Mesh/screen on top of soil?

BugsBonsai

Seedling
Messages
13
Reaction score
3
Location
Michigan
So this might be a weird question, but has anyone used mesh/screening over the tops of their bonsai soil? An azalea I purchased a couple years ago had something like that when I bought it, and it worked great for keeping critters out of the pot when I fertilized. It still allowed me to water the tree through it, and was cut to fit just inside the pot. It was pinned in place with a little wire. I haven’t seen anything similar since that tree and no longer have the mesh (I repotted the tree and absentmindedly tossed the mesh piece), so have no idea what material it was exactly to try and replicate it for my other trees.

Long story short, if anyone does use this kind of technique, advice on what exactly to use would be great!
 

one_bonsai

Shohin
Messages
332
Reaction score
214
Even if it does a good job keeping critters out, it just wouldn't look good
 

Wires_Guy_wires

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,408
Reaction score
10,630
Location
Netherlands
I do!
I use and old whatever it's called.. It's used in camping as a flooring beneath your tent. Pretty cheap, flexible, easy to cut. And it comes in various colors.
d77624d9da6bcd6a40469366376abb1e.jpg


But mosquito mesh works just as good.
 

leatherback

The Treedeemer
Messages
13,934
Reaction score
26,861
Location
Northern Germany
USDA Zone
7
I do, but it just lays on the substrate. I cut a piece to the right size, make a hole for the trunk and put it on. Normally only a few weeks in spring and fall, when the blackbirds come digging.

I bought a big rol of mesh used as windbreaks and/or to stop people from seeing clearly what is happening behind a fence / on a balcony. I use this also as mesh in the pot if I use coarse substrate, or for layering and..

This stuff:
IMG_20200718_123541.jpg
 
Top Bottom