Digging Piñon Pine

[Hartinez]

The piñon pine. Yes I’m referring to New Mexico based pine not the Colorado pinyon, which I’m convinced the only difference is the lack of the ñ in the spelling and pronunciation. But that’s more shit talk that biological knowledge.

I’ve long thought these could be phenomenal specimen for bonsai. Not only for their needle size, rugged craggy bark, twisty forms, but also the cultural and historical importance they hold for northern New Mexican peoples and the possibilities available in the presentation of the trees in shows and exhibits.

I’m not the only one who has thought this, but they are notoriously difficult to dig. I’d say a big reason for this is the conditions in which many grow. Low water, sandy soils that have little to no feeder roots and massive tap roots. But I have found many instances where these trees are quite collectible and have had great success over the last 3 years or so. I’ve collected 9 trees over the last 3 years with 7 of them surviving and thriving. Most of these trees while nice trees in there own right we’re just ok trees and lacking that certain factor that sets them apart.

With so much success lately, I have attempted over the last few weeks to dig some pretty bad ass and size-able specimen that I’m very excited about. These 3 were collected in the same way I collected all the others and there is no reason they wouldn’t respond the same. But we shall see!!!

Great bends, massive trunk, craggy bark, healthy buds. Here’s the best pics I have. (There is a second piñon in the box that came with this one at collection cause they were growing together)



The other 2.

 

[Hartinez]

If these 3 survive the collection process, I’m going to be feeling really great about the species viability as bonsai specimen moving forward.

 

[Julio-Rufo]

amazing trees!

 

[Flowerhouse]

My Colorado-sourced pinyon would be a pi(nya)on if I could figure out how to type the right character. I can do it in Word, but not given the text editing choices here. Maybe you could give a boomer some insight on typing the right characters?
Also, those are some very nice trees.

 

[pandacular]

Maybe you could give a boomer some insight on typing the right characters?

If you're on a Windows computer, it's a huge pain. Hold alt and type "164". Good luck remembering the code!

On other devices (MacOS, iPhone, Android) you can long press on the n key and you should be given an option.

 

[Hartinez]

My Colorado-sourced pinyon would be a pi(nya)on if I could figure out how to type the right character. I can do it in Word, but not given the text editing choices here. Maybe you could give a boomer some insight on typing the right characters?
Also, those are some very nice trees.

Technically I think it’s ok to it as pinyon, but being a 4 gen New Mexican I just can’t. For me, if I want to change the type of letter I’m typing out, you have to press the letter you want changed and hold it until options pop up.

What @pandacular said.

 

[Mats Hagström]

Nice trees for sure. Do you have experience with newly harvested tree? If so then you should have done great material.

If you don’t then get in contact with others who collect. The first year is critical. Don’t let the soil get too wet. Fungal disease is a common problem in wet pines. Keep the tree hydrated by misting if possible. It’s still a little early for collecting IMO. Be careful with heat spikes until winter is here.

Makes me want to collect trees. Are there more? Are any trees available for $?

The only pines I have collected are Lodgepole pines from Ca sierras. Where collected they grow in loose pumice making collecting easy. I’ve had good luck with those. I also collect Monterey pines (p. Radiata) these are also easy because they live in foggy areas and like dry soil and most air.
Realky great trees. Congrats and good luck until they are established

 

[Hartinez]

Nice trees for sure. Do you have experience with newly harvested tree? If so then you should have done great material.

If you don’t then get in contact with others who collect. The first year is critical. Don’t let the soil get too wet. Fungal disease is a common problem in wet pines. Keep the tree hydrated by misting if possible. It’s still a little early for collecting IMO. Be careful with heat spikes until winter is here.

Makes me want to collect trees. Are there more? Are any trees available for $?

The only pines I have collected are Lodgepole pines from Ca sierras. Where collected they grow in loose pumice making collecting easy. I’ve had good luck with those. I also collect Monterey pines (p. Radiata) these are also easy because they live in foggy areas and like dry soil and most air.
Realky great trees. Congrats and good luck until they are established

thank you for this, but it seems clear you didn’t read my post and just looked at the pictures.

 

[Mats Hagström]

A bit ADD sorry about that

 

[Hartinez]

A bit ADD sorry about that

All good. I just got a laugh out of it that’s all. Yeah I’ve been collecting trees for sometime now and have only gotten better and better over the years.

