Couple of dumb questions....

Redwood Ryan

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Hey all, I've got a question about developing nebari and also about group planting.

#1: Does the age of the tree matter when you start to work on it's nebari? For example, I've got a Dawn Redwood seedling, it is completely woody and all, it just doesn't have branches. Is it okay if I overpot the seedling and place a slab under it so it can get some thick nebari?

#2: If I wanted to plant 2 or 3 trees together for a group bonsai, would it be best to plant the trees together now so that the roots grow together?

Thanks!


Ryan
 

capnk

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Ryan,
1. The age can matter on some trees, because they may not pop new growth from old wood. Part of planti- ng a tree in the ground to develop nebari usually involves picking a branch to be a new leader (maybe not the case in your particular project). Redwoods pop new growth from old wood like weeds so that should not be an issue.
2. Planting trees together in a "forest" planting has nothing to do with joining their roots together. There is a problem if you grow the separate trees in large pots, let them develop large root bases, and then find that you can't fit them into the anticipated pot. There is also a problem if you plant the trees together now, and their roots do fuse - you will have trouble "rearranging" the trees for a final forest styling. Most trees chosen for forest plantings have been kept in small (like 4") pots much longer than would be the case for other plans.
Hope that's helpful,
Chris
 

Redwood Ryan

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Thank you so much! So I should just keep them seperated until I want to do my group planting. Sounds good. I wanted to plant a saucer or just plain slab under my sapling, so I think I will do that tomorrow. You helped a lot! And with the group planting, I should keep the trees I want to use in small containers, odd but thank you.
 

Smoke

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Chris has given some very good reasons on why certain things should be done and not be done. I find that the patina of age that can be derived by growing sub groups of trees is invaluable towards putting together a suitable forest planting.

In the first picture is a group that has been together for 9 years. The ramification is good and the trees look good together. It needs to be larger though. The trees are too tall for shohin and the pot is too cramped. There are not enough trees to plant into a larger container because the height of the trees is limiting.

4 years ago I began working on more trees to include in this group. There are 13 in the second picture and I have some in sub groups that have grown together. This will allow me to have some seperate and some in groups. The groups will indicate greater age while the seperate trees will allow for more artistic expression.

These will all come together this year in an exciting way. Stay tuned for further enhancements.
 

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Redwood Ryan

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Man, those are very nice looking! Can't wait to see the enhancements!
 

garywood

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Hi Al, great little group! They look good in the pot, :) Wood
 

Smoke

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Hi Al, great little group! They look good in the pot, :) Wood

They should...it's one of yours!

Too bad though I love the pot and this year they will all move to something a little more Chinese?

Must find something for that cool pot......
 
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