AusBonsai

Here is a Mugo Pine looking healthy and bushy which I hope one day will become a handsome small to mid size Bonsai.

I have isolated some branches to find a trunk line and will need to rewire as 1, I did such a bad job of the wiring and 2, plan to wrap the branch so that I could compact and condense the branches as much as I can.

My question is, when is it the best time to repot and do some root work?



I have read numerous sources that Mugos need to be repotted/root-worked towards the end of summer unlike other pine species.

There is also another camp that advises no, treat them like any other pine species and repot/root-work them end of winter to early spring.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bonsai/comment ... t/ljymddr/

I am confused no matter how much I try to look this up



Would love to hear others thoughts and experience with Mugos and general care.

Any pics to share of your Mugo?

Thanks heaps!

If there are groups saying Autumn repotting is good then it's likely that Autumn repotting is OK. If there are groups saying Spring repotting is good than that, too is likely to be right.
It does not have to be one or the other. Often there are more than 1 viable option.

I've always repotted mine in Spring along with the other pines. That doesn't mean Spring is the only option or even a better option. I do it because, when I learned about bonsai Spring was the only option taught. When one learns something we tend to stick with it while it works and Spring repotting certainly does work.

I can only find an older photo of this Mugho. It's from 2020 and taken soon after a restyle when I discovered a large area of dead wood in the trunk. The branches have grown quite a but since that restyle.

Thanks Shibui that's a nice Mugo you have there, I really like the trunk movement and shari.

What's the background to this one and now long have you been developing him?


It gives me comfort to know that you repot Mugos in Spring as I was thinking possibly about late summer repotting though the thought of this made me anxious.

I really like Mugos but they do make me quite nervous from inexperience with them and the many sacrificial ones I have read that have been offered to the Bonsai Gods.

Updated photos of the Mugho. After 5 years with not much pruning it was getting a bit overgrown so last Spring I gave it a hard prune. Every branch was cut back to the lowest needles or to a suitable sub branch. It now has lots of buds ready to open in Spring. History???
Pretty sure this one started as a cutting I brought home from a workshop where another club member was working on a Mugho. That was before I was told we can't grow pines from cuttings. Turns out we can grow pines from cuttings but my 100% strike rate that year (1 successful from 1 cutting) turned out to be a bit misleading.
That was probably around 30 years ago.
The dead wood is probably the result of pruning a thick branch. I did not notice the extent until the bark began to fall off a few years later. My guess is that branch was strongly tied to 1 or more roots below and the sudden chop did not give the tree time to change sap flow paths so killing the branch also killed the roots it was using and everything in between. The wood seems to be extremely soft and keeps rotting despite occasional treatment with lime sulphur.

Your Mugo is weathering nicely with much buds and to think it was from a striked cutting is super impressive.. 30 years with the last 5 years left to grow unhindered, no wonder many of us have itchy fingers for more trees to keep us busy while we wait

This timing timing is almost comedic - I’ve been doing the rounds asking the same questions about Mugo Summer Repotting to members on Ausbonsai - somehow I missed this thread.

I scoured other forums and YouTube videos and found these to be a decent source of info from a previously well regarded Mugo grower in the USA:

https://www.bonsainut.com/resources/com ... -pines.23/

https://youtube.com/@vancewood1166?si=_k6ACOEvzuw0yA2F

The overall sentiment seems to state that recovery is key. Whilst a lot of conifers may take abuse once a season, it might take 2-3 for a Mugo to recover.

For the record, I’m still deciding when to repot my tree. The only work done on it was a small amount of outer foliage removal, to allow more light into the weaker interior buds, which will form the eventual tree. See below.
I’ll update when I decide if it’s a Spring or Summer repot and the results of the work.

Oli

That Mugo Oli looks alot of fun, good trunk movement and many branch options to keep you busy and entertained

How long have you had it and did you start to thin out some needles/branches in 2nd pic?

Yes plz update as you go as I'd be super interested in this Mugo's journey and development, very promising indeed.


I've been so tempted to remove branches but have managed to hold myself off so far

Have wired some for the time being and will cut branches in the Spring, thanks for sharing the resources.

I may just develop him in the pot for few years as I try to learn more about this species (dont want to lose him).. they are wonderful to read up on and only wished I grew wild ones in ground many moons ago.

I’ve acquired the tree just before Xmas (those photos are from then), I did the light thinning then and sealed all the wounds (out of fear of bleeding)

It came from one of Leong’s growbeds, so its age could be anything, I think he said it was around the 20 year mark - but not counting on it.

It was the less healthy (but best trunk / optionality) of the available stock - so figured I’d focus on getting it nice and healthy before any major works. The focuses are:
- lessen branching to prevent inverse taper
- getting the tree into a more porous medium
- styling

Probably in that order.

Here’s some pics today, not the fastest of growers, but a lot of the inner buds are stronger and it looks like there’s plenty of spots it’s pushing growth back closer to the trunk (woo)

Of the pines I've grown so far, Mugho has been the 2nd best at back buds. After a hard prune I expect quite a few buds to emerge as far back as 3 year bare wood. I still would not prune to bare branches and hope for buds but way better than black and red pines.
In case you are wondering, Radiata has been, by far, the best at back buds.

I love the abstract design of many old yamadori Mugos in Europe and yours kinda has that trunk shape similar to picture?

The bark is also nice and dark in colour like Shibui's Mugo. I yet to have a Radiata pine and read their bark is outstanding.

I slip potted a smaller one this weekend that I bought recently which I thought had amazing bright emerald green needles, kinda curls and twists and is dense in growth habit.

The mix is approx 30% lava rock, 30% pine bark, 20% perlite and 20% coco coir. It's what I had on hand and I hope it's drainy and airy enough with some nutrient holding organics for a healthy potting mix (https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/bonsa ... mix.63519/).

I don't know how the young Mugo will respond but I'll report my findings come Spring/Summer.

The Specimen wrote: ↑April 21st, 2025, 6:06 pm I love the abstract design of many old yamadori Mugos in Europe and yours kinda has that trunk shape similar to picture?

I appreciate the inspiration! It's very easy to get sucked into a typical left, right, back with a twisty trunk.

Do update any progress on your young Mugo too

For the love of Mugos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rifc29p ... Stemberger

Hi there,

I am confused about when to repot Mugos too.
I can offer no advice but this is what I did if it is still of interest.

I re potted my Mugo on 24th Jan this year. It is still alive and is back budding but I wouldn’t know if it is super healthy.
I chopped off the bottom third of the soil and teased out the roots.
I planted it in pumice, scoria, pine bark of equal parts.
I followed advice from the same link that @olicreighton posted.

Also, my tree is clearly younger than yours.
I’ll let you know if it declines.

When I next repot, I think I’ll do it in spring and see if I notice a difference.

I’m interested to know what you choose to do and how your tree progresses.

Greg

The Specimen wrote: ↑April 22nd, 2025, 7:04 pm For the love of Mugos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rifc29p ... Stemberger

How to make outstanding material look ordinary. Mauro has been eating too much pasta.

treeman wrote: ↑June 29th, 2025, 4:01 pm

The Specimen wrote: ↑April 22nd, 2025, 7:04 pm For the love of Mugos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rifc29p ... Stemberger

How to make outstanding material look ordinary. Mauro has been eating too much pasta.

His reputation at least here in Melbourne, is mud due to his terrible personality before even discussing his trees. I don’t think there’s exactly a queue of clubs trying to get him back here . Yet another from the school of make triangles regardless of what the material is doing.