I am new to bonsai and live in western north carolina. I am wondering if anyone has used eastern white pine for bonsai. It seems like all of the seedlings I am seeing right now are relatively large and bushy. Any hints or help on this would be appreciated.
It won't be as good as most other white pines, due to its short needle persistence (usually only about 18 months).
Actually, Pinus strobus can make a real nice bonsai plant. Most people would prefer selected named forms such as Horsford, Horsford Dwarf, Compacta, Nana, Uconn, Torulosa, Contorta and Sea Urchin, to name a few. For seedling Strobus, once you restrict the root growth and development by placing these trees in a depth restricted and side constricted container, the needles will become shorter in length over time. I know of a 60 year old Pinus strobus 'Nana' (old, true form plant with the silvery blue needle, not to be confused with the "super dwarf" hime 'Minima' (Hornibrook) with a blue-green needle and the Yatsubusa form 'Radiata' (Noble,Hillier) also with a blue-green needle) that had been placed in a 3 foot (1m) deep horse water trough 50+ years ago that is a "world beater" (to me at least) in overall appearance for a rather choice, completely hands free faux bonsai specimen. I've seen the same results from Kuromatsu (Japanese Black Pine) cork and pine bark Pines as well, whereby the length of the needles have shrunk so much so that, to the unbeknown, people would feel the tree had been hand manicured and root pruned for many years. Jim
