Grafted pines.

Hello all,
My local garden centre have some Japanese White Pines for a very good price. They are £12.00 ($16 ish) which I think is good for their size. But they are grafted trees, being sold as Dwarf trees. The grafting is actually very good and I didn't notice it at first. I am wondering if there is anyone out there who has worked with grafted pines and can tell me if the graft will become less visible as the tree gets larger and the trunk thicker? Maybe I would be better paying a bit more from a Bonsai nursery and getting non grafted stock? I have seen Japanese White Pines in Bonsai nurseries for about £16 which are the same height but only have about half the trunk thickness.
The garden centre stock do look good though.

Thanks in advance,
Ian.
Lancaster, UK.

Hi Ian.
You will find that most white pines are grafted onto black pine root stock, which will make them hardier and give better bark texture sooner. Choose one with the best union though, as the scar may get worse rather than better with time.

Lee Brindley wrote:Hi Ian.
You will find that most white pines are grafted onto black pine root stock, which will make them hardier and give better bark texture sooner. Choose one with the best union though, as the scar may get worse rather than better with time.

Okay, thanks. I might get a couple to try then. They all had pretty good grafts actually. The ones I have seen in a Bonsai nursery were probably from seed as I am sure they didn't have grafts but they were much smaller trees for more money.
Last year I bought a very small Black pine for £3.00. I think it was probably either a new seedling or maybe a year old as it was only about 2 inches tall, maybe less. In one year it has grown to about 8 inches and is very healthy indeed, growing in nothing but cat litter. I wish I'd had a couple more actually.
I'd also thought about getting some White Pine seed but at my age it seems a bit too long a project, lol. Seed isn't cheap either.

Thanks again,
Ian.