Stuck on what to do with this white pine

[BonsaixDad]

Just got this gorgeous japanese white pine yesterday, it cost me a pretty penny so im really stuck on what to do with it at the moment. Its in a #3 nursery container with the typical dense organic soil mixture. My initial thought was to leave it in there until next spring and just do some maintenance and branch pruning over the summer. But im also worried about the state of its roots in this soil and container and am wondering if i should just go ahead and repot it into some better 1:1:1 substrate. Its late April here in zone 6b im wondering if thats too late to repot. Any and all feedback is so appreciated.

Also all the photos i have at the moment are closeups from yesterday, i’ll get better ones later.

 

[pandacular]

Nice tree! I love the blue colored white pines. Do you know the cultivar?

I have a very similar project that I'm working on. My approach was to effectively only work with the growth from the very first whorl. This is a slower approach, but I think it is the most likely to result in a good bonsai one day.

Thread 'panda’s Pinus parviflora ‘Aoi’'

Oct 19, 2023

I bought this white pine from my local nursery during their fall tree sale. I find the foliage of ‘Aoi’ stunning, and the growth habit looks compelling for an upright or slanting pine. Its also one of the cultivars listed in the Bonsai Today book, so somebody’s using them for bonsai. When I visited they had just received a shipment of these, so there were about 50 to choose from!

I’m not sure what Iseli grafts these onto, but I saw a few with sprouts from the root stock, and it was a rather yellow, short needle pine without the white pine “stripes”. Didn’t look too closely as the tree I...

• pandacular
• jwp pine pinus parviflora progression
• Replies: 19
• Forum: Pines

• 

 

[BonsaixDad]

Nice tree! I love the blue colored white pines. Do you know the cultivar?

I have a very similar project that I'm working on. My approach was to effectively only work with the growth from the very first whorl. This is a slower approach, but I think it is the most likely to result in a good bonsai one day.

Thread 'panda’s Pinus parviflora ‘Aoi’'

Oct 19, 2023

I bought this white pine from my local nursery during their fall tree sale. I find the foliage of ‘Aoi’ stunning, and the growth habit looks compelling for an upright or slanting pine. Its also one of the cultivars listed in the Bonsai Today book, so somebody’s using them for bonsai. When I visited they had just received a shipment of these, so there were about 50 to choose from!

I’m not sure what Iseli grafts these onto, but I saw a few with sprouts from the root stock, and it was a rather yellow, short needle pine without the white pine “stripes”. Didn’t look too closely as the tree I...

• pandacular
• jwp pine pinus parviflora progression
• Replies: 19
• Forum: Pines

• 

Oh thats rad dude we are effectively going down the same path, mines an Aoi as well also an Iseli stock. Such a mind blowing tree with the blue tint and vibrant pink scattered throughout, it was love at first sight for me. And im right there either you on this tree being a super cool upright slanted bonsai.

How has the soil been for you so far, as far as drying out between waterings?

 

[MaciekA]

Regarding the soil / drying out, in my experience, it's worthwhile to pay attention to the soil type and water retention characteristics before doing anything else. If I were to pick up another one of these again today, and it had flushed out like your's has, I would basically do this:

- no cut/prune this year, perhaps carefully wire down primary branches in fall (post summer heat) to tilt the odds in favor of interior shoots/needles.
- fertilize regularly till fall, chase the best sun exposure, only water when top 1/2" is fully drying, water to saturation
- half bare root into pumice 2026. Do the other half 1 or 2 years later depending on vigor after first repot
- after significant recovery (good shoot size/needle mass post-transition) begin working the tree. While doing this, similar to like @pandacular has done, keep a vigorous leader telephone pole / poodle at the top of the tree to keep the tree vigorous (helps with generating buds, closing wounds, root growing, health, etc).

When these come fresh from Iseli they are very strong and vigorous, so the idea would be to channel all that commercial nursery vigor into a big but necessary-for-bonsai-mode repot. After recovery from a soil transition, Aoi is quite bulletproof when reduced / wired / pruned / etc. Climate may always be a variable in this, but I've had no issues with pests or pathogens with this cultivar. Be aware that like all white pines, it will "retire" or shed needles (eldest / weakest) annually at some point, so if you're new to JWP it's good to be aware of that when it happens for the first time.

 

[BonsaixDad]

Regarding the soil / drying out, in my experience, it's worthwhile to pay attention to the soil type and water retention characteristics before doing anything else. If I were to pick up another one of these again today, and it had flushed out like your's has, I would basically do this:

- no cut/prune this year, perhaps carefully wire down primary branches in fall (post summer heat) to tilt the odds in favor of interior shoots/needles.
- fertilize regularly till fall, chase the best sun exposure, only water when top 1/2" is fully drying, water to saturation
- half bare root into pumice 2026. Do the other half 1 or 2 years later depending on vigor after first repot
- after significant recovery (good shoot size/needle mass post-transition) begin working the tree. While doing this, similar to like @pandacular has done, keep a vigorous leader telephone pole / poodle at the top of the tree to keep the tree vigorous (helps with generating buds, closing wounds, root growing, health, etc).

When these come fresh from Iseli they are very strong and vigorous, so the idea would be to channel all that commercial nursery vigor into a big but necessary-for-bonsai-mode repot. After recovery from a soil transition, Aoi is quite bulletproof when reduced / wired / pruned / etc. Climate may always be a variable in this, but I've had no issues with pests or pathogens with this cultivar. Be aware that like all white pines, it will "retire" or shed needles (eldest / weakest) annually at some point, so if you're new to JWP it's good to be aware of that when it happens for the first time.

Man, awesome info there, thank you! So let me see if im getting this straight, what you’re recommending as what you would do is essentially pump the breaks, watch it, care for it with the basics and let it go unworked until next spring and then start the repot/transition to bonsai soil process?

 

[pandacular]

Oh thats rad dude we are effectively going down the same path, mines an Aoi as well also an Iseli stock. Such a mind blowing tree with the blue tint and vibrant pink scattered throughout, it was love at first sight for me. And im right there either you on this tree being a super cool upright slanted bonsai.

How has the soil been for you so far, as far as drying out between waterings?

I repotted mine into a pumice and akadama mix (maybe some lava?) last spring.

 

[BonsaixDad]

I repotted mine into a pumice and akadama mix (maybe some lava?) last spring.

How late in the spring did you commit to that? I know everyone says just as or before the buds swell but the buds on mine are pretty far along lol. If the timing is still decent I’d probably do the same thing

 

[pandacular]

It was done in early February. I would think it's a bit late to repot, as you can already see needles emerging, but that might depend on where you are (it is helpful to add that to your profile alongside USDA zone, even if it's very general).

I think Maciek's plan of action above is very good.

 

[BonsaixDad]

It was done in early February. I would think it's a bit late to repot, as you can already see needles emerging, but that might depend on where you are (it is helpful to add that to your profile alongside USDA zone, even if it's very general).

I think Maciek's plan of action above is very good.

Ah yeah thats what i kinda figured dang. Yeah sounds like the patience game it is yet again! Does my profile still not show my zone? Swear i put that on there

 

[MaciekA]

It does show your zone, though only your zone. If you add a geographical region it could help as zone 6 Ohio can be radically different from zone 6 Colorado and can change some advice that you'd get.