I would love to get a ponderosa but living in Louisiana I am not sure it would do well. Does anyone have any experience with them in the heat? It’s seems like it would be fine but want to see if anyone has experience before I decide.
Ryan has mentioned before in streams that Ponderosas don’t do good in the heat in the long term. They need that dormancy and start to fall off after 3-5 years or so.
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Has he mentioned if an RMJ could handle it? I think they can but don’t want to commit to it unless I know it’s likely to survive.
Unfortunately I can’t say I remember either way about RMJ. Maybe someone else can chime in.
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RMJ’s grow great in the Atlanta area. I would imagine they’ll be fine in LA. Others with more direct knowledge may be able to direct you better.
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Thanks for the response!
Dana Quattlebaum once told me that there are only 5 types of pines you can grow as bonsai in South Louisiana: Black pines, black pines, black pines, black pines, and black pines.
Well crap. I have a red pine seedling that I was hopeful to do well.
@BillsBayou, any experience with Rocky Mountain Juiper?
None at all, sorry. I had a long conversation with Ryan in Louisville some years back. After talking to him about the requirements to keep an RMJ happy, I knew I would be the wrong match.
Be careful about falling in love with trees that won’t survive in your area.
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Thanks for the words of wisdom. I will need to be careful to not fall in love with species that won’t survive. You are so right!
The heat is not really the issue. It regularly gets above 100 in Colorado where I’m at. Ponderosa need Several weeks of near freezing to recover sugars and starch over the dormant season. Apparently they can go a year or two without that period, but decline after. So if you have a place to store it for a season you may be able to pull it off.
There’s always geographic limitations. I would die for a bald cypress or redwoods…
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