Mugo Pine #1 progression: first prune and repot

[turbo]

I picked up this mugo back in early march (1st pic) and slip potted it into a bigger pot without jacking with the roots and only pruned off the dead branches. I really liked this tree because if it's huge flat trunk base (3rd pic) though I wasn't sure what I was gonna do with it. I didn't know much about mugos (still don't) but read all the Vance advice I could and decided to wait until summer before I reduced the root mass and repotting into a smaller pot.

Pictures 2-9 are from this weekend when I finally got around to working on it. Seems like it had really nice growth over the last 4 months and also noticed there is some good back budding going on deep in the canopy.

I tried to only take off about 40% of the branch / leaf material, focusing mostly on cleaning up the trunk base which had about 13 branches coming directly out of it and thinning out the whorls. I didn't do any styling or wiring as I figured what I did already was stress enough. Next step I'm gonna repot it and then not touch this guy for a good long while to let it recover.

From a style perspective, I'm not sure where to go yet. I really like the thicker main trunk, but I gotta figure out something to do with those branches at the other end of the base. I could jin them, cut them off, develop them into something windswept? I've got some time to sit and stare at it for inspiration, but I'll take any feedback from y'all

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Good start!

The two separate branches.

Eventually remove these. Doesn’t look like there is much future in jinning these. In the interim perhaps leave the strongest intact in case there is a need for a guy wire in the future.

Wire it out this fall. This process will identify those remaining branches that need removal, while keeping the selection broad. Then remove the non useful branches as necessary.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[turbo]

Good start!

The two separate branches.

Eventually remove these. Doesn’t look like there is much future in jinning these. In the interim perhaps leave the strongest intact in case there is a need for a guy wire in the future.

Wire it out this fall. This process will identify those remaining branches that need removal, while keeping the selection broad. Then remove the non useful branches as necessary.

Cheers
DSD sends

Thanks for the feedback! I'm still getting a feel for how mugo's develop and I'm curious to how you go about evaluating the overall of the tree, especially removing both the branches at the thinner end of the base? I know it's atypical, but I kind'a like the balance they bring to the overall form of the top. I definitely think the smaller one should go, but it feels like the trunk would be out of balance without at least one branch. Then again, it would be pretty atypical.

 

[turbo]

I had read that if you slip pot mugos into a bigger pot with a different medium around it's edges then it wouldn't extend roots into the new medium. So I was nicely surprised when I pulled this guy out of the big pot and saw all these new roots!

I ended up sawing about 40%'ish of the roots off the bottom to get it to fit the training pot. I trimmed a couple of the bugger tap roots back, but tried not to disturb the rest of the roots as much as possible.

 

[turbo]

And finally, this is after pruning back some of the new growth. I really like how it looks, though still trying to figure out what to do with the 2 branches on the left. Definitely gonna let it sit for the rest of the year before doing anything else.

Fingers crossed I didn't end doing too much work in one go. We'll see how it goes over the winter

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm still getting a feel for how mugo's develop and I'm curious to how you go about evaluating the overall of the tree, especially removing both the branches at the thinner end of the base? I know it's atypical, but I kind'a like the balance they bring to the overall form of the top. I definitely think the smaller one should go, but it feels like the trunk would be out of balance without at least one branch. Then again, it would be pretty atypical.

Admire your efforts.

Looking at the profile the design is out of balance. If more separation and a shorter extension, maybe.

Yet, your tree, your choice.

Cheers
DSD sends