Pinus mugo ‘Sherwood Compact‘ - Mountain Pine ‘Sherwood Compact‘
General: The mountain pine (Pinus mugo) grows in the mountains of Central and Southern Europe. It occurs here with at least three subspecies. The mountain pine or leg pine (Pinus mugo subsp. Mugo) grows, as the names suggest, mostly spread out and prostrate. This is an adaptation to its extreme location, where it has to assert itself against strong winds, snow loads and avalanches. Nevertheless, there are also tree-like specimens that can be up to 20 meters high. This is the hook pine or the subspecies uncinata. Mountain pines are evergreen and have two needles. The dark green needles are 3 - 4 cm long and hardly prick. The species is very frost hardy and grows in a wide variety of soil conditions.
Care as a bonsai: Pine trees are very popular for decorating bonsai. They are robust and offer many design options. As a bonsai they exude a lot of power due to their coarse character. On the other hand, the designed pine shows little change compared to deciduous trees and thus gives the viewer a lot of calm over the course of the year. A designed pine is basically very easy to care for. The new shoots (candles) are shortened or broken with the fingers in May and branches that are too dense are thinned out in late summer. In summer, a sunny location is very beneficial. Pine trees shouldn't be kept too wet. During long periods of rain, it is even advisable to put the plant under a roof. You can wire and design all year round. However, this should not coincide with the repotting in September. In addition, the plant must ideally be frost-free after the design. A structurally stable, airy mixture is used for the substrate and attention is paid to the presence of mycorrhizal fungi. You can recognize the fungus by an even, fine and white coating that envelops the roots and, ideally, runs through the whole earth. Pine trees are very hardy. Even so, they should be protected from dry winds in winter.
Special features of the variety: The ‘Sherwood Compact‘ variety grows much weaker than the species and forms a large number of dense shoots and short needles. Accordingly, the plant is particularly suitable for bonsai culture.
