AusBonsai

Hey Guys,

So i inherited a Black pine from a friend of mine, he has given it to me in pretty bad shape ( pics below) it was repotted about 2 months ago into a bigger pot. but am getting browning along the tips of the needles and the soil its in is a type of seed raising mix without much grit through it(i have checked sand on top in hoping i can get it to sift down through the soil). My question is am i safe to repot it to get it into a soil with a bit of gravel and sand through it without doing more damage to it?

Somebody help? haha

Nick

I would repot now and put into well draining mix, but try not to disturb too much of the roots if you can.
Just tease out the edges of the root ball to get them out of the much, then pot into fresh mix

Ken

I would do the repot also and give it seasol to try and get its strengh back.

Are you sure its a black pine?? it looks more like a Pinus radiata.

Hi Nickbonsai23 , as kc has suggested you could re-pot now into a free draining mix without to much root disturbance or leave where it is and back off the watering . Drill a series of holes in the bottom and sides of the container to aid drainage now and re-pot in early Winter would be a safer alternative , again back off the watering to once a week possibly even less depending on how much moisture retention is in the soil .

Tossing sand on top won't do anything to aid drainage . Being in a fine mix it may have some root rot from water logged soil , this seasons growth appears to be healthy enough .If its suffering root rot slip potting won't help it

Hi mtarros , if this looks like a Radiata you need to do some research . This is a 2 needle pine .

Cheers Alpineart

I would not repot now as I don't advise potting outside of early autumn up here in Brissie. Up here I would do what Alpine suggested but I do know some in the south repot in autumn just fine as Ken suggested.

You're in Melbourne aren't you? I would go with the local knowledge mate.

Tony

Hi Alpineart/Ken,

I have repotted (i took the drastic and quick method) of just getting out the soil it was in, its now in a bigger pot with a sandy/gravel mix, teased the root tips out or the root ball and i have watered it in. So i wont water it again for another week i reckon.

Thanks for the help

Ad some Seasol to the watering can 2 times a week fro a few months too will help

Ken

Oh no, another repotterer

Nickbonsai23 wrote:Hi Alpineart/Ken,

I have repotted (i took the drastic and quick method) of just getting out the soil it was in, its now in a bigger pot with a sandy/gravel mix, teased the root tips out or the root ball and i have watered it in. So i wont water it again for another week i reckon.

Thanks for the help

Now that you've put it in a sandy/gravel mix, make sure you watch the watering closely. If you've succeeded, you shouldn't have problems with it being soaked all the time any more, so a week would probably be too long without water. Sometimes, if you have loose mix on the outside of the pot and the roots are still stuck in the old potting mix, the water will just run down the outside where it's loose and it can be difficult getting water to the roots. If this happens, you may need to use immersion watering to really get it soaked good, and then make sure to let it dry a bit between waterings.

Overall, I think the best thing for now is to watch it like a hawk, and figure out what it needs. Good luck!

It looks like the road side pine that i have and it has two needles.
I was told it was Radiata but guessing it is not

it was the flat needles that made me think it was not a black pine but i'm guessing its from bad health?

alpineart wrote:
Hi mtarros , if this looks like a Radiata you need to do some research . This is a 2 needle pine .

Cheers Alpineart

Hey Alpine, you do get a two needle variety of the Radiata. It's called Pinus radiata var binata. For what it's worth, I though it is a radiata too. Those long curling needles are a give-away in my book, but I've been wrong before.

Cheers,

Andrew

The long curling needles was the thing that made me look closer at it.