$80-$70= $10 White Spruce.

[sorce]

Had a $10 yellow sticker..BS! Dude said they were supposed to throw them out last week.

This was a month or so ago already.
Old Spring stock on summer sale.

Hizacked from a big black...5gl? Maybe 3...effin heavy..
Pumice and a pond basket.

Now Them roots are growing well.


The Maple died yeah...couple cold days




Frigging lovely small foliage!


LTP....long term project.

Love Spruce. Spruce love it here!

S

 

[sorce]

2 pond baskets...

Lol!

S

 

[A. Gorilla]

2 pond baskets...

Lol!

S

What is this? A rave?

 

[Cosmos]

What is this pumice nonsense, no DE?!?!

Can we get a better general shot of the lower part of the tree, sorce?

 

[Adair M]

@sorce,

Let’s talk.

You put this in a pond basket. Why? Why do we use pond baskets? Or, rather, what is it pond baskets (or colanders) bring to the table that a pot or a grow box does not?

Air pruning.

Then, you set this on the ground, on a surface of pine bark. Pine bark. As we all know, holds a lot of water. Pumice does not. Spruce like water. Not standing water, but they don’t like drying out. So, naturally, their roots are going to seek out dampness. Which they found outside the pond basket in the pine bark!

So, what is the point of using a pond basket if you’re going to let roots escape into the soil??? Pumice plus pond basket means the sides of the pot dry out quickly. So, where do the roots find moisture? Straight down! Is that where we want roots to grow when we grow bonsai? NO!!!!! We want to encourage lateral roots! Lateral roots build flair. A broad, spreading base, the beginnings of nebari. You are doing everything you can to discourage that!

Everyone has jumped on the “colander bandwagon” without knowing why. They saw it done in Bonsai Today Number 20 for making shohin JBP, and think that’s the solution to everything! It’s not!

You’re smart enough to figure this stuff out.

Using pumice Encourages root growth. It doesn’t hold much water, so roots have to grow to find it. But, if the tree finds an easier source of water, you won’t get good root growth elsewhere. A pond basket is just not working for you. It’s discouraging lateral roots.

 

[bonsaichile]

What is this pumice nonsense, no DE?!?!

Can we get a better general shot of the lower part of the tree, sorce?

I love pure pumice, precisely for the reasons Adair mentions: it stimumates root growth. I put all my collecte trees in pumice and water them often. I could not do that with DE.

 

[Cosmos]

I love pure pumice, precisely for the reasons Adair mentions: it stimumates root growth. I put all my collecte trees in pumice and water them often. I could not do that with DE.

I know pumice is a great substrate, I was just joking because sorce has been such an ardent proponent of DE over the last little while on here. And spruce looooooooooove water on the roots.