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| Hi,
I'm a fairly experienced Bonsai guy, but I need some opinions here. A couple of years ago I dug a small Eastern White Pine(Strobus) group of five trees(pencil size to index finger size-nicely positioned to each other. It looked interesting and I thought it had potential. I have the group in a wooden box and this spring I am contemplating a repot to a tray of some sort. I think it will look nice like that, but I don't see a lot of Eastern White Pine Bonsai and I was wondering if in the long run Pinus Strobus are good bonsai subjects. I have talked to other members of my club and they cited hearing problems including reducing needle size,bark not aging fast enough and dieback. Anybody out there have any experience? On the plus side they grow roots like crazy,don't mind some wetness, and have a tendency to bud back easily. Thanks, Steve |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hi, they do mind wetness as the get older, but the main drawback (along with others you've heard) is that the internodes are hard to reduce. I love them madly and think they're gorgeous, but I don't try to bonsai them. See if you can get hold of a pinus parviflora, the Japanese kind, which has shorter needles and works better all around (and definitely doesn't like wetness!). |
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| Steve I have had 3 in a green plastic tulip pot for 4 years. The needles are about 2/3rds of a regular white pine and have been able to keep them under 14 inches tall. I think Lucy is correct in her assesment but I'm going to try anyway. Like Truman said "show me". Good luck Paul |
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- Posted by bonsai_john (My Page) on Sun, Dec 3, 06 at 14:55
| There is a reason why you don't see P. strobus as bonsai, and that's because they don't work well. You should grow them for yourself and enjoy them. They may never amount to anything worth putting in a show, but you can enjoy them. There is a P. strobus cultivar that has very small needles, much like P. parviflora. I think it's call P. strobus 'nana', but I'm not positive. My bonsai instructor used to say to "try it", he was always experimenting with new plant material. Have fun. |
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| I know where one is on display (well, probably on display, its a rotating display... with different trees). It is pretty tall, and not as tightly-foliaged as JWP or JBP, but certainly a credible bonsai. Marty Schmalenberg somewhere in the NorthEast has a really nice P. strobus bonsai that would hold its own with most other trees. I think I saw an EWP on display @ the Carolina Bonsai Expo, but I can't locate a picture of it. They are a little leggy, and a little airy, but thats how they grow in nature too. Where I lived (<50 miles from my new house) P.strobus grew everywhere, ...and they were the only pine that grew naturally. Here, its very rare to see a stand of EWP. I almost miss seeing them. wf |
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| I have one that worked extremely well as bonsai. That it is still growing in the original pot I planted it in 15 years ago is due to the fact that I have barely touched it. But perhaps more important is that I never used bonsai soil, just driveway rocks and pine needles. This makes for very good drainage and frankly is the medium that the sapling was growing quite well out of. Someday I'll post a picture here. |
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| Why wait - I'd love to see it, and your mix sounds pretty good! |
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