New Black pine for a steal.

Was gonna wait before I started getting into pines but for 28$usd how can you not! Image shack is given me a hard time and it turning into links. It's healthy but needs work and the soils isnt so good and just curious are those long pole like things in the last picture the new buds?

nice find

fixed imaged not sure why they are so large

yep, those large "pole-like" things are the new buds. they are called candles because they resemble candles. from what I was able to see from your images, I think you got a good deal for $28. It can be a great tree, or a great learning tree for that price. There's a tutorial on posting images, FYI.

giga wrote:... just curious are those long pole like things in the last picture the new buds?

Yep, they are, but at this point we call them candles. There are three different things you can do with them

1. let a few (one or two) of them grow - this is done to add thickness to the trunk that is removed a few seasons down the road (known as a 'sacrificial leader').
   
2. break off 1/3 to 2/3 rds then let it grow; once the new needles have hardened (dark green color, stiff and pointy, and stay attached with a light pull) you cut it back to a few fascicles.
   
3. cut off all of the candles, right down to their green bases; in a few weeks buds will emerge that will develop into candles.
   

You can do these things to any pine, fir, spruce. Candle pruning (3) is how one reduces the needle length of black and red pines - success depends upon timing (sometime in the next 6 weeks). If you do this too late in the season or to 'single flush' species, you won't get new needles this season, just buds set for next season's candles (this can be fatal to pinus strobus because they only retain ones season's needles).

Pruning candles after the new needles have hardened is the strongest inducement of new buds along the branch/trunk (known as 'back budding'). You will want to do this regardless of specie. Candle pinching followed by cutting back (2) is the essence of 'treating it like a white pine'. With candle pruning of black/red pines you will do this at a different calendar time, but similar ontological time.

I suggest that you somehow identify branches in three groups. Remove all of the candles from one of these groups this week or next. Then, circa 9 June remove the second group and circa 30 June the last. This will give you a good idea of when you should decandle to get reduced size needles for your location. Then Oct/Nov you will do some cut back to induce back buds. Meanwhile you can read, study your tree, and decide what you want to do with it.

Yeah I have a couple spruces and there new needles and candles are very short compared to these, as these candles are almost taller then the tree. I'm new to pines so I wasn't really sure what to do with them. Also when would be a good time to remove braches that don't belong once I figured where to go with this tree.

There was no price on this and when I ask they told me 28$ I figured it would be a great shohin and learning tree before I get a pricey old pine. Ill try and fix the picture when I get home from work.

giga wrote:... they told me 28$ I figured it would be a great shohin and learning tree before I get a pricey old pine.

We're of like minds in this regard. Have fun!