This simple phrase means so many things. Fall is a time when those who grow pines, junipers and other conifers reap the rewards of a long spring and summer of fertilization and growth. Other than candle cutting and fertilization there is not much to be done to a pine tree during the summer. In contrast, maples, birch, and so many other trees are worked on throughout the growing season, whenever the growth becomes too long or escapes the design of the tree. I have watched with interest as my Japanese black pines put out new growth after I candle cut them in June. The new crop of needles are much more in scale with the tree and the foliage pads are fuller because in each place I cut a candle I got 2-3 or more new buds. For now I can only wait since wiring late in the summer or early in the fall can rub off small buds that are forming and cause branches to be damaged from bending. The new needles which are currently still growing must be allowed to harden off completely before the year-old needles can be removed. Once they are pulled and the trees are wired out all the waiting will be rewarded with a vastly improved tree.In October I’ll start wiring all the knobcone pine seedlings that I started from seed two seasons ago. The trunks are thickening to the point where if I wait longer I won’t be able to get the movement that I want. Even If I intend them to be relatively straight trunked I would still wire them to add subtle movement; as the trunks thicken further the movement, which may look exaggerated at first, will become more and more subtle. Juniper cuttings, which I started a year ago and are growing well, can now be wired for the first time as well.

I have a large ponderosa pine, or maybe it’s a Jefferey, I was looking in a book and found the descriptions are almost identical except that the Jefferey has a “vanilla pineapple smell.” In any case, I will begin the styling of the tree in October with heavy wire and raffia to bend the larger branches into position. Native pines, such as the Jefferey which grows mainly at higher elevations, tend to only produce one flush of growth per year. By October the tree is entering dormancy for the winter and is ready for major work.

In contrast, the Knobcone seedlings, which are native to the coastal mountains, seem to put out new spurts of growth throughout the year, which begs the question: when is the best time to repot or work on the top? Since I know of nobody else who grows these and I have more than thirty young trees I will begin with a little experimentation. I’ll repot a few of them in the fall after the current flush of growth has hardened. Others I will wait until spring to repot, then I will lable them and observe the difference to see if one method is better than the other. I plan to keep fertilizing all my pines though, until the weather turns cold and I see them stop growing.

Not that it has anything to do with conifers but, the other day an orchid which I have used as an accent plant fell off the bench while I was watering. I had carelessly brushed it with the hose as I watered the larger plants behind it,; as it hit the ground I cursed and watched the dozens of pieces of the pot go in every direction. It was a nice little pot for the orchid, but after some frustration I found another pot and planted it again. Then after a few minutes I looked and realized that this is the first occasion that I have had to use a pot of my own making. I had made a semi-cascade shaped pot but added some holes to the side, John Boyce commented that I must be making an orchid pot, but I wasn’t sure at the time-I was thinking that I might have some ingenious design in mind for it; now I guess I was making an orchid pot since that’s what’s in it.

Tags: fall, Pines