Italian Stone Pine (pinus pinea) - UPDATE

 This excerpt is from the Photo/History page for Italian Stone Pine; click to see full history of this little tree.

I have been remiss on keeping this page up to date; part of the problem is that this pine makes very little demand for attention. He handled the summer well, tolerating 100+ temps without complaint & becoming a permanent fixture on my front wall. Leading up to the re-pot, "Stoner" has exhibited none of the problems associated with the soil compaction encountered in some other specimens.

This tree has very shallow roots & he hasn't had time to establish much in the way of a rootball yet, so I've introduced a large rock to help stabilize him until his roots grow a little more. Since the repot, he has exhibited a small grow th spurt, buds swelling, more branches developing candles & back-budding on several branches.

ADDENDUM: I wired my first tree today & it was much easier than I thought. You must use wire that is
suitable & compatible with your goal, however, as it is just as easy to damage a young tree as not. And, you will only be wiring young trees, whose branches are pliable & have not hardened yet.

I have watched enough YouTube videos to know the general technique..what surprised me was how flexible & easy to apply it was. In the space of a morning, I defined an overall shape & style that this tree will have for the rest of his life, if I leave the wire in place long enough for his branches to mature. The trick is to wrap the wire tightly enough, but not so tightly that it will cut into the bark as the tree grows and to monitor that no damage is being done, as time goes on.

I am thinking that this wire will need to stay on the tree for about 6 weeks..by that time, the spindly branches will have thickened & hopefully permanently assumed the configuration I imposed on them.

Dwarf Pomegranate (Punica Granatum 'Nana') - UPDATE

 This is an exerpt from the Photo/History for the Dwarf Pomengranate; click to read

I purposefully left the Pomegranate until last, or next to  last, to repot with Bonsai soil. Yesterday, I pulled him out of his pot & was amazed at the root growth..he was not root bound, but he had feeder roots extended to the full length & width of the tray. Unlike most of the other trees, his soil was not compacted.

I've been routinely cleaning-up & trimming roots on all of the other plants, as the repot progressed, so I didn't hesitate to do the same for the Pomegranate. The bottom line, he didn't like it. I did prune him harder than I intended & I remembered, after the fact, that this tree is still very young. After repotting with fresh Bonsai soil, I watered him & within 15 minutes, saw the consequences of my actions. His foliage went limp, the mature leaves hanging down, the new growth collapsed, the color of his previously orange pod turned brown..I think I might have killed him.   

Thursday, November 12, 2026

HE LIVES! It was nip-&-tuck there for a couple of days, but I think the Pomegranate's going to be OK. I pruned dead foliage yesterday evening, but I don't think that had anything to do with his recovery. This morning, I could see from his general demeanor that he is starting to stand straighter, leaves are less droopy & he became visibly more erect as the sun warmed him. 

Formosa Azalea (Rhododendron × ‘Formosa’) - UPDATE

 This is an exerpt from the Photo/History page for the Formosa Azalea Click to read.

The Formosa produced 2 flowers, larger than I expected & has been happily blooming since the repot. He seems healthy & happy under the trees, getting some full sun in the morning & dappled shade the rest of the day.

I am still torn between cutting the dual trunks & creating two trees, which would be sparsely foliated, but could be grown & developed, over time.

I will continue fertilizing the Formosa as long as he shows new growth & until his fall bloom is spent. I don't know how to account for the vigor this little tree shows, but I'm not complaining.