Lodgepole Pine - Fall Flush

[PowerTap]

So here I am looking at my lodgepole pine on the first day of fall. I'm pretty sure that it's about to push a second flush of growth. Which I understand they can do occasionally, which is great. But I'm also headed into fall which is late in the year. Should I be taking any extra steps to care for this as the growing season winds down, or just enjoy the good fortune and see what happens?

I replaced half of the nursery soil this spring and have otherwise mostly left the tree alone this year. I'm fertilizing relatively hard in the hopes of getting some back budding in the spring as well.

 

[actionflies]

This is a good time to start working on the tree and fertilize for the next couple months before Winter.

 

[MaciekA]

I wouldn't take any extra steps but if your lodge/shores are in pure aggregate, definitely fertilize. There's definitely nothing to worry about.

I have (as far as I can recall) almost never/rarely seen anyone else growing lodge/shores in coarse pumice and baskets/anderson flats/etc like I am doing (and perhaps you're doing the same?). If more folks were growing lodgepole in this configuration, I think you'd see a lot more reports of late summer growth in this species, because for me it happens every year. I have late summer growth, "buds going hairy", and buds kicking off growth and "pre-bifurcating a year ahead" on at least half of my lodgepole/shore pines every year. If you have them in a high-growth setup this is normal. Definitely not a characteristic of severely slowed down lodgepoles at high elevation growing in lava beds or whatever, but in a pond basket, they are in sport mode.

There doesn't seem to be a community label or scientific name for the "bud comes out normal, but then decides to bifurcate into sub-buds, which might even bifurcate into more sub-buds, then you have a pre-branched set of candles in spring" effect that happens in contorta. If you really juice them up, keep your eye out for that.

 

[PowerTap]

I wouldn't take any extra steps but if your lodge/shores are in pure aggregate, definitely fertilize. There's definitely nothing to worry about.

I have (as far as I can recall) almost never/rarely seen anyone else growing lodge/shores in coarse pumice and baskets/anderson flats/etc like I am doing (and perhaps you're doing the same?). If more folks were growing lodgepole in this configuration, I think you'd see a lot more reports of late summer growth in this species, because for me it happens every year. I have late summer growth, "buds going hairy", and buds kicking off growth and "pre-bifurcating a year ahead" on at least half of my lodgepole/shore pines every year. If you have them in a high-growth setup this is normal. Definitely not a characteristic of severely slowed down lodgepoles at high elevation growing in lava beds or whatever, but in a pond basket, they are in sport mode.

There doesn't seem to be a community label or scientific name for the "bud comes out normal, but then decides to bifurcate into sub-buds, which might even bifurcate into more sub-buds, then you have a pre-branched set of candles in spring" effect that happens in contorta. If you really juice them up, keep your eye out for that.

This one is sitting in a 3gallon root builder pot. Half of the pot is nursery soil and the other is a fir, lava, pumice mix. So it sounds like maybe "sport mode" is a good description.

The second photo has 4 buds in about 2 inches.

I'm hopeful to get some actual back budding closer into the trunk next spring. But time will tell.