All aboard the Mugo train!

As a newbie, I also worked on two nursery stocks recently.

First one is smaller, did it two weeks ago, before I saw the tutorial (- compiled posts by Vance). I probably chopped off 70-80% (or more) of the foliage, but only trimmed very small portion of the roots. Repotted it with original soil.

What is the chance that it could survive? What I still can do to improve the chance, for example, repot into a pond basket with better soil?

2nd one is bigger. (photo 2&3). I tried to follow the tutorial, reduced about 40% foliage, cut off half of the root ball. Only thing did not follow is that I don't have pond basket at hand, so squeezed it into a pot. (If I can get a pond basket 3days later, should I repot it then?)

Thanks!

update: both are dead. It's a surprise to me, the bigger one was quite healthy. Both repot was done in July.

By the way, I repotted another one in April, it's still alive, and become the only mugo I own so far.
 
update: both are dead. It's a surprise to me, the bigger one was quite healthy. Both repot was done in July.

By the way, I repotted another one in April, it's still alive, and become the only mugo I own so far.
Well, at least you gave it a good shot! Have you been able to find out what the (most likely) cause of their deaths was? It might help you in the future.
 
Well, at least you gave it a good shot! Have you been able to find out what the (most likely) cause of their deaths was? It might help you in the future.
For the smaller one, I suspect it was dying anyway, because the needles turned brown so fast. For the bigger one I have no idea, there were couple of days I forgot to move the tree around in the afternoon to shaded area so it may got burned.

By the way, why July not the end of March/early April the first option for mugo?
 
I probably chopped off 70-80% (or more) of the foliage, but only trimmed very small portion of the roots. Repotted it with original soil.
Too much foliage gone, poor soil.
After care even with the best of bonsai soil is crucial as well.

So there’s got to be a precise difference in what you transplanted in Spring that did survive
and what happened with the 2 in July. My guess is moisture and Sunlight discrepancies but just a guess.
Perhaps the 2 in July had been recently potted before they got to the nursery and the one in Spring
had been potted the year or 2 or 3 prior and the roots were able to withstand work being done again.
This would be evident when removed from the nursery can.
So the right time of year still may not be the right time...
 
I love it! Appears grafted?
Honestly I've got 1 tree that I can tell for sure is a graft. I'm still having a hard time telling myself. So a graft is basically they have a tree or a set of trees that might be rare or hard to grow, they take and chop a branch off then they take the roots of an easier to grow and maybe sturdier root? I'm happy to get more pics of it to find out!

The nursery site says it came from Monrovia and it kind of looks like they point out when it is (at least for flowers) I searched graft on their site to see if it said anything and I found a bunch of gardenia with "(grafted to such and such)" in the product title.
 
Last edited:
Honestly I've got 1 tree that I can tell for sure is a graft. I'm still having a hard time telling myself. So a graft is basically they have a tree or a set of trees that might be rare or hard to grow, they take and chop a branch off then they take the roots of an easier to grow and maybe sturdier root? I'm happy to get more pics of it to find out!

The nursery site says it came from Monrovia and it kind of looks like they point out when it is (at least for flowers) I searched graft on their site to see if it said anything and I found a bunch of gardenia with "(grafted to such and such)" in the product title.
Basically yes. Often it's cost and time effective to graft a mother plant rather than waiting for cuttings as with maples and many many others.
Often it is more for the sake of health or more vigour as you mention too. May or may not be a rare cultivar when grafting cultivars is applied.
So yours where it changes direction, and in a good way it does for the hobby too, appears to be a fine line just below the lowest branch.
Also the trunk appears thicker below the "graft union" at the root stock, but could just be the photo, but the trunk texture looks a bit more appealing above on the cultivar.
I have a 'Congesta' mugo grafted to a Scotts Pine, and the colour difference gives it away more than anything.

The only thing I would change on yours is the right branch that would be the 1st keeper on the right
if we are viewing the actual front of the tree, will need to be slightly kept in check over the next 3 years maybe
while the lowest left branch extends and thickens. Now would not hurt IMO to remove back to the 1st bifurcation inside
of the terminal. I mean keep the branch as long as you can, cutting back to the 1st joint you come to.
There's a knuckle there,(EDIT at the trunk) and would not hurt to also remove ONE opposite branch inside curve of the trunk.
Leave a 1/4" stub and seal. Vasoline, if no bonsai cut paste, will do.
Notice I'm not saying to do a styling. Thin the tree or anything of the like. Snip snip and watch it's water intake.
Water when it begins to dry a little more than half an inch down or so.
I have no idea what fertilizer may be in the soil. No idea how long this has been potted.
Before you decide to put it in the pond basket, be sure the soil is not falling off the root ball.
Be sure you see roots filling the sides of the pot NEXT year when you raise it out of the can.
Leave it in the can now, or if you have lifted it already, what did you see?
 
@ProfessorFarnsworth
20200830_160757.jpeg
Actually I'd want to just cut back this years new growth not seeing the tree in front of me.
I cant tell where the 1st in, bifurcation is from the terminal. I would not cut 1/2 the branch back!
But if you can find this years needles, you can cut that new shoot back.
Is a good time to remove the opposite. There will be plenty of vigour to go around for transplanting when ready.

How's your wiring skills???
 
@ProfessorFarnsworth
View attachment 326172
Actually I'd want to just cut back this years new growth not seeing the tree in front of me.
I cant tell where the 1st in, bifurcation is from the terminal. I would not cut 1/2 the branch back!
But if you can find this years needles, you can cut that new shoot back.
Is a good time to remove the opposite. There will be plenty of vigour to go around for transplanting when ready.

How's your wiring skills???
I've done a little practice on a couple juniper and a ficus then started buying more nursery stock that the main goal is thicker trunks so I'm just letting them go pretty natural other than some clean up pruning to let in some light or cross branching and a little guy wiring so not much yet. Plus I started to realize how much I needed to learn and figured a summer and winter of learning before I made any mistakes wouldn't hurt. It seems like it has the same extended release stuff all the other trees I get from this nursery. I made the mistake of squeezing one to investigate and it squirted liquid in my face though. I'll try to take a better closer picture of that area but here is a pic from the day I bought it when I hadn't just watered. I haven't lifted it out at all yet but if it's safe to do so I'd love to get a look down there. It's dark out there now and I can't remember for sure if it thins above there more than natural. 20200829_131608.jpg
 
@ProfessorFarnsworth
View attachment 326172
Actually I'd want to just cut back this years new growth not seeing the tree in front of me.
I cant tell where the 1st in, bifurcation is from the terminal. I would not cut 1/2 the branch back!
But if you can find this years needles, you can cut that new shoot back.
Is a good time to remove the opposite. There will be plenty of vigour to go around for transplanting when ready.

How's your wiring skills???
This is definitely the side I think is the best front but again one of those mistakes I wanted to avoid making too much. I've kind of heard nebari should be your first consideration. I've felt around a bit to try to see what was down there but couldn't get a real good idea of what exactly what going on. I'll get some pictures of it from more angles and add them to my post about the tree in pines.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/golden-mugo.45650/

I would love some advice on getting it started on the right path!
 
update: both are dead. It's a surprise to me, the bigger one was quite healthy. Both repot was done in July.

By the way, I repotted another one in April, it's still alive, and become the only mugo I own so far.
That is too bad. Hope you are able to find the root cause. My 2 mugos are still alive. The bigger of the two is in fact thriving. Terminal buds are popping out.
 
I put 2 more tickets into the world yesterday, pretty sure it was 2.
Compliments of The Engineer and The Conductor.

Choo..Choo. Steam.

🚂

Sorce
 
Back
Top Bottom