Stubmle's Vance Wood Memorial Mugo Contest Entry #2

[stubmle]

This is my second entry in the Vance Wood Memorial Mugo Contest. I got this on May 21 this year from a nearby big box hardware store (the blue one). I do not know what variety it is as the tag was missing, so I am going to assume it is a regular Pinus mugo until proven otherwise.
Selecting this one was easy as it was the last one left at the store. Happily, it seemed to have a decent single trunk under the soil when I felt around, but I'll have to wait for repotting to be sure. I was able to get it for about $30. I don't know what the price was actually supposed to be as the tag was missing, but this seems like a decent price for the size it is; I have seen smaller mugos selling for more elsewhere.
As with Mugo #1, I have not done anything to this since acquiring it except water, feed, and remove dead foliage from the interior. I plan to wait until early July to perform any major work on this.

Mugo #2

• stubmle
• May 29, 2024

This is a Pinus mugo of unknown variety (the store lost the nursery tag). I picked it up for the...

Mugo #2

• stubmle
• May 29, 2024
• 1

This is a Pinus mugo of unknown variety (the store lost the nursery tag). I picked it up for the...

Mugo #2

• stubmle
• May 29, 2024

This is a Pinus mugo of unknown variety (the store lost the nursery tag). I picked it up for the...

 

[stubmle]

I've since thinned out the foliage on this a bit (there is SO MUCH, it's like a solid mass even now. At least it's healthy!), but no major cuts yet. Was finally able to get the remaining soil components I needed, so this one is going to get repotted next- hopefully this weekend if I have time.

Planning to put this in a pond basket with 1:1:1 composted pine bark / pumice / NAPA 8822 (diatomaceous earth), might also toss in a bit of charcoal. I'm trying to emulate Vance's mix since it worked well for him.

I'd prefer to use lava for the last component instead of 8822, but I haven't found a good local source for less than an arm & a leg. The pumice was expensive enough but I'm sick of Perlite!

 

[stubmle]

Just repotted this one. Turns out it has a super fat, almost "turtleback" base. Reminiscent of @Likebull1's contest tree but not as nice. You can see his in this thread.

Pics to come...

 

[stubmle]

Here we go:

Front? Still undecided. Let's call this the Front for now.

Mugo #2

• stubmle
• Jul 12, 2024

Mugo of unknown variety. Still undecided if this should be Back or Front.
This tree is in the...

Side:

Mugo #2

• stubmle
• Jul 12, 2024

Mugo of unknown variety, side view.
This tree is in the 2024 Vance Wood Memorial Contest.

Back:

Mugo #2

• stubmle
• Jul 12, 2024

Mugo of unknown variety. Still undecided if this should be Back or Front.
This tree is in the...

Not sure what I should use for the Front. It has a surprisingly nice base though!

Repotting this one was a bear. Roots were super thick and tangled, very unmanageable, seemed like it had been sloppily slip-potted multiple times. Tried not to remove more than half even so. Placed it in a pond basket with the mix described in my earlier post above. It was a very involved process and I forgot to get pics of the roots.

I removed about half the foliage present. Moving it to bright shade for a few weeks to recover and watching watering for a while. I'll post an update if anything major occurs.

 

[Likebull1]

Just repotted this one. Turns out it has a super fat, almost "turtleback" base. Reminiscent of @Likebull1's contest tree but not as nice. You can see his in this thread.

Pics to come...

Hey if we both lose we can have a competition between each other. "The Stumble, Likebull 4 year Turtleback contest" haha

Who knows. We may have invented a new style. Lest copyright it asap

 

[stubmle]

Hey if we both lose we can have a competition between each other. "The Stumble, Likebull 4 year Turtleback contest" haha

Who knows. We may have invented a new style. Lest copyright it asap

Gotta admit yours is nicer- mine just looks like the trunk is melting! Curious to see where it goes though.

 

[Likebull1]

Gotta admit yours is nicer- mine just looks like the trunk is melting! Curious to see where it goes though.