 

[BonsaiManic]

Great finds! Would you care to share your technique? I agree, the state tree is beautiful, and seems like a great option for native bonsai for the desert here.
I, also, was under the impression that this was the wrong time of year. But I definitely trust your experience and expertise.

 

[Hartinez]

Great finds! Would you care to share your technique? I agree, the state tree is beautiful, and seems like a great option for native bonsai for the desert here.
I, also, was under the impression that this was the wrong time of year. But I definitely trust your experience and expertise.

I’m on the front end of what I would say is a great time to collect trees. In the peak of this summer when temperatures are still in the upper 90s consistently is definitely not a good time. But the temperatures have cooled and we are only getting up to the high 80s at the moment. Especially in the mountains. The key is to find trees, Piñon in particular, that are growing in the dense clay, that we have all over the place. Inevitably, you will have to cut a taproot, but keeping a ball of clay in tact around the base of the tree will ensure that whatever feeder routes are present, stay untouched, and connected to the michroriza that are helping them survive. I’m pretty sure I sent you some pictures of another pinion that I collected several years back where I used this very technique. Trench around the base of the tree, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, then start to remove the soil under the ball and expose the taproot. Grab the soil more to keep it intact, then sever the taproot and remove the tree.

 

[Hartinez]

Great finds! Would you care to share your technique? I agree, the state tree is beautiful, and seems like a great option for native bonsai for the desert here.
I, also, was under the impression that this was the wrong time of year. But I definitely trust your experience and expertise.

I did collect an Engleman spruce during the hottest part of summer, and it began to thrive. Almost immediately. I’m willing to bet that the same could be said for a lot of other trees, but the aftercare is paramount.

 

[Colorado]

We are going to start calling you “Hartinez the Piñon Whisperer”!

Totally agree that it is a wonderful species for bonsai. Great bark, great needles, vigorous, cold hardy….

That first one would look pretty nice on my bench!!!

 

[BonsaiManic]

My next question would be "when do you know, or at least have a strong sense that a tree is going to survive?" I collected a beautiful 4' years ago on December 2 of that year. Took it home, put it straight into the ground, and by March, I was convinced I'd been successful. Mid-May, I noticed some discoloration of a few needles. Less than 2 weeks later, the whole tree was crispier than an Allsups chimi.

 

[BonsaiManic]

I've been considering a name change: Desert O'Piñon. Whaddya think?
Or maybe O'Piñonated?

 

[Hartinez]

We are going to start calling you “Hartinez the Piñon Whisperer”!

Totally agree that it is a wonderful species for bonsai. Great bark, great needles, vigorous, cold hardy….

That first one would look pretty nice on my bench!!!

If any of these three survive this collection, you can dub me any way you’d like my man, TJ! I think that I would love even more, though, is if you drove down from Colorado and we went and collected you an even better tree. I’m pretty much convinced that that area west of Albuquerque around in Mount Taylor is the Pinyon pine Mecca. The area is so fucking vast, and there were trees everywhere. Not to mention the beautiful pieces of Lichen covered lava rock.

 

[Hartinez]

My next question would be "when do you know, or at least have a strong sense that a tree is going to survive?" I collected a beautiful 4' years ago on December 2 of that year. Took it home, put it straight into the ground, and by March, I was convinced I'd been successful. Mid-May, I noticed some discoloration of a few needles. Less than 2 weeks later, the whole tree was crispier than an Allsups chimi.

I’d say that’s a pretty broad answer. But generally, the things I look for are needle, color, and bud color. You usually know pretty quickly, if the tree has survived or not. But I have collected trees that have died in a similar manner to yours.

 

[BonsaiManic]

Ooo! Ooo! Pick me, pick me!

 

[pandacular]

All good. I just got a laugh out of it that’s all. Yeah I’ve been collecting trees for sometime now and have only gotten better and better over the years.

I appreciate that you started out collecting "practice trees". I'm not sure this was explicitly your goal, but you mentioned that the first 9 you collected weren't anything special. This is something I've been doing, since I have no experience keeping trees alive post collection. Around here, it's very easy to find trees that have been whacked back by the snow plows on the edge of the roads in national forests, so those are good fodder for collecting for practice.

Maybe someday I'll get good enough at collecting to dig the nice ones!