Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Not knowing for sure where this should be posted I have posted it here assuming it will be moved at Bonsainut's discretion. I know it is far from a complete disertation on the subject but hopefull some input from the members of the forum will help add to the subject.
PREPARING A GROWING BED
There is hardly a day that does not go by where someone on the Internet recommends suggests, or brow beats someone to plant their intended bonsai material in the ground. This is sound advice for the sake of growing out stock and hastening the development of a trunk and in many cases back budding. However there is a caveat. Growing in the ground is as dependant on the quality of the soil in the growing bed as it would be in a pot. People are never told of this and they just assume that being in the ground is a magical place for quick development.
The truth is that if you do not have the right conditions in a growing bed you are better off growing a young or developing tree in a large pot with a decent soil mix of your own device. There are almost as many parameters for a good and efficient growing bed as there are for a potted soil medium. It must be arable, drain well, maintain its structure and be more or less a neutral PH.
Let’s look at an ideal growing bed.
1.) It should be elevated. This means that the soil and the tree should sit above the surrounding topography. This promotes drainage, preventing the tree from sitting in a possible puddle during times of heavy rain and storms. Simply planting a tree in the ground in the corner of the family garden may or may not work well; the above parameter is one of the major reasons for lack of optimal performance of this planting.
2.) Simply taking advantage of the nature of the existing soil is usually a mistake except in certain conditions where the available soil is of very high quality. This is not likely. In urban and suburban environments the majority of the good top soil was removed when the home was constructed and ironically sold back to the home owner as top soil from any number of businesses that deal in this material.
3.) The soil should be amended. This means that there are some materials that should be added to an existing soil to improve its ability to grow trees in the manner you desire for bonsai. Assuming that the existing soil is clay based which is common over much of the United States, the first amendment is a product called Gypsum. This is added to help break up the clay and prevent it from adhering together. Humus is another item that is needed in a growing bed. Many gardeners us Canadian Peat Moss. I no longer use this material because it is dangerous to the user and if it dries out it is very difficult to rehydrate. I prefer composted Pine Bark Mulch, just like the stuff I use in my bonsai soil. You should also add some Calcined clay like Turface to add some grit to the mix as well as some very fine gravel or coarse sand such as #2 sand blasting sand. This should all be mixed together with the existing soil using a shovel or a rototiller.
4.) A good growing bed should be about six feet long and three feet wide. The bed should be located where it gets a good deal of sun.
5.) A tree should be planted in this raised bed and left alone for at least two seasons, three for a pine. After the prescribed time the roots have to be trimmed. This is easily done by cutting around the tree with a sharp shovel about six to eight inches out from the trunk all the way around the tree for a tree less than two feet high. It is assumed the grower has some sort of program for cultural development of the tree beyond this issue so I will not touch on that here.
This entire process is a bit more complicated than I have described here and it is possible that in certain areas of the country the materials used will have to be different. I hope it is clear to the reader that growing in the ground, though a good option, is not a simple dig a hole and toss in a plant routine. There are a lot of variables and conditions no one has told you about that should be thought through. Water is one. Many people think that once the tree is in the ground you don’t need to worry about water. It is true the tree will not need as much attention as a tree in a pot, but to neglect water is to have dead trees.
Fertilizer: The simpelist is to use a product like Osmocote, a dried concentrated palletized material that takes all summer to break down. It is a do it once and forget about it for the season application. You will have to watch out for rodents, insects and disease. You may have to build a small fence around your growing bed and you may have to spray from time to time.
Growing beds are fine but they are not fool proof.
PREPARING A GROWING BED
There is hardly a day that does not go by where someone on the Internet recommends suggests, or brow beats someone to plant their intended bonsai material in the ground. This is sound advice for the sake of growing out stock and hastening the development of a trunk and in many cases back budding. However there is a caveat. Growing in the ground is as dependant on the quality of the soil in the growing bed as it would be in a pot. People are never told of this and they just assume that being in the ground is a magical place for quick development.
The truth is that if you do not have the right conditions in a growing bed you are better off growing a young or developing tree in a large pot with a decent soil mix of your own device. There are almost as many parameters for a good and efficient growing bed as there are for a potted soil medium. It must be arable, drain well, maintain its structure and be more or less a neutral PH.
Let’s look at an ideal growing bed.
1.) It should be elevated. This means that the soil and the tree should sit above the surrounding topography. This promotes drainage, preventing the tree from sitting in a possible puddle during times of heavy rain and storms. Simply planting a tree in the ground in the corner of the family garden may or may not work well; the above parameter is one of the major reasons for lack of optimal performance of this planting.
2.) Simply taking advantage of the nature of the existing soil is usually a mistake except in certain conditions where the available soil is of very high quality. This is not likely. In urban and suburban environments the majority of the good top soil was removed when the home was constructed and ironically sold back to the home owner as top soil from any number of businesses that deal in this material.
3.) The soil should be amended. This means that there are some materials that should be added to an existing soil to improve its ability to grow trees in the manner you desire for bonsai. Assuming that the existing soil is clay based which is common over much of the United States, the first amendment is a product called Gypsum. This is added to help break up the clay and prevent it from adhering together. Humus is another item that is needed in a growing bed. Many gardeners us Canadian Peat Moss. I no longer use this material because it is dangerous to the user and if it dries out it is very difficult to rehydrate. I prefer composted Pine Bark Mulch, just like the stuff I use in my bonsai soil. You should also add some Calcined clay like Turface to add some grit to the mix as well as some very fine gravel or coarse sand such as #2 sand blasting sand. This should all be mixed together with the existing soil using a shovel or a rototiller.
4.) A good growing bed should be about six feet long and three feet wide. The bed should be located where it gets a good deal of sun.
5.) A tree should be planted in this raised bed and left alone for at least two seasons, three for a pine. After the prescribed time the roots have to be trimmed. This is easily done by cutting around the tree with a sharp shovel about six to eight inches out from the trunk all the way around the tree for a tree less than two feet high. It is assumed the grower has some sort of program for cultural development of the tree beyond this issue so I will not touch on that here.
This entire process is a bit more complicated than I have described here and it is possible that in certain areas of the country the materials used will have to be different. I hope it is clear to the reader that growing in the ground, though a good option, is not a simple dig a hole and toss in a plant routine. There are a lot of variables and conditions no one has told you about that should be thought through. Water is one. Many people think that once the tree is in the ground you don’t need to worry about water. It is true the tree will not need as much attention as a tree in a pot, but to neglect water is to have dead trees.
Fertilizer: The simpelist is to use a product like Osmocote, a dried concentrated palletized material that takes all summer to break down. It is a do it once and forget about it for the season application. You will have to watch out for rodents, insects and disease. You may have to build a small fence around your growing bed and you may have to spray from time to time.
Growing beds are fine but they are not fool proof.