Securing trees in a group planting

[FiestaRed]

I'm planning on creating an Alberta Spruce forest/group planting, can I ask if there is a 'magic' way of securing the trees in the pot at all please?

For the group I'm thinking of possibly seven to nine trees of varying heights. Only ever potted single trees by holding down with wire in the usual way so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

No, there is no magic way. But you can make a grid out of garden wire that overlaps the roots, and you can tie that grid down to the pot. After a year or two, the roots will have intertwined and it'll probably keep itself in place.
I've also used chopsticks in a horizontal position, that I've placed over the roots and wired those down.

 

[Firstflush]

You can also bury the crowns a little deeper which can help them stay put too. Got to watch bumping it and wind until the roots grow and lock the trees down. Not masterful but I’ve done it. Works best with smaller whips, not big specimens.

 

[BobbyLane]

Some good steps in this video, from keeping trees moist while sorting everything out to securing trees properly

more resources

Articles – Bonsai4Me

bonsai4me.com

 

[FiestaRed]

That's great. Thanks for all the help, really appreciated.

 

[Yamabudoudanshi]

If you can find little charcoal BBQ grills, they work really well in the bottom of a pot. Gives you a basically unlimited tie down points for wire. Then, as people mentioned, once the forest is well established, you can remove them completely and just repot as one big root mass, or several groups. I'll attach a photo from when I initially put together a larch forest. I tied two of these little grills into the bottom of the pot, then wired trees to them. You can see all the wires in the locations I picked for the trees.

Another option you might consider, especially if you're not overly attached to the container is physically epoxying your tie down wires where you want them. I did this with an ezo spruce sort of mountain planting. These wires are glued to rock, but you could do the same in any kind of pot/tray. Picture of that as well.

 

[FiestaRed]

If you can find little charcoal BBQ grills, they work really well in the bottom of a pot. Gives you a basically unlimited tie down points for wire. Then, as people mentioned, once the forest is well established, you can remove them completely and just repot as one big root mass, or several groups. I'll attach a photo from when I initially put together a larch forest. I tied two of these little grills into the bottom of the pot, then wired trees to them. You can see all the wires in the locations I picked for the trees.

Another option you might consider, especially if you're not overly attached to the container is physically epoxying your tie down wires where you want them. I did this with an ezo spruce sort of mountain planting. These wires are glued to rock, but you could do the same in any kind of pot/tray. Picture of that as well.

That's a great idea, thank you for sharing.