Sharing a Ponderosa in Development

[Jeramiah]

October 2018


Not a whole lot of needles were available to drop this year. If you take a look back at the June 2017 photo you can see that the needles were minimal. With that said, here is the November photo.


All of my trees are tucked away for the winter now.

 

[Jeramiah]

Its spring time here in Minnesota. Trees are still protected but they are out.
I repotted this tree yesterday with the help of Matt Reel.
It went into the wrong pot but it allows for the angle change that it needed and buys me a couple more years to look for or make a pot that suits the tree better. I was surprised by the roots, both quantity, and quality. I was expecting coarse roots along with a tangled mess, but instead found lots of fine roots. We removed the soil that it had been potted in post-collection along with some of the field soil. We cut back some roots to allow for a greater angle change. I miss calculated by an inch or two but that can be corrected next time easily.

I have fertilized with Sumo Cakes® for 2 years now spring to winter. This year I will move to fall fertilization and the branches will get reset this fall.

 

[sparklemotion]

It's OK, I guess.

I was going to hassle you for just taking photos and letting Matt do all the work, but it looks like you actually put some effort in.

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View this content on Instagram

 

[Jeramiah]

Hassle away. lol. It is hard in that type of setting sometimes. Everyone kept asking me questions I felt anyway. Lots of distractions. Its why I like to go to those things and then come home and do the work. No one to interrupt. Yeah, Matt gets the credit of the repot and Bjorn gets credit for the first styling.

 

[sparklemotion]

You know I spent all day yesterday spectating and giving unwanted advice so it's not like I am really in a position to talk. ?

I just happened to like that video: you guys were so intent on the choppy chopping...

Anyways I promised that I wouldn't tell you any of the secrets that Matt taught us today, so I should end this post he

 

[Jeramiah]

Probably all of the good stuff happened today.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Most curious why pot with feminine cloud feet instead of solid masculine feet on semi feminine pot?

 

[Jeramiah]

Just a pot I had that had the depth and width I needed to achieve an angle change. I could have easily just made a box, but had the pot that suited that need. Totally wrong pot for the tree but this tree is not "finished". In the end, I wouldn't mind seeing this tree in a blueish grey mirror style pot. maybe a lotus or something like that.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Good job. It is a really good use of time to do a proper repot with a pro to understand how it’s done. It’s always tempting to do the sexy wiring and styling, but the real meat and taters work is so essential. Bravo!

 

[Jeramiah]

Good job. It is a really good use of time to do a proper repot with a pro to understand how it’s done. It’s always tempting to do the sexy wiring and styling, but the real meat and taters work is so essential. Bravo!

If I was being honest, it was strictly a repotting session. All day fundamentals study group. We repotted trident maples and Japanese black pines. The black pines that we acquired to learn on all had minimal roots and I felt confident that I could repot that by myself. So I elected to have my baby repotted. I figured it was still a pine so why not. I missed the second day as its a 2-hour drive one way and I was just beat from the first day.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Since Matt is neighbor to Randy and Ryan should know some about Ponderosas.

 

[Jeramiah]

Since Matt is neighbor to Randy and Ryan should know some about Ponderosas.

Yeah he is very knowledgeable. Lucky to have him visiting my area a few times this year.

 

[bwaynef]

I was surprised by the roots, both quantity, and quality. I was expecting coarse roots along with a tangled mess, but instead found lots of fine roots.
<snip>
I have fertilized with Sumo Cakes® for 2 years now spring to winter. This year I will move to fall fertilization and the branches will get reset this fall.

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View attachment 236259

Do Ponderosas not generally foster/support Mycorrhiza?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Do Ponderosas not generally foster/support Mycorrhiza?

Sure they do. All pines do.

 

[Jeramiah]

Do Ponderosas not generally foster/support Mycorrhiza?

I would think Ponderosa might benefit from soil microorganisms more than some in some circumstances. All depending on where they are growing.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I would think Ponderosa might benefit from soil microorganisms more than some in some circumstances. All depending on where they are growing.

These come naturally with the roots. Spores are ubiquitous in surrounding air. So called inoculants do not guarantee particular kind a particular tree needs. Only that seller made money. Best reason not to wash pine roots or bare root. If tree is healthy they are there and fungus multiply like weeds.

 

[Jeramiah]

These come naturally with the roots. Spores are ubiquitous in surrounding air. So called inoculants do not guarantee particular kind a particular tree needs. Only that seller made money. Best reason not to wash pine roots or bare root. If tree is healthy they are there and fungus multiply like weeds.

Oh I am not saying add them in anyway. I am just saying that they would benefit from that relationship.

 

[bwaynef]

Do Ponderosas not generally foster/support Mycorrhiza?

Sure they do. All pines do.

I would think Ponderosa might benefit from soil microorganisms more than some in some circumstances. All depending on where they are growing.

These come naturally with the roots. Spores are ubiquitous in surrounding air. So called inoculants do not guarantee particular kind a particular tree needs. Only that seller made money. Best reason not to wash pine roots or bare root. If tree is healthy they are there and fungus multiply like weeds.

Then why isn't there any visible mycorrhiza(l fungus)?

 

[Jeramiah]

Then why isn't there any visible mycorrhiza(l fungus)?

Sometimes you see the white fluffy fungus and sometimes you don't. There are a couple of different forms of fungi. Some penetrate the roots and some spread out interconnecting creating a nice system. I didn't really look for it when we repotted the tree so I didn't take pictures of it if there was actually any white fluffy stuff.

 

[bwaynef]

Then why isn't there any visible mycorrhiza(l fungus)?

I've spent a bit of time searching for Ponderosas being repotted and there are very few pictures of the rootballs. That said, those that I was able to find don't seem to show any visible mycorrhiza. I was expecting to see lots of white fungus holding the rootballs together, but that doesn't seem to be the case for these trees. (Walter's Ponderosa #6 seems to show the most, but it could be the soil particles used.)

Carry on.