I’m interested in peoples experiences with collecting pines at different times of year. I have collected both in early spring and mid summer both with great success. I’m curious about collecting different aged pines and the best time of year, it seems young trees are very forgiving provided you collect plenty of the root system. Has anyone collected older trees during the summer with any success versus other times of the year?
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I have absolutely no experience with pines. But from what I’ve seen and read, the kind of soil you’re taking the tree out of makes a huge difference. Sandy soil makes for hard-to collect trees. Also, what’s the difference in temperature and humidity between the current location and its new home? Bigger differences mean more stress. Some trees also have a kind of late summer dormancy when they stop actively growing when its really hot and dry. You might be able to collect then. All I can say is try it if you’re comfortable with possibly losing the tree.
So this is just me regurgitating what I think I know, and you probably already know. I just don’t like seeing posts go unanswered for days.
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Hi Chado, where I am in North Wales, most of the pines grow in Loam on top of bedrock. They are fairly easy to collect with large amounts of root and they aren’t moving into new climate areas. The curious part for me is how they react, saplings and younger pines don’t even seem to notice they have moved. But there are a few older trees I’m interested in and wonder if they react differently as they are older. Are they more sensitive to change? I’m not sure if the trees go into dormancy in this area as the temperature seldom goes above 22-25 degrees Celsius. That is why I was interested in summer collection, as some researching suggested certain species of pine prefer repotting or collecting in the summer months. I might collect a few older ones in the coming weeks or following month and see what happens, I can update with any feedback that might be helpful to others in the future
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It’s currently 34°C here in Washington state. This weekend is supposed to hit around 40°C; 103°F. I mentioned summer dormancy because some of my trees are drying out more slowly than I expected, and the bonsai book I just finished reading (Bonsai Heresy) talked about it.