Collecting Jack Pines

[aml1014]

Up here it's sand until you hit China digging.

Sounds a lot like new mexico, oh wait, we have lots of granite and limestone too.
I almost forgot about the cliche clay to. Lol

Aaron

 

[M. Frary]

Sounds a lot like new mexico, oh wait, we have lots of granite and limestone too.
I almost forgot about the cliche clay to. Lol

Aaron

We got some nice stinky swamp muck too.

 

[Timbo]

Good thing about stinky swamp or lake muck is how easy the trees comes out and how many roots they have inside the drip line. I would assume you could pull them up just about anytime. 2 inch trunks come out in about 30 sec with a cordless reciprocating saw. I suppose a shovel would work if you need roots.

 

[Timbo]

I have some personal experience data on summer collecting eastern white pine and fir from the same area but not jack pine.

I didn't find much on collecting white pines in summer. Last year I collected some smaller white pines maybe 2 pencils thick, i think 4 out 5 survived. I have this white pine a friend told me he was going to cut down soon because there were a few spots the needles/branches have died. It is stuck in the shadows of 3 tree which is why i think it is struggling.

It does have this years new growth on most of the branches, that looks to be close to hardening off (if not already), and most needles look green. He is going to cut it down this year anyways so if it dies it's not like i'm wasting trees. I think it's around 2" thick trunk. It does have black soot on the branches, really most trees around here have black soot. I can't see any infestation. It's kinda in a mix of sand/weeds/moss, i wouldn't be suprised if there was some decent loam underneath.
Anyways, wondering what your success was and any pointers you guys have for keeping it alive. I've found the little i have dug that white pine do well digging a hole in the ground, burlap the tree and rest it in a hole a few inches above ground and fill over the burlap with peat moss or some other mixture of moisture retensive soil to cover the outside and about halfway to the trunk. Doesn't disturb the roots and you can just pull the burlap out of the hole when it recovers ( assuming it didn't decompose). Every pine so far i put in a box has dried out and died....maybe i'm also not cutting enough of the tops off.

 

[petegreg]

I have all my collected pines in pots or plastic boxes here. They come from gravel, maybe it helps them to survive when potted.

 

[bonsaiDerek]

Sorry, haven't spent much time in Michigan. But I'm really interested in what you learn about collecting these guys. If I have any success here in Wisconsin, I'll let you know.

how did collecting jack pines in Wisconsin go? im there too and got one a while back, any tips on their care?

 

[Waltron]

I collected a decent one yesterday in michigan. hope it lives. I did collect a huge bag of its mycelium and live sphag. hoping that helps the cause, the fungus seems to be actively growing right now. got in the middle of a hound bear hunt while doing it. didn't know I was in bear territory, or that it was hunting season.

 

[Nicholas Box]

I collected a decent one yesterday in michigan. hope it lives. I did collect a huge bag of its mycelium and live sphag. hoping that helps the cause, the fungus seems to be actively growing right now. got in the middle of a hound bear hunt while doing it. didn't know I was in bear territory, or that it was hunting season.

Update?

 

[Waltron]

That one is doing well and alive. Probably going to sell it to my club president though. Gonna wait till candles extend though. I can tell it’s doing well because in a few random warm spells this winter the needles turned a darker shade of green and the candles seem to be getting perky. Don’t have a good photo of it now, but I’ll be taking some of it soon.

 

[Waltron]

I did lose a few nice jack pines last year though. Still have one really good one, and the one I’m going to sell. Will be collecting several this year though.

 

[Nicholas Box]

Awesome. Luck!