Monterey Pine, #26XX Yardadori
July 3, 2026 “You dig” volunteer pair of pines. Shallow, lateral roots (no tap), very healthy though young. Let it recover (grow box or large nursery pot. In future year, shape the trunk—still flexible.
July 3, 2026
The smaller dual trunk pine may sacrifice the smaller trunk after taper of the base is established. Bark has already started.
Once recovery is established, apply larger wire and create lower movement.
Both repotting retained much of the original soil. Surrounded with pumice, and topped with re-used mix.
Mycorrhiza powder added to top soil and wetted to go into the roots. Put into a shady spot on the side of the house.
Care
Monterey Pine (botanical name Pinus radiata) is fast growing, develops aged bark and shorter needles in a very short time, making it an ideal bonsai.
Do not remove all of the old soil when you repot to avoid root shock and keep in as much Mycorrhizae as possible.
Do not fertilize for at least 4-6 weeks, otherwise you will burn the newly cut roots. Leave it out of direct sunlight for 2-3 weeks and just use seaweed tonic weekly.
Pinus radiata will develop candles in both spring and autumn (two flush pine).
Nichigo Bonsai
https://nichigobonsai.com/2011/03/15/pinus-radiata-monterey-pine-techniques/
“Radiatas I have not found as easy to master.
“When I first started growing them I was told how easily they back budded and that you would have ‘almost too many buds’. This sounded too good to be true, and during the subsequent years of growing them I unfortunately found this to be the case.
“The other problem I find with them is their needles. They can often be long, twisted and curled, but on some trees (one of mine being a key example) I have noticed shorter, neater and straight needles appear after the previous year’s unruly growth. This gives me hope that I may be able to work out a way to evenly force a neater shorter needle length by working with the tree’s growth cycles.”
“I had received some information that some growers in the USA were classing the Monterey pine in its own 3 needle group along with Ponderosa pines. So, i started looking for information on Ponderosa care to see if the techniques would cross over.
“With ponderosas, much like white pine, they are only geared up to produce one flush of growth/year. As a result cutting buds or needles is not an option and so the energy of the tree must be distributed amongst a large number of needles in order to dilute the strength put into any single needle. On very old Monterey Pine the same is true.“
