help please
pine feeding (super feeding help)
I would like to thicken the trunk of a youngish pine ....ive read about it but it does not tell you how to do it ??
help please
help please
-
Gnome
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5122
- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
- Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A
tarian,
Super Feeding will not magically produce the results you desire. It is important to keep the tree growing in order to thicken the trunk so in that regard it is important but there are other techniques that are necessary. Probably the most important is the concept of sacrificial branches. If you do not take action while a Pine is young you will not only lose low branches but you will end up with a trunk that lacks taper.
Look at your tree and realize that 90% of what you now see will not be a part of the finished design. Look for the lowest branch and try to visualize a new trunk-line that flows through that particular branch. If that is appealing to you then everything else of your tree is nothing but a sacrifice, only useful in thickening the trunk.
Prune nothing until you can get your head around this. Do not remove any lower branches until you have an idea of the direction you are taking this tree. If you are lucky enough to have multiple low branches you have an advantage. You can then choose one or more as a potential trunk-line and/or first branch and still allow at least one low branch to grow unchecked. This will give a nice swelling low on the trunk while still allowing for the continuation of the future tree through one of the other branches.
A sacrificial branch can be allowed to grow very long, so long that it looks totally out of place but that is how you get a thick trunk, through unchecked growth of the bulk of the tree while still maintaining a path to a good design in the future.
I am currently in the third year of my first Pine (from seed) project so a lot of this is still theory to me but I am learning as I go.
Norm
Super Feeding will not magically produce the results you desire. It is important to keep the tree growing in order to thicken the trunk so in that regard it is important but there are other techniques that are necessary. Probably the most important is the concept of sacrificial branches. If you do not take action while a Pine is young you will not only lose low branches but you will end up with a trunk that lacks taper.
Look at your tree and realize that 90% of what you now see will not be a part of the finished design. Look for the lowest branch and try to visualize a new trunk-line that flows through that particular branch. If that is appealing to you then everything else of your tree is nothing but a sacrifice, only useful in thickening the trunk.
Prune nothing until you can get your head around this. Do not remove any lower branches until you have an idea of the direction you are taking this tree. If you are lucky enough to have multiple low branches you have an advantage. You can then choose one or more as a potential trunk-line and/or first branch and still allow at least one low branch to grow unchecked. This will give a nice swelling low on the trunk while still allowing for the continuation of the future tree through one of the other branches.
A sacrificial branch can be allowed to grow very long, so long that it looks totally out of place but that is how you get a thick trunk, through unchecked growth of the bulk of the tree while still maintaining a path to a good design in the future.
I am currently in the third year of my first Pine (from seed) project so a lot of this is still theory to me but I am learning as I go.
Norm
-
Gnome
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5122
- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
- Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A
tarian,
OK, here's a picture I just took of one of my Scots Pine seedlings. They are in their third summer and are potted in a 100% inorganic mix comprised of Lava and Haydite in a 50/50 ratio.
[url=https://img370.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scotspinedj4.jpg][img]https://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7759/scotspinedj4.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Look at the nice green, vibrant top. It will be cut off at some point in the future, it is not intended to be part of the finished design. Look at the two lowest branches. With these I have options, One could become the new leader and the other could become the first branch.
But since I am lucky enough to have three new buds (one is hard to see as it faces the camera head on) just above the lowest branches I have more options. One or probably both of the thicker/lowest branches will also be designated as sacrifice branches and will be allowed to grow unchecked along with the leader, all to be removed later.
The future tree hardly even exists now, the three new buds are the future of the tree all else is only a sacrifice to thicken the trunk.
Or I could mix and match, choosing one of the lowest pair to be a sacrifice and one to be either the new leader or first branch. The more low branches/buds you have now the more paths you have to choose from. That is why I said not to remove any low branches until you know where you are headed.
Did this help or just make things more unclear?
Norm
OK, here's a picture I just took of one of my Scots Pine seedlings. They are in their third summer and are potted in a 100% inorganic mix comprised of Lava and Haydite in a 50/50 ratio.
[url=https://img370.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scotspinedj4.jpg][img]https://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7759/scotspinedj4.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Look at the nice green, vibrant top. It will be cut off at some point in the future, it is not intended to be part of the finished design. Look at the two lowest branches. With these I have options, One could become the new leader and the other could become the first branch.
But since I am lucky enough to have three new buds (one is hard to see as it faces the camera head on) just above the lowest branches I have more options. One or probably both of the thicker/lowest branches will also be designated as sacrifice branches and will be allowed to grow unchecked along with the leader, all to be removed later.
The future tree hardly even exists now, the three new buds are the future of the tree all else is only a sacrifice to thicken the trunk.
Or I could mix and match, choosing one of the lowest pair to be a sacrifice and one to be either the new leader or first branch. The more low branches/buds you have now the more paths you have to choose from. That is why I said not to remove any low branches until you know where you are headed.
Did this help or just make things more unclear?
Norm
ill upload a picture to show you the tree I collected 4 months ago it has 5 branches at the very top 
so the lower brach issue and that wont realy matter as it is about 30 inches tall like you said no taper and these 5 branches have been wired and thats all I need is a thicker trunk and a taper.
in club one man said if I feed it tomato feed then it should thicken the trunk up
thanks again gnome for the helful info
a pic should be uploaded soon
tarian
so the lower brach issue and that wont realy matter as it is about 30 inches tall like you said no taper and these 5 branches have been wired and thats all I need is a thicker trunk and a taper.in club one man said if I feed it tomato feed then it should thicken the trunk up
thanks again gnome for the helful info
a pic should be uploaded soon
tarian