Bristlecone Pines, General Advice

Hi all. I live in the UK and have what now seems to be a Bristlecone Pine (It was offered for sale in a local bonsai nursery as a Japanese White Pine, but is clearly not). I have recently given it a restyling as a literati as the lower branches were very weak. Now I would like to build the foliage pads and refine the image, but cannot find any online info regarding candle pinching etc for this species. I have heard that Bristlecones can keep their needles for as long as 40 years, so I assume they need specialised pruning!

I would particularly like to hear from anybody who has grown this species in the UK, but I assume there are not many in the country, so would of course appreciate any help from across the pond too.

Regards, Lee.

PS, Here is the obligatory photo.

Hi Lee
what makes you think it is not a white pine?
How many needles has it, e.g 5, 2 etc
The Korean and Chinese imports of white pines look like what you are showing

Regards Chris

chris wrote:Hi Lee
what makes you think it is not a white pine?
How many needles has it, e.g 5, 2 etc
The Korean and Chinese imports of white pines look like what you are showing

Regards Chris

Hi Chris,
I posted a thread on here a while a ago when I was given the tree as I thought there was something wrong with it. The leaves were (and still are to a degree) covered with sap residues. Somebody commented that it was definately a Bristlecone from the photos and the sap was normal for the species, particularly in Winter. The needles are stiffer than any white pine I have seen and do not have the characteristic pale undersides. The buds look very hard and pointed. The nursery of origin is the sort of place where I wouldn't put too much faith in the ID tag either. The needles are in clusters of five as per both parviflora and aristata.
Thanks, Lee.

Just for the heck of it, I Googled on Bristlecone Pine Close-up and Japanese White Pine Close-up. White pine needles are softer & thinner. Hard to tell if it's bristlecone. I would suggest consulting the nearest university with a botany department.
Is it likely that a bristlecone pine would travel all the way to UK?
Iris

Looking at the Pics and doing a bit of reading up I can see I can see how you have arrived at this conclusion, looks like you are right
Be nice to see how the buds develop

Regards Chris

Thanks for the replies. As for how it could have come to be in the UK, I have seen seeds for sale on Ebay, so that could be a possibility.
Assuming it is a Bristlecone, could anybody point me in the direction of any tips on how the foliage should be refined, i.e. similar to other 5-needle pines (parviflora) or can black pine techniques be used? I believe that Bristlecones will readilly back bud on old wood.

I guess nobody in the world has Bristlecone bonsai?

If you Google on bristlecone pine bonsai, you will find plenty of information.
Iris