Bonsai techniques

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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I met with a Va. Dept. of Forestries manager last night as part of my duties as a community board member. We were trying to get ideas of how to manage forested land around our townhouse community, including planting native trees and grasses on common areas.

As I talked with the official, he mentioned that nurseries "have begun practicing barerooting" their trees before putting them in landscapes. He recommended we do this with any landscape trees we plant--remove all the soil an trim tangled roots before putting them in the hole. He said the practice not only lightens the rootball and makes planting larger trees easier, it frees up roots that are hopelessly tangled in the balled and burlapped, or containerized sapling. Those roots, he added, left to their own devices could eventually girdle the trunk, or slow the tree's growth to a crawl. He said "and after all that root disturbance, they can put a five year health guarantee on that tree. What they're doing really works."

I couldn't help but smile. That's what we've known for quite some time.

I didn't have the heart to tell him about bonsai, as he would have probably had a hissy fit about abusing trees...
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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I met with a Va. Dept. of Forestries manager last night as part of my duties as a community board member. We were trying to get ideas of how to manage forested land around our townhouse community, including planting native trees and grasses on common areas.

As I talked with the official, he mentioned that nurseries "have begun practicing barerooting" their trees before putting them in landscapes. He recommended we do this with any landscape trees we plant--remove all the soil an trim tangled roots before putting them in the hole. He said the practice not only lightens the rootball and makes planting larger trees easier, it frees up roots that are hopelessly tangled in the balled and burlapped, or containerized sapling. Those roots, he added, left to their own devices could eventually girdle the trunk, or slow the tree's growth to a crawl. He said "and after all that root disturbance, they can put a five year health guarantee on that tree. What they're doing really works."

I couldn't help but smile. That's what we've known for quite some time.

I didn't have the heart to tell him about bonsai, as he would have probably had a hissy fit about abusing trees...

I don't know, I think I might have told him. He may have started looking to you for support and advise. If not?----Compared to what happens on the forums from time to time what he might say would have to be small potatos in comparison.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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"don't know, I think I might have told him. He may have started looking to you for support and advise. If not?----Compared to what happens on the forums from time to time what he might say would have to be small potatos in comparison."

Don't think he would have looked at me as anything more than a kook who enjoys torturing trees. Guys with degrees in trees tend to see bonsai as an abomination at worst, a silly indulgence at best...
 

amkhalid

Chumono
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Guys with degrees in trees tend to see bonsai as an abomination at worst, a silly indulgence at best...

That, or they just really like bonsai :)
 
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