Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
How many trees can one really look after ?
30 - 50 ?
Good Day
Anthony
30 - 50 ?
Good Day
Anthony
Eh if you hack it back enough, drive a lawnmower over it, let your kids trample it, shoot it with a shotgun, start an ant colony in it etc sooner or later it will grow into SOMETHING interesting.I'm not an advocate of tiles in the ground. I have seen trees with roots ruined by growing around the tile and becoming a claw. Also I think that bonsai is a hobby that requires certain skills for certain things.
For instance.. ( OK some of you avert your eyes cause I'm gonna be a bully again). I tend to look at bonsai from a best there is POV. I feel that doing anything in life should be the best you can afford and the best you can do. Thats POV remember. Now, as far as ground growing, it takes as much or probably more skill as a bonsai artisan to grow something from nothing as it does to just buy a good piece of raw material and put branches and a canopy on it. If you can't make a "REAL BONSAI" with raw material, why grow something in the ground to become REAL BONSAI with out the skills to get it there.
Trust me, ground growing is not all that its cracked up to be. The picture I posted had twenty tridents in it and I only managed to find three that I wanted to waste my time on. The rest were not to par, you can see in the foto's. Anyone have any idea how much work is required to keep twenty tridents growing in the ground in full sun with branches growing to 1.5 inches thick and 7 to 9 feet long? Roots to match?
Now if you are good and a fast learner, your skills may develop faster than your material and what you thought you started 5 years ago is crap now. These are just things to chew on. I don't wish to change anyone's mind on growing material in the ground, I just want people to know what to expect and plan for the future. It's not as easy as it seems.
I may be wrong but the purpose of rootbags is to do what they call "root air pruning". That means when tips of the roots escape (through openings in the fabric - similar to collanders) it dries out which promotes growing side roots further up (closer to trunk). In the end this results in very dense system of fine roots. This can be even improved by using sharp, grainy, anorganic substrate such pumice, ...So, since nobody liked what I did last time let's see what y'all have to say about this. No tiles this time
I ordered a bunch of rootbags and put a few Japanese Maples, a Linden and a Mugo Pumilio in the ground today.
4 Japanese Maples I started growing from seed in 2017 and a 3 year old Tilia Cordata:
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I had to stop by a nursery to pick up some stuff this morning and bought this €5.95 Mugo Pine while I was there...
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Maple in rootbag...
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Rootbag in the ground...
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Who can spot all 6 rootbags?
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That was my thought as well, that grow bags, collanders, and general "rootmaker" style pots had 2 primary benefits: air root pruning as you described, along with better aeration, by way of not being in the ground and allowing more air penetration than a standard pot.I may be wrong but the purpose of rootbags is to do what they call "root air pruning". That means when tips of the roots escape (through openings in the fabric - similar to collanders) it dries out which promotes growing side roots further up (closer to trunk). In the end this results in very dense system of fine roots. This can be even improved by using sharp, grainy, anorganic substrate such pumice, ...
Now what you did seems to defeat all of the potential advantages. The roots will escape the rootbags and grow further and thicker. There will not be much forcing them to divide into fine short feeder roots. You seem to be using common soil as a substrate as well.
I bought few of those rootbags myself but plan to use them with anorganic substrate and not to put them in the ground to utilize their main function. It could be done with common soil as well I guess.
I see. They are trying to achieve the root pruning by choking the roots in fine fabric. Guess that could work if it is strong enough.They are used for that for sure but just do a search for in-ground root control bags
I also found out pretty quick that tridents love to grow lateral roots close to the surface and any existing root system planted too deep soon becomes redundant when new surface roots grow. It takes less than a year here before the trunk thickens close to the new surface roots so the lower section cannot be used.- I used "chipped trees inc leaves" (not plain wood chip) mulch