Little slash pine

[Jay Wilson]

Slash pines (Pinus elliottii) don't make good bonsai because the needles are just too long and they won't reduce all that much.

I play with them anyway because they're all that grow on my property. Sharp scissors take care of the long needles.

 

[Anonymous User]

Long needles just mean bigger bonsai.....

 

[TheSteve]

Needles, shmeedles good looking tree. Like the bark alot. Send me a dozen I'll put up with them.

 

[emorrin]

Don't you get brown needle tips after cutting them? Anyway, that is looking good. Did you grow from seed or collect? I would not have identified that as a Pinus elliottii from the picture.

 

[R_F]

I only know one other person here in florida that grows the slash pines. Yours looks much better than the one I saw. Good work! I am also interested to know if the needles get brown tips after you cut them?

 

[TheSteve]

I'm sure the tips brown at first but just like a juniper (of course we all pinch them though right?) it'll come around in a couple of weeks.

 

[Jay Wilson]

Yeah, the needles brown some at the tip...and they stay that way, unfortunatly.
The bark is nice though

I collect these. I've seen a couple slash pines as bonsai, but they're not very common.
Thanks for the nice comments.

 

[Mark]

Jay,

That bark is pretty nice, have you tried any grafting? I am thinking dwarf JBP might be pretty interesting on that tree. Just a thought.

Mark

 

[Jay Wilson]

And a very good thought it is! I was thinking the same thing last night...
I don't do grafting, but I have a friend who claims to be getting good at it
He has some black pine stock too.

 

[John Hill]

Looking good Jay, nice tree imho.

A Friend in bonsai
John

 

[Jay Wilson]

Thanks John.
Your humble opinion means a lot to me.

 

[pjkatich]

Jay,

I would have to agree with the others that have commented. That is the best looking slash pine bonsai that I have seen.

From your posts, it would appear that you focus on native species. It is nice to see some of our local plant material being developed into respectable bonsai.

Thanks for taking the time to share.

Regards,
Paul

 

[Jay Wilson]

Thanks Paul,
I just play with these slash pines...They don't lend themselves to bonsai; that's why we don't see many of them. I can only think of two or three I've seen.

As far as native species go, that's all I work with so far. If I can't dig it for free, I don't have one.
If I recall correctly, you work with a good few natives yourself. Your red maples are the best I've seen as bonsai.

Thanks,

 

[pjkatich]

Jay,

I appreciate the positive feedback on my maples.

And, yes I struggle with a number of different native trees like you do. It can be frustrating at times but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[Jay Wilson]

Paul,

Your maple posts last year are what rekindled my waning interest in my own red maples.

And, yes I struggle with a number of different native trees like you do. It can be frustrating at times but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I agree completly! The struggle makes the rewards much sweeter.

 

[xtolord]

Nice Slash pine bonsai

Great looking slash pine bonsai!

I would not mind some tips, I've got a slash pine "potensai"
I'm still trying to figure out how to prune it efficiently and how to give more strength to the lower branches while hindering the top growth.

I've just recently cut out the top candles that were starting to grow.

 

[mrchips1952]

Slash Pines

Are the Slash Pines you have field grown trees or collected from the wild? I would love a couple of these to add to my collection. Where do you get them? Dave Colorado Springs

 

[Jay Wilson]

Great looking slash pine bonsai!

I would not mind some tips, I've got a slash pine "potensai"
I'm still trying to figure out how to prune it efficiently and how to give more strength to the lower branches while hindering the top growth.

I've just recently cut out the top candles that were starting to grow.

Slash Pines will put most of their growth at the top if you let them. I just keep the top cut and trimmed hard while I let the lower limbs grow strong.

With your tree, I would take out the whole top candelabra. That would force the lower limbs to grow.

 

[Jay Wilson]

Are the Slash Pines you have field grown trees or collected from the wild? I would love a couple of these to add to my collection. Where do you get them? Dave Colorado Springs

I've collected all my trees from the 'wilds' of my own place. Some of them are treated as field growing..... Root pruning and training in the ground before collection.

 

[xtolord]

Hi Jay,
Thanks for your advices,
Its been nearly 1 year now and the tree have grown branches since.
There's still room for improvement.
I've tried cutting the leaves, but I dont really like the tips turning brown.
I'm going to give it a try with its long leaves [ will see what this gives ], I can still cut them off if it does not fit.