Hi. This is Alvaro. The needles are down because of shipping. They should start pointing up in few days. You can see how the tree looked before being shipped in the following link (SW White Pine 4)
http://www.chobonsaiyamadori.com/pines.html.
The needles get long when they get a lot of fertilizer as with any pine. This type is amazingly strong for being a one growth pine. When heavily fertilized, the wire will start cutting after one growing season. I haven't seen that in Ponderosas, limber, JWP, etc. I am attaching a pic that shows the difference in length among pines
The are a little bluer and heat tolerant because they come from the South and a lower elevations than limber. I have been having a great success with them in the Dallas area without too much additional work.
They need to be protected from temps over 90 and they could be overwatered as any white pine.
I hope that we can start seeing this specie much more used in bonsai, specially in areas where japanese white pines have a hard time.
Thanks
Alvaro
