minimum out of the top to stabilize the trees. Does not really matter where you cut at this stage. Leaves means food and food means new roots so leave plenty on to help the tees survive.

Radiata are relatively easy to ID. They are one of only a few that have needles in bunches of 3 so check closely and count.

Collected very recently. (Today!)

Yes counted now and confirmed 3 needles per sprout.

So it seems it’s best not to make any major chops straight after transplant? The bigger tree is fairly tall at 4-5 foot. Doesn’t seems to be all that stable that’s probably a concern.

What’s the general likely ness that these will even survive the transplant?

Keels - any pics you would like to share at all?

Yeah i have a few pictures. For some reason more of the first tree then the second

March 2019 - our old jack Russell for size April 2019 - dug up and brought home. Late oct 2019 - the trees recovered really well by this stage so i cleaned them both up. Might have removed a little too much but they recovered. Today - recovered really well. Pushing out lots of new growth and even back budding. You can see I've already trimmed some branches and chopped the top off the tall one. If i had my time again i wouldn't have bothered with the tall straight one plus if you look closely you can even see a bulge in the middle of its trunk.

jessepap wrote: ↑April 11th, 2020, 4:05 pm Collected very recently. (Today!)
The bigger tree is fairly tall at 4-5 foot. Doesn’t seems to be all that stable that’s probably a concern.

Stick something heavy in the bottom of the pot (brick?) or tie the pot to a stake in the ground maybe ... If these have just been collected you really should try and centre them in their pots. Both have been planted very close to the edge which means root growth will not be uniform. Probably won't affect them living or dying, but will effect the options when it comes time to select a front/put in a bonsai container etc...

You definitely need to wait until the trees are up and running before doing anything drastic, as far as they are concerned they have just gone through the worst day of their lives, you gotta cut 'em some slack!

Good luck!

Ryceman - I thought the same but the root ball was on an almost L shape lower down in the trunk. The trunk definitely bends lower down. So the root ball is basically in the middle of the pot now and hence the trunks are near the side. Is this ok or should I try and cut back the roots or something?

The message seems to be clear - don’t touch!! Just as I was sharpening the scissors

Thanks keels. Yours look to have had some nicer lower branches to work with. I didn’t have much of a choice with these two trees unfortunately so not really sure at this point if they are even worth trying to do something with or not...

jessepap wrote: ↑April 11th, 2020, 5:39 pm Thanks keels. Yours look to have had some nicer lower branches to work with. I didn’t have much of a choice with these two trees unfortunately so not really sure at this point if they are even worth trying to do something with or not...

Stick with it mate. Learn and study how they grow. See if you manage to keep them alive first. But always keep your eyes out for more interesting radiatas. You never know how they turn out in the future.

jessepap wrote: ↑April 11th, 2020, 5:36 pm So the root ball is basically in the middle of the pot now and hence the trunks are near the side. Is this ok or should I try and cut back the roots or something?

Cool, if that’s the case then new roots have equal space (radially) to expand. Don’t cut the roots back, the more you have intact now the better. Radiatas have great potential as bonsai, there are some nice threads on this forum you should check out if these push through OK for guidance. I hope they do.

Thanks ryceman.

When these pines have been potted now is it best to keep them in the shade or put them straight out into some autumn sun? I will keep moist but unsure if they need protection from sun or better to get them straight out into the elements...

What is the usual time frame for a pine to show signs of death?
So far they look the same as when I dug them. Is it too soon to tell if they are surviving? It’s been about 3 weeks.

Hi jessepap,

When these pines have been potted now is it best to keep them in the shade or put them straight out into some autumn sun? I will keep moist but unsure if they need protection from sun or better to get them straight out into the elements...

This time of year I'd be putting them in full sun, but keep them out of the wind. The wind will dry them out before the sun does.

What is the usual time frame for a pine to show signs of death?

More than three weeks! Conifers are notorious for staying green long after the tree has carked it.

Good luck, you'll have fun with these.

Matt.

Hi Jesse, I've collected several Radiatas, tho' not as big as yours, and they've all survived. Once they recovered, which took less than 6 months, over summer, I cut them back to the lowest branches and used one as the new leader. They just powered on and now the scar from the big chop is almost healed over after 2 years. I had mine in a styrofoam grow box for a couple of years in a well draining mix and they lapped up all the water and fertilizer I gave them. I'm now in the process of layering the top off the largest one to get another "free" tree . Apart from being very hardy they are also easy to bend into whatever shape you like as they grow, even when the stem is already quite substantial. Here are a couple of then and now pics of a more recent one I dug and chopped. They were taken 18 months apart. Hope this helps and gives you hope for yours.
Cheers, Frank.