They're both beautiful in their own individual way lol. But I always thought they look like they are melting

 

[stubmle]

1-month update: Extensive browning foliage on weaker branches. Some branches, especially stronger ones, are largely or entirely unaffected. The browning I am seeing now is distinct from the normal die-off of old needles that happens around this time of year. With the older needles, they either start browning/yellowing from the tips or gradually and uniformly lose color until they are pale gray-green. Either way, they are easily removed by just brushing them off. What I'm seeing now is browning that starts at the base of the needle. These needles are not easily removed- they stay securely attached, even when fully brown. The affected branches also feel much drier and more brittle.
I'm not sure if this is due to excessive pruning or excessive root-work, but I definitely went too hard on this one in some respect. It may be a combination of the two- with the other trees I have in this contest, one was pruned hard but most of the roots left intact, and with the other I took the inverse approach. Both are doing much better than this tree, at least so far.
I can't tell yet if the tree is just responding to the shock of being worked by dropping weak branches or if it's going into full-on collapse. At this point I'm just watering as needed and watching closely for any further developments.

 

[Likebull1]

1-month update: Extensive browning foliage on weaker branches. Some branches, especially stronger ones, are largely or entirely unaffected. The browning I am seeing now is distinct from the normal die-off of old needles that happens around this time of year. With the older needles, they either start browning/yellowing from the tips or gradually and uniformly lose color until they are pale gray-green. Either way, they are easily removed by just brushing them off. What I'm seeing now is browning that starts at the base of the needle. These needles are not easily removed- they stay securely attached, even when fully brown. The affected branches also feel much drier and more brittle.
I'm not sure if this is due to excessive pruning or excessive root-work, but I definitely went too hard on this one in some respect. It may be a combination of the two- with the other trees I have in this contest, one was pruned hard but most of the roots left intact, and with the other I took the inverse approach. Both are doing much better than this tree, at least so far.
I can't tell yet if the tree is just responding to the shock of being worked by dropping weak branches or if it's going into full-on collapse. At this point I'm just watering as needed and watching closely for any further developments.

That's a bummer I hope it pulls through for you. Im waiting for this to happen to my third tree I tried to shove into a too small of a pond basket. Do you have any pics?

 

[stubmle]

Do you have any pics?

I can get some today!

 

[stubmle]

Here are some pics.
Front/back views:


Some branches are severely browned and clearly on their way out:


Others are just starting to brown. Not sure how they will fare:


Some look fine- nice healthy green:


Just a waiting game at this point... Hopefully the tree itself pulls through, even if it loses a lot of branches. Thankfully most of them were not "keepers" anyway.

 

[stubmle]

This one is officially deceased. Autopsy found significant root death, but no sign of rot. Every twig gradually turned dry and brittle, with the foliage slowly browning or losing color. For cause of death, I'll chalk this one up to me just being too rough with it during the initial repot. It seems like the remaining roots were insufficient to sustain the foliage. Unfortunate and not terribly surprising in hindsight, but a learning experience nonetheless. Maybe it would have survived with perfect care, but that's a moot point now.

On a brighter note, the other two Mugos I worked on around the same time seem to be doing well, at least so far. The large one has dropped a few branches that were cut back to minimal foliage, but that was expected- foliage on untouched branches still appears vigorous and has not faded like happened to the deceased tree. The smaller Mugo appears to be in excellent health and has not skipped a beat despite being essentially bare-rooted, though it is worth mentioning that it was not at all pot-bound and the old soil was very easily removed with just my bare hands.

Something is unclear to me. It's well-known that bare-rooting a conifer is often a death sentence for the tree, but there is also anecdotal evidence that it can be done safely to young nursery stock. Why? Is it due to the inherent vigor of the younger material, the smaller water requirements of a smaller foliage mass, or the looser state of the soil that allows for its removal without massive root damage? In other words- is there something special about young material itself, or is it all due to the disposition of the roots and the relative ease with which the old substrate can be removed?

 

[Likebull1]

Damn dude that sucks. I was really rooting for this one. My two I entered are doing well minus a small amount of yellowing at the tips of the smaller one. Seems like the worst of it so over thankful and it's actually pushing new growth.

I'm really excited to see how everyone's does over the winter.