Hi all,
I am new here and wish to soak up as much knowledge as possible. Today I took over a bonsai from a bonsai enthusiast, who has quit due to his age.
It is a Pinus, about 25 years old, but he could not remember what species it was.
So that is why I am asking you, do any of you know what species this is?
It surely needs to be cleaned up 
.
Thank you in advance.
I think itâs a mugo variety.
ok, thanks.
Now I can figure out how to maintain it
Hey.
I am thinking thats an scotch pine. For a mugo the needles are to thin.
But if i am wrong, you can handle both the Same way
Short single flush pine
Thatâs a lovely pinus you have there Kurt 
Jokes aside, like the other two people commented, itâs either a really fat Mugo or a really short Scots pine. Iâm more in the Scots camp, because fat Mugos like that are a bit rarer. Mugos grow closer to the ground, and while they do get thick, they also get curvy like a juniper. Scots pines are taller trees so you could easily get a stump like this one.
Thanks Shadoman25 and itisoktodance
Itâs not that small⌠the width of the big dome is 54 cm
ShadowmanâŚ
If jou look at the foliage, how can you determine if this is a single flush or multi flush?
Guess I missed that in the videoâs
Yes, I can see that itâs not small lol. What I meant was Mugo pines are bushes (naturally small and short), and Scots pines are actual trees. This looks like a tree thatâs been cut down, hence my use of âstumpâ (not that your tree looks like a stump!).
Now I take some time to learn everything about single flush pines and figure out how to style it⌠I have no idea yet 
Most pines are single flush. Japanese Black Pines and Japanese Red Pines are definitively multi-flush pines. There may be more out there, but we are only starting to discover them (and if they can take multi-flush techniques year after year). You canât really tell just by looking at the foliage, it comes down to whether you can apply multi-flush techniques or not.
Hey
For me the fotos are looking like a scots pine.
For same reasons :
the colour of the foliage are very âgreen - yellowâ, JBP are more âgreen - blueâ like
the needles of a JBP are more sharp, than scots pine
the good thing is, that you can tread you JBP like a short needle single flush pine and you do nothing wrong!
If we are wrong, you dont risk same damage or consequential.
cheers Werner
On my opinion itâs a mugo pine, but a very weak oneâŚ
Thanks for the clarification
I suspected this is tree is not in the best shape. Guess that previous owner pruned constantly to preserve the shape. But couldnât let this one pass.
As far as I can judge as a beginner (after watching some videos here on the Mirai website) I think the soil is not good and it needs to be repotted. The previous owner said it has been 5 years already. The soil feels rather hard and doesnât smell very fresh. I suppose repotting should not be done until after the winter.
What steps should I take to maintain this tree as well as possible until the next repot?
Basic question⌠do the holes in the top rock GO all the way to the soil under it?
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Is the rock THE pot? Is it attached to the loose flat rocks below, with roots down in the bottom soil?
Yes, they go all the way down
The tree grows in the rock. The roots grow under the rock to the outside of the slab. The other loose slates are not attached to the rock. Apparently, the rock is not attached to the plate
I agree that the tree looks pretty weak.
The best thing you could do is get a better water oxigen movement started.
Iâd remove those loose slabs and check how well does water penetrate the soil.
If the soil absorbes water Iâd cover the newly exposed roots with a thin layer of new soil and start fertilizing at half streinght with a liquid fertilizer.
If the water just runs off then the tree will stay too dry, Iâd take a chopstick and poke holes in the soil, maybe scratch the surface a bit at a few places to get some water in it and cover the new exposed roots with a thin layer of soil. If it responds well start fertilizing in a few weeks.
Thanks for the tips @Kenez
I tested the water penetration⌠see video below
In the top hole, from which the main stem comes, the water just stays for a long time.
At the rest, the water does penetrate.
I do detect a moldy smell. I also removed a lot of woodlouse
That top hole where the water stands still is probably why the tree is weak and that water keeps the sheen below the rock way to wet while the surrounding area gets dry, thatâs probably where the smell comes from to.
Try to keep that part on the drier side for now, 'till repot.
