Large Scots pine reworked

Happy 2014!  I hope everyone and their trees are coping with the weather.  Like everywhere else, Indy has been especially cold.  I call this tree my tri state pine, because in the three years I've had it, it's resided in three states.  First in Oklahoma, then to Geneva, Illinois for 2 years and now in The Indianapolis area for the last year..  I've spent the last couple weeks every morning at 4:30am working an hour at a time wiring the scots pine featured below.  Why an hour??  Well I have a day job but also because its been only 35f in my garage.  Perfect for dormant trees but not so much for fingertips. Here's a preview......

I purchased this tree in Tulsa Oklahoma in June 2010.  It had been somewhat neglected for various reasons.  The owner realized this and agreed to sell me the tree.  Soil was compacted, the pot was small, the foliage was out of balance and it had grown a bit scraggly as you can see below.  


Once the tree had been pruned selectively and fed properly for a season I moved the tree into a slightly larger wooden box.  The old soil had compacted and had large pockets of dry areas within the root mass where numerous roots had died.  I used a mix of pumice and akadama.

For my 40th birthday Jennifer surprised me with a day long 1on1 workshop with Ryan Neil.  Ryan worked all day to complete the first styling below.



After the styling with Ryan full sun and heavy feeding produced healthy growth and back budding.  I removed the wire mid winter 2012. 

You will notice that the first branch has been removed. For about 18 months I soaked on how I wanted to see the tree, and whether that branch fit the image. Then, one day I came home from work and "snip/snap" it was done.    It made an instant improvement in the tree.

So, lots more sun and fertilizer in 2013 continued to help the tree along its path of development. Below is the result of the 2nd styling which I completed in January 2014.

While in this summer visiting nurseries with friends led by Peter Warren, I found the right pot at Shunkaen, and Mr. Kobayashi made me a generous deal on it.  I wound up carrying it on the plane ride home as it would not fit in my suitcase.  The pot is an older Chinese pot, which is now beginning to develop a decent patina.
 

 


Thanks for reading and keeping up with my neglected blog. In my next post I will feature some of my observations from this summers trip to Japan...Stay Tuned!!