sapling?

Catherine · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 12:59 pm Post subject: sapling?

OK, so i found this little sapling in a friends yard...pine... long needles... anyways it is about a foot tall, and has no branches, just needles going all the way up... i brought it home and potted it immediately, but now I'm not sure what to do with it... do i snip off the top to encourage new growth, and is now the best time to do it... this is all new to me, but i am very interested in doing it right... I'm a stay at home mom, and this is certainly something that will keep me busy, and away from the TV so much...lol... anyways i do plan on joining, I'm just waiting till after September... want to convince the hubby i really want to do this... thanks

Dick · Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2005 2:36 pm Post subject: Re: sapling?

Hi Catherine,

Welcome to the forum. Hope you become a registered member also.

Pines are a little different to work with when they are small. They don't prune like other plants do. So taking the top off would not be wise at this pint and it is a bit late in the year to do very much of anything. I would let it grow for the remainder of this year since you just potted it. It needs to recover. Some of the old needles from previous years will die off this summer. Don't be worried about that. Next spring, when the "candle" begins to form, if you would pinch it out completely, the secondary "candles" will sprout and begin to give you branching. In the meanwhile, you can read more about bonsai and start to see some of the possibilities with other trees, both needled (conifers) and leafed (deciduous).