Scots Pine wiring advice

[AJL]

Im a novice when it comes to Pines so I would be grateful for any advice here!
I collected this pine back in March with permission from the site owners .
I was lucky enough to find it had a compact shallow root system which fitted perfectly straight into a training pot. Ive done very little to it since then apart from feeding and watering, and just let it recover, but now Im looking for advice on what to do next.
Should I wire it now or let it grow on some more?
When is the best time for pruning and bud selection and how do I promote back budding?
Should I leave the terminal shoot as a sacrifice branch and should I remove some of the bar branches?
Im hoping some of our Pine experts can help me!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Check out this care sheet https://www.bonsainut.com/resources/pinus-sylvestris-care-cheat-sheet-care-guide.50/

It should tell you when to do what. If you have any feedback on it, let me know!

I would remove bar branches. Or reduce them to two, to make a new apex.
Generally speaking though, I'd wait until the end of winter to do wiring. Because they can go on and live on stored energy for quite a while, and fool you into thinking they're in good health.

 

[MaciekA]

I agree with @Wires_Guy_wires . If you hold back from doing any work this autumn, including wiring, you can allow the root system to continue rebuilding all the way until spring 2024 and allow all surplus foliage to help hasten that recovery. If you start wounding the cambium through wiring while the tree has just begun its recovery from collection (most of the root recovery is happening between now and the end of winter), you can negatively interfere with that recovery and impact winter resistance/susceptibility.

 

[AJL]

I agree with @Wires_Guy_wires . If you hold back from doing any work this autumn, including wiring, you can allow the root system to continue rebuilding all the way until spring 2024 and allow all surplus foliage to help hasten that recovery. If you start wounding the cambium through wiring while the tree has just begun its recovery from collection (most of the root recovery is happening between now and the end of winter), you can negatively interfere with that recovery and impact winter resistance/susceptibility.

Thats a very useful care sheet. Thankyou both for your advice .Do you think its worth re-potting /slip potting it now into a slightly wider and deeper pot to boost development of the root system?

 

[PeaceLoveBonsai]

Check out this care sheet https://www.bonsainut.com/resources/pinus-sylvestris-care-cheat-sheet-care-guide.50/

It should tell you when to do what. If you have any feedback on it, let me know!

I would remove bar branches. Or reduce them to two, to make a new apex.
Generally speaking though, I'd wait until the end of winter to do wiring. Because they can go on and live on stored energy for quite a while, and fool you into thinking they're in good health.

This is a great resource, @Wires_Guy_wires , thanks for sharing.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Thats a very useful care sheet. Thankyou both for your advice .Do you think its worth re-potting /slip potting it now into a slightly wider and deeper pot to boost development of the root system?

No, it's in coarse soil and lifting it out without it having colonized the substrate will cause all the soil to fall out.
Essentially leading to a bare root repot.

You can however, put it on a tray of substrate and let the roots escape the bottom of the pot. I do this to some of my trees and I trim those roots at the end of summer so they don't completely plug the holes.



But keep in mind that it might take longer for the plant to colonize the pot itself, because the tray is just so much sweeter.

 

[MaciekA]

Thats a very useful care sheet. Thankyou both for your advice .Do you think its worth re-potting /slip potting it now into a slightly wider and deeper pot to boost development of the root system?

I agree with @Wires_Guy_wires once again. Vertical stacking completely gets around the negative aspects of slip potting. I have "slip pot it into a bigger pot" on my top 10 list of "if I ever get a time machine, stop these ideas from forming in bonsai" items.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Well, with nursery plants in nursery soil, you can! It air prunes the roots too. But it's difficult when watering.
But in the same year as a collection or repot.. It's not a great idea.
The second year, maybe in fall. But rather not.

Most conifers require a year or two to establish themselves. And once that gets going, they usually don't need a repot for about another year or two.
I have trees that I collected in 2017 that have had only some scraping on the bottom done, to aid with water percolation.
If you want good root growth, watering accordingly (not too dry, not too wet) can benefit a plant more than a larger pot can in the sense of bonsai. Especially pines love making one fat root and neglecting all other roots when they get plenty of room (and especially depth).