🌱 Shore Pine seedling, #2411
Pinus Contorta, acquired Mar 7, 2024 from Left Coast Bonsai. Bought 1 for $9 and given 2 for free! [update: 1 of 3 surviving].
A single flush pine with short dark green needles, wonderful bark, natural movement.
They are a lodge pole pine, one of the four sub species! The range is limited to coastal areas primarily.
Their natural habitat is often exposed to harsh winds, rain and heavy snowfall. This environment can create wonderfully twisted shapes and natural shari. Some microclimates seem to produce very thick and flaky bark. One of the challenges can be to limit growth to prevent excessive loss of this bark from the trunk line.
Bonsai Mirai ()
Lodgepole pines are a moderate water mobility short-needle, single-flush pine native to the western mountainous regions of North America.
This two-needle pine species has short, straight, dark green needles with pointed reddish-brown buds that are very resinous.
Lodgepole pines occupy arid and moist conditions in the sub-alpine regions from 6,000 feet to 10,000 feet.
The trunk is long and slender, with a short, narrow, and cone-shaped crown in youth. However, older pines can become quite thick and massive, establishing broadening crowns and living over 300 years.
The bark of lodgepole pine bonsai is thin, flaky, and light grey. It’s slowly forming, and young trees remain smooth for several decades. Thicker and more plated bark on these pines is a tremendous indicator of age as old bark takes on a blackened color between the bark plates.
