 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Common Names: Jack Pine, Eastern Jack Pine, Black Jack Pine, Black Pine, Jerry Pine, Prince’s Pine, Princess Pine, Bank’s Pine,
Banksian Pine, Hudson Bay Pine, Gray Pine (usually refers to P. sabineana), Northern Scrub Pine, Scrub Pine (usually refers to P.
virginiana), Pin gris.
Jack pines are a native North American conifer, ranging from Canada to the northern parts of the United States. An upright,
broad and irregular habit, jack pines range from 3-80ft (1-m) tall in the landscape, though can at times grow up to 100ft (33m) tall.
They tolerate a range of poor soils, often found on sandy or rocky hillsides that little else can grow on; though will have a
naturally stunted habit. Jack pines in the landscape usually start to show signs of decline around 75 years, though the species can
live over 200 years. In the absence of fire, a necessary part of their reproductive cycle, jack pines will die out, replaced by longer
lived species (like Red Pines, P. resinosa) or species that are more shade tolerant (Like firs and spruces). They are often seen in
single species stands, all around the same age, as they are one of the first species to move in after a fire, and can grow in
notoriously poor soil, preparing the way for other species as needle detritus creates better soil conditions over the years. In the
first 20 years of life, Jack pines are one of the fastest growing conifers.
The Jack Pine can hybridize easily with the Lodgepole Pine (P. contorta), a closely related species.
Foliage: The needles are in fascicles(pairs) of two, twisted, ranging from 1-2inch (2.5-5cm) long, and can reduce further with
bonsai techniques. Foliage colour ranges from yellow-green to dark green.
Stem and Trunk: Medium thick bark, growing flaky and cracked as time goes by. Branches have a naturally horizontal growth
habit.
Flowers/ Fruit/Seeds: Jack pine are a monoecious (having both male and female parts in different flowers on the same plant)
species. Ovulate (female) cones are usually borne on primary and secondary branches in the upper tree crown and staminate
(male) cones are usually borne on tertiary branches lower in the crown. Female cones are modified long shoots and male cones
are modified dwarf shoots. Male cone primordia are initiated in mid-summer, while female cone primordial do not initiate until
later summer, growing until September, then go dormant until spring. Pollen shedding (anthesis) usually occurs in late spring or
early summer but is highly dependent on the weather. Fertilization occurs 13 months after pollination. Cones mature in late
summer or early fall, about 2 years after their growth begins. The cones of the jack pine are 1.5-2 in (3-5cm) long. The scales of the
cones have small, fragile prickles that usually wears off before maturity, leaving the cones smooth. The cones point forward along
the branch, sometimes curling around it, which is unusual in pines. Cones are serotinous (which means they open when exposed
to fire or high heat), and are sealed shut by resin. Jack pines are fire-adapted to stand-replacing fires, with the cones remaining
closed for many years, until a natural forest fire kills the mature trees and opens the cones to release the seeds. Some trees in the
southern parts of the range have nonserotinous cones, and high temperatures and dry summers with prolonged temperatures of
over 80F (25C) can also open these cones. Jack pines usually take between five to ten years to reach maturity and start creating
cones. Seeds remain viable in closed cones for years, but viability decreases over time. Up to 50% of 20-year-old seeds may be
viable. The winged seeds are the smallest of the native pines and are typically dispersed by gravity and wind.
Hardiness: Zones 3-7 in the landscape. Jack pines require a certain minimum temperature, and warmer winters can prove a
problem for them.
Light: Full sun.
Soil: Ensure excellent drainage. Prefers neutral to slightly acidic soil. Try a mix that includes up to 50% sand. Boon Manakitivipart
recommends a conifer mix of one part akadama, one part pumice, one part lava rock, plus 1/2 cup each of horticultural charcoal
and decomposted granite to each 5 US gallons of the above mentioned mix, a mixture which David Johnson of the Toronto Bonsai
society prefers for his Jack Pines.
Watering: Thoroughly. Do not keep boggy, and allow to almost dry between waterings. In the landscape, jack pines are
extremely drought resistant, but need to be watched closed in bonsai cultivation.
Fertilizer: Balanced feed through the growing season, into the fall. Taper off in autumn. Stop fertilizing for the winter. Try an
acidic fertilizer for best results.
Pests and Diseases: Redheaded Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei) and Jack Pine Budworm (Choristoneura pinus), though rare in
bonsai cultivation, as both thrive on groves of older jack pines, rather than individual trees. Rust. Aphids, borers, and weevils.
