Repotting big maple

[Sifu]

State of the art is to use the smallest possible training container, be this a pot or a box or a plastic can. Trees grow BETTER in a smaller pot than in a larger. This is proved scientifically sufficiently.

I can understand that in terms of "finished" bonsai, when you don't want too long branches. But when i need to thicken the trunk and/or some branches i guess the biggest the pot/container is the better results i can expect? It's like if i plant the bonsai into the ground for two, three or even four seasons: it will grow/thicken faster for sure, because it has more space for roots. But now i am confused ...

 

[Walter Pall]

A tree grows better in a rather small container than in a rather large one. If you want to thicken a trunk (while controlling the branches) you can well do this in a small container if you water a lot and feed a lot. A lot more than you think! If thickening a trunk is the main thing ( and accepting that the branches are out of control) growing in the ground is better than planting into a large container. I know that most think that all this is not so because they were told different. This is why i stress it. It is state of gardening art, not having leaked through to bonsai circles.

 

[MichaelS]

A tree grows better in a rather small container than in a rather large one. If you want to thicken a trunk (while controlling the branches) you can well do this in a small container if you water a lot and feed a lot. A lot more than you think! If thickening a trunk is the main thing ( and accepting that the branches are out of control) growing in the ground is better than planting into a large container. I know that most think that all this is not so because they were told different. This is why i stress it. It is state of gardening art, not having leaked through to bonsai circles.

From my experience I agree with all this 100%. If you want to put a tree in a ''large'' container, the difference between large and ''normal'' should be about 1 or 2 inches at the most. Most trees with a small root system planted in a styro box for example, do not grow well, but planted with just 1 inch of room for the roots does much better and grows faster. When I tell people this they look at me like I'm talking Martian.
Growing in the open ground of course is completely different.

 

[leatherback]

When I tell people this they look at me like I'm talking Martian.

I know the feeling. I have stopped responding to those then saying.. earth is a veerry large container. You mean plants cannot grow in the ground..?

 

[Walter Pall]

I think its just a little confusing when someone with as much global respect as him does something like this without warning others.

Maybe he is just showing how much of a bonsai ninja he is.

What a smart man you are! Why should I warn folks of a very beneficial new method?
The tree did not even blink. Despite the uproar, the warnings and the secret hopes that it wold die the tree has shown that this was a good idea. Another bonsai myth uncovered!

 

[just.wing.it]

You tell em Walter!
Amazing work with this one!
Nicely done.

 

[clem]

Most trees with a small root system planted in a styro box for example, do not grow well,
Growing in the open ground of course is completely different.

hello, do you have an explanation for that ? i don't understand the difference between a wide & deep woodbox with draining akadama particles and a lot of water & fertilizers, and the ground ?

 

[Ingvill]

A tree grows better in a rather small container than in a rather large one. If you want to thicken a trunk (while controlling the branches) you can well do this in a small container if you water a lot and feed a lot. A lot more than you think! If thickening a trunk is the main thing ( and accepting that the branches are out of control) growing in the ground is better than planting into a large container. I know that most think that all this is not so because they were told different. This is why i stress it. It is state of gardening art, not having leaked through to bonsai circles.

I am still new to bonsai and was wondering if you still follow your 2010 water/fertilizer practice as linked below?
http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/2010/06/feeding-substrate-and-watering-english.html
Or if you are doing something different these days that you would recommend?

I am asking because I wasn't very happy with the results my fertilizers gave me last year, and I wanna try something new this year.
My plan was to try MiracleGro as several people on this site recommends it, but turns out I can't import it to my country.
Do you have a favourite brand of fertilizer you use now? Or is still anything that is on sale good enough?

 

[sorce]

@clem I gotta throw a wrench in the game.

There is a difference, but that difference isn't why the trees don't grow, the trees don't grow because we don't adjust our watering to the situation. (In a large box).

Unused soil in the box must be accounted for and responded to, by the gardener.

The tree doesn't really care if there is unused soil.

This thing you don't understand, it's because people call "reaction" before they know the "action".
Then actions become "wrong" and surrounded by half truths, which makes some folks seem like miracle workers.
Like Walter here in this thread!

The guy who repotted in summer and started calling it bad just wasn't paying enough attention to his trees.

Sorce

 

[clem]

@clem I gotta throw a wrench in the game.

There is a difference, but that difference isn't why the trees don't grow, the trees don't grow because we don't adjust our watering to the situation. (In a large box).

Unused soil in the box must be accounted for and responded to, by the gardener.

The tree doesn't really care if there is unused soil.


Sorce

i'm not sure i understood what you said : do you mean that with a large and deep woodbox the frequency of watering should be less important than in small woodbox ? Or that the fact that a small woodbox needs more frequency of watering leads to better fertilization ?

 

[Cajunrider]

Beautiful tree.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

[sorce]

i'm not sure i understood what you said : do you mean that with a large and deep woodbox the frequency of watering should be less important than in small woodbox ? Or that the fact that a small woodbox needs more frequency of watering leads to better fertilization ?

I am sure I don't understand where fert talk came from! Lol!

A wrench would not be a wrench if the wrench is as easy to understand as a screwdriver!

Sorce

 

[Forsoothe!]

I repot with a full canopy in June when there are buds in the axils and enough growing time left in this season to form next year's buds. Roots are grown from energy produced by leaves, and leaves are grown from energy stored in the roots. As long as transpiration is controlled to be in-balance with the reduced abilities, it works fine.

I have had real bad luck with autumn root work and do not do any, anymore. I know others do it just fine. Whatever.

 

[Trenthany]

What a smart man you are! Why should I warn folks of a very beneficial new method?
The tree did not even blink. Despite the uproar, the warnings and the secret hopes that it wold die the tree has shown that this was a good idea. Another bonsai myth uncovered!




View attachment 218240

Recently I was following and even trying to clarify questions asked in a discussion about forward leaning and this tree looks like a good example of the questions being asked and opinions given. Does it have the traditional forward lean? We understand about foreshortening, welcoming appearance, etc., etc., but this tree in this photo appears as though it can be viewed in the round and look pretty even except for the trunk lean obviously. But this is a photo so I’m not sure. Can you comment either here or This thread? And can I share your comments on that subject in that thread if you comment here? Thanks @Walter Pall

 

[Walter Pall]

Recently I was following and even trying to clarify questions asked in a discussion about forward leaning and this tree looks like a good example of the questions being asked and opinions given. Does it have the traditional forward lean? We understand about foreshortening, welcoming appearance, etc., etc., but this tree in this photo appears as though it can be viewed in the round and look pretty even except for the trunk lean obviously. But this is a photo so I’m not sure. Can you comment either here or This thread? And can I share your comments on that subject in that thread if you comment here? Thanks @Walter Pall

Sure it is forward leaning. All of my trees are somehow leaning forward. This is standard practice and does not need much discussion.

 

[Trenthany]

Sure it is forward leaning. All of my trees are somehow leaning forward. This is standard practice and does not need much discussion.

We were curious as to if there were exceptions and got hammered for a while before the thread diverged. Lol. I figure most of mine will follow best practices but I wasn’t sure if there were any unusual exceptions to the case. Thanks for showing the maple! I’m trying to see as many good bonsai as I can but COVID and rash of thefts near me is making it tough!