Repotting: Every other year at most for younger trees, up to five years. New root growth can be very slow. Do not remove all of
the old soil, as jack pines require a beneficial bacteria called mycorrhizal that lives in the soil. Root prune lightly, especially on
collected trees.
Pruning and Styling: Seriously insult a Jack pine only once a year at most. If repotting has been done, avoiding pruning until the
following year. Insults can be anything that will weaken the tree; repotting, serious foliage reduction, trunk wounding, pruning,
decandling or major bud removal, heavy wiring, etc. Think in terms of years, rather than months. Do one round of pruning, and
then allow to recover for the year, even if the tree looks to be doing well, rather than a series of pruning over the course of a
couple months. Allow a lengthy period of unchecked growth for recovery. Do not insult the tree anew until vigorous growth is
shown. Watch new candles to gauge a tree’s vigor, including colour (should be a light, bright green), shape, and length, as well as
the number and size of new buds.
Avoid concave cuts. It can disrupt the flow of sap in the area, and lead to dieback higher up the trunk. Leave a stub where the
branch was, and either jin, or allow to dry out for a season, and then cut flush to the trunk, allowing the tree to find a new path
for the resin. Cuts can take a long time to heal.
There is an area at the end of branches that becomes vacated after the male flower drops off in the spring. This area sometimes
produces new buds, so don't prune into this area if you want more buds there.
Healthy jack pines can backbud to old wood by needle pruning, or partially removing a branch. Remove needles growing on the
tops, or underside of the branches.
Wire: Only wire healthy and vigorously growing trees. Young branches can set in as little as a year, larger, older branches
needing more time. Use raffia to bend thicker, stiffer branches.
Leaf Reduction: Needle reduction through pot culture and candling. Withholding fertilizer during early spring, until needles
harden off can help reduce size. Watch for the needles to change colours from light to dark green, usually sometime in May.
Jin/Shari: Suitable to deadwood styles. Treat deadwood as you would normally treat it for your climate, either with lime sulphur
or wood hardener.
Propagation: Seeds: Plant in sand/peat mixture, less than a half inch (1.3cm) beneath the soil, once temperatures have reached 65F
(17C). Keep seeds in full sun to partial shade and keep evenly moist. They can germinate in as little as 15 days, to 60 days. If they
have not germinated by that time, dormancy may need to be broken. Leave seed trays outside through the following winter, or
bring indoors and store in the refrigerator until spring and try again.
Cuttings: Cuttings from young trees can root, but rooting ability decreases drastically with tree age. Cuttings from seedlings of a
year old or less have the greatest chance of rooting. Use rooting hormone to increase chances.
Styles and Forms: Most forms except informal upright and broom. Jack pines are not well suited for very formal stylings. Let the
naturally wild nature of the tree guide you.
Species and Cultivars: “Broom” Smaller cultivar, growing to only 5 feet (1.6M).Irregular, curving habit.
“Chippewa” Dwarf cultivar, developed in the 1970’s. Globular habit.
“Manomet” Dwarf cultivar with irregular, globular habit.
“Schoodic” Dwarf cultivar, slow growing. Creeping, prostate habit. Dark green foliage.
“Uncle Fogy” Pendulous cultivar, usually growing 10f(2.3M) in the landscape.
Other Information: Notes on Collected Jack Pines: Exercise particular patience. Jerry Vlcek recommends keeping as much original
soil as possible, surrounding with bonsai soil in the pot or grow box. Once a tree recovers its vigor (minimum of a year, quite
possibly two or three years), root pruning can be done, but again, do not remove the old soil. Slowly work new soil into the old
soil as it decomposes, over successive repottings (every other year). Resist the urge to prune at the same time as collecting unless
strictly necessary. Boon Manakitivipart recommends removing 1/3 to ½ of the field soil at one time, each time the tree is repotted.
Allow the tree time to adjust to the new soil, and avoid candling on off years, as the switch from soils is more drastic in this
fashion, and the tree needs to focus on healthy growth, rather than on needle size and the internode spacing. Focus on recovery
and the changing out of soils, followed by branch pruning for shape, and only then working on ramifications and needle length
when the larger insults have been survived.
History: The species was named for Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), a British naturalist and botanist on Cook's first great voyage
(1768-1771). All told, some 75 species are named after him.
Prior to European settlement, the Jack pine was a common tree in swaths of the Northern US and Southern Canada. It was found
most commonly in some of the hottest, driest summer sites of those areas; sandy glacial plains and hills. Occasional lightening
storms would bring fire sweeping down those dry areas, leaving behind nothing but blackened desolation. Native Americans,
either accidentally or intentionally, also caused fires in the jack pine. This desolation was only temporary however. Sometimes
within weeks, after the Jack pine seeds had fluttered to the ground, the area would be covered with a green haze of new growth.
This process would repeat every thirty to a hundred years, and Jack pines would continue to dominate these fire prone areas.
After European settlement, many areas where white and red pines grew near the jack pine plains were stripped of the more
desirable pines. Large areas of slashed and clear cut forests were left after logging, leaving an opening for the expansion of the
Jack pine’s range. However, the creation of the Department of Conservation, and the fight to bring all forest fires under control in
the early 1900’s, brought the Jack pine community into decline, confining it back to ranges smaller than even the previous areas.
As jack pines need full sun and fire to grow, areas where fire was completely controlled led the eventual take over of more shade
tolerant species. As the Jack pine is a tree necessary for the survival of several other species (including the endangered Kirtland’s
warbler), controlled burns are now allowed in those areas, to keep the Jack pine ecosystem at healthy levels.
Other Facts and Trivia: Jack pine seeds are often found in small bonsai kits at the mall or bookstore. These seeds are seldom
viable, due to long storage times, and even those that could germinate often don’t, due to inaccurate care information.
Native Americans and early European settlers to Canada and the Northern United states considered jack pines evil, as no crops
could grow in areas where they had been cleared. As these pines so frequently grew in poor, sandy soil however, it’s no wonder.
The French Canadian lumberjacks believed that a woman must keep at least 10 feet away from this tree, lest they become sterile.
Infertility and miscarriages in both humans and animals were often blamed on a grove of jack pines in the vicinity.
Caribou feed on the lichen that grows on the tree, moose, caribou, snowshoe hares, and deer feed on the branches, rodents and
birds eat the seeds. Native Americans used the bark for tea, the roots for sewing, the pitch for medicine and sealant, and the male
cones have long been eaten boiled, roasted, fried, or pickled.
Bibliography:
Jack Pine Ecosystem: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_22664-60337--,00.html
Jack Pine Project and Interview: http://torontobonsai.org/Archives/Research/index.htm
Rook Jack Pine Sheet: http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/trees/pinusbank.html
Wiki Jack Pine sheet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_pine
Banksian Pine, Hudson Bay Pine, Gray Pine (usually refers to P. sabineana), Northern Scrub Pine, Scrub Pine (usually refers to P.
virginiana), Pin gris.
Jack pines are a native North American conifer, ranging from Canada to the northern parts of the United States. An upright,
broad and irregular habit, jack pines range from 3-80ft (1-m) tall in the landscape, though can at times grow up to 100ft (33m) tall.
They tolerate a range of poor soils, often found on sandy or rocky hillsides that little else can grow on; though will have a
naturally stunted habit. Jack pines in the landscape usually start to show signs of decline around 75 years, though the species can
live over 200 years. In the absence of fire, a necessary part of their reproductive cycle, jack pines will die out, replaced by longer
lived species (like Red Pines, P. resinosa) or species that are more shade tolerant (Like firs and spruces). They are often seen in
single species stands, all around the same age, as they are one of the first species to move in after a fire, and can grow in
notoriously poor soil, preparing the way for other species as needle detritus creates better soil conditions over the years. In the
first 20 years of life, Jack pines are one of the fastest growing conifers.
The Jack Pine can hybridize easily with the Lodgepole Pine (P. contorta), a closely related species.
Foliage: The needles are in fascicles(pairs) of two, twisted, ranging from 1-2inch (2.5-5cm) long, and can reduce further with
bonsai techniques. Foliage colour ranges from yellow-green to dark green.
Stem and Trunk: Medium thick bark, growing flaky and cracked as time goes by. Branches have a naturally horizontal growth
habit.
Flowers/ Fruit/Seeds: Jack pine are a monoecious (having both male and female parts in different flowers on the same plant)
species. Ovulate (female) cones are usually borne on primary and secondary branches in the upper tree crown and staminate
(male) cones are usually borne on tertiary branches lower in the crown. Female cones are modified long shoots and male cones
are modified dwarf shoots. Male cone primordia are initiated in mid-summer, while female cone primordial do not initiate until
later summer, growing until September, then go dormant until spring. Pollen shedding (anthesis) usually occurs in late spring or
early summer but is highly dependent on the weather. Fertilization occurs 13 months after pollination. Cones mature in late
summer or early fall, about 2 years after their growth begins. The cones of the jack pine are 1.5-2 in (3-5cm) long. The scales of the
cones have small, fragile prickles that usually wears off before maturity, leaving the cones smooth. The cones point forward along
the branch, sometimes curling around it, which is unusual in pines. Cones are serotinous (which means they open when exposed
to fire or high heat), and are sealed shut by resin. Jack pines are fire-adapted to stand-replacing fires, with the cones remaining
closed for many years, until a natural forest fire kills the mature trees and opens the cones to release the seeds. Some trees in the
southern parts of the range have nonserotinous cones, and high temperatures and dry summers with prolonged temperatures of
over 80F (25C) can also open these cones. Jack pines usually take between five to ten years to reach maturity and start creating
cones. Seeds remain viable in closed cones for years, but viability decreases over time. Up to 50% of 20-year-old seeds may be
viable. The winged seeds are the smallest of the native pines and are typically dispersed by gravity and wind.
Hardiness: Zones 3-7 in the landscape. Jack pines require a certain minimum temperature, and warmer winters can prove a
problem for them.
Light: Full sun.
Soil: Ensure excellent drainage. Prefers neutral to slightly acidic soil. Try a mix that includes up to 50% sand. Boon Manakitivipart
recommends a conifer mix of one part akadama, one part pumice, one part lava rock, plus 1/2 cup each of horticultural charcoal
and decomposted granite to each 5 US gallons of the above mentioned mix, a mixture which David Johnson of the Toronto Bonsai
society prefers for his Jack Pines.
Watering: Thoroughly. Do not keep boggy, and allow to almost dry between waterings. In the landscape, jack pines are
extremely drought resistant, but need to be watched closed in bonsai cultivation.
Fertilizer: Balanced feed through the growing season, into the fall. Taper off in autumn. Stop fertilizing for the winter. Try an
acidic fertilizer for best results.
Pests and Diseases: Redheaded Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei) and Jack Pine Budworm (Choristoneura pinus), though rare in
bonsai cultivation, as both thrive on groves of older jack pines, rather than individual trees. Rust. Aphids, borers, and weevils.
Repotting: Every other year at most for younger trees, up to five years. New root growth can be very slow. Do not remove all of
the old soil, as jack pines require a beneficial bacteria called mycorrhizal that lives in the soil. Root prune lightly, especially on
collected trees.
Pruning and Styling: Seriously insult a Jack pine only once a year at most. If repotting has been done, avoiding pruning until the
following year. Insults can be anything that will weaken the tree; repotting, serious foliage reduction, trunk wounding, pruning,
decandling or major bud removal, heavy wiring, etc. Think in terms of years, rather than months. Do one round of pruning, and
then allow to recover for the year, even if the tree looks to be doing well, rather than a series of pruning over the course of a
couple months. Allow a lengthy period of unchecked growth for recovery. Do not insult the tree anew until vigorous growth is
shown. Watch new candles to gauge a tree’s vigor, including colour (should be a light, bright green), shape, and length, as well as
the number and size of new buds.
Avoid concave cuts. It can disrupt the flow of sap in the area, and lead to dieback higher up the trunk. Leave a stub where the
branch was, and either jin, or allow to dry out for a season, and then cut flush to the trunk, allowing the tree to find a new path
for the resin. Cuts can take a long time to heal.
There is an area at the end of branches that becomes vacated after the male flower drops off in the spring. This area sometimes
produces new buds, so don't prune into this area if you want more buds there.
Healthy jack pines can backbud to old wood by needle pruning, or partially removing a branch. Remove needles growing on the
tops, or underside of the branches.
Wire: Only wire healthy and vigorously growing trees. Young branches can set in as little as a year, larger, older branches
needing more time. Use raffia to bend thicker, stiffer branches.
Leaf Reduction: Needle reduction through pot culture and candling. Withholding fertilizer during early spring, until needles
harden off can help reduce size. Watch for the needles to change colours from light to dark green, usually sometime in May.
Jin/Shari: Suitable to deadwood styles. Treat deadwood as you would normally treat it for your climate, either with lime sulphur
or wood hardener.
Propagation: Seeds: Plant in sand/peat mixture, less than a half inch (1.3cm) beneath the soil, once temperatures have reached 65F
(17C). Keep seeds in full sun to partial shade and keep evenly moist. They can germinate in as little as 15 days, to 60 days. If they
have not germinated by that time, dormancy may need to be broken. Leave seed trays outside through the following winter, or
bring indoors and store in the refrigerator until spring and try again.
Cuttings: Cuttings from young trees can root, but rooting ability decreases drastically with tree age. Cuttings from seedlings of a
year old or less have the greatest chance of rooting. Use rooting hormone to increase chances.
Styles and Forms: Most forms except informal upright and broom. Jack pines are not well suited for very formal stylings. Let the
naturally wild nature of the tree guide you.
Species and Cultivars: “Broom” Smaller cultivar, growing to only 5 feet (1.6M).Irregular, curving habit.
“Chippewa” Dwarf cultivar, developed in the 1970’s. Globular habit.
“Manomet” Dwarf cultivar with irregular, globular habit.
“Schoodic” Dwarf cultivar, slow growing. Creeping, prostate habit. Dark green foliage.
“Uncle Fogy” Pendulous cultivar, usually growing 10f(2.3M) in the landscape.
Other Information: Notes on Collected Jack Pines: Exercise particular patience. Jerry Vlcek recommends keeping as much original
soil as possible, surrounding with bonsai soil in the pot or grow box. Once a tree recovers its vigor (minimum of a year, quite
possibly two or three years), root pruning can be done, but again, do not remove the old soil. Slowly work new soil into the old
soil as it decomposes, over successive repottings (every other year). Resist the urge to prune at the same time as collecting unless
strictly necessary. Boon Manakitivipart recommends removing 1/3 to ½ of the field soil at one time, each time the tree is repotted.
Allow the tree time to adjust to the new soil, and avoid candling on off years, as the switch from soils is more drastic in this
fashion, and the tree needs to focus on healthy growth, rather than on needle size and the internode spacing. Focus on recovery
and the changing out of soils, followed by branch pruning for shape, and only then working on ramifications and needle length
when the larger insults have been survived.
History: The species was named for Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), a British naturalist and botanist on Cook's first great voyage
(1768-1771). All told, some 75 species are named after him.
Prior to European settlement, the Jack pine was a common tree in swaths of the Northern US and Southern Canada. It was found
most commonly in some of the hottest, driest summer sites of those areas; sandy glacial plains and hills. Occasional lightening
storms would bring fire sweeping down those dry areas, leaving behind nothing but blackened desolation. Native Americans,
either accidentally or intentionally, also caused fires in the jack pine. This desolation was only temporary however. Sometimes
within weeks, after the Jack pine seeds had fluttered to the ground, the area would be covered with a green haze of new growth.
This process would repeat every thirty to a hundred years, and Jack pines would continue to dominate these fire prone areas.
After European settlement, many areas where white and red pines grew near the jack pine plains were stripped of the more
desirable pines. Large areas of slashed and clear cut forests were left after logging, leaving an opening for the expansion of the
Jack pine’s range. However, the creation of the Department of Conservation, and the fight to bring all forest fires under control in
the early 1900’s, brought the Jack pine community into decline, confining it back to ranges smaller than even the previous areas.
As jack pines need full sun and fire to grow, areas where fire was completely controlled led the eventual take over of more shade
tolerant species. As the Jack pine is a tree necessary for the survival of several other species (including the endangered Kirtland’s
warbler), controlled burns are now allowed in those areas, to keep the Jack pine ecosystem at healthy levels.
Other Facts and Trivia: Jack pine seeds are often found in small bonsai kits at the mall or bookstore. These seeds are seldom
viable, due to long storage times, and even those that could germinate often don’t, due to inaccurate care information.
Native Americans and early European settlers to Canada and the Northern United states considered jack pines evil, as no crops
could grow in areas where they had been cleared. As these pines so frequently grew in poor, sandy soil however, it’s no wonder.
The French Canadian lumberjacks believed that a woman must keep at least 10 feet away from this tree, lest they become sterile.
Infertility and miscarriages in both humans and animals were often blamed on a grove of jack pines in the vicinity.
Caribou feed on the lichen that grows on the tree, moose, caribou, snowshoe hares, and deer feed on the branches, rodents and
birds eat the seeds. Native Americans used the bark for tea, the roots for sewing, the pitch for medicine and sealant, and the male
cones have long been eaten boiled, roasted, fried, or pickled.
Bibliography:
Jack Pine Ecosystem: http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_22664-60337--,00.html
Jack Pine Project and Interview: http://torontobonsai.org/Archives/Research/index.htm
Rook Jack Pine Sheet: http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/trees/pinusbank.html
Wiki Jack Pine sheet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_pine
Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana)
| Matsu no shita wa yuki furu ori no iro nare ya mina shirotae ni miyuru yamaji ni |
| Under the pines, a color like the sky when snow falls, the rest of the mountain trail one swath of white cloth |
-Saigyo, Poems of a Mountain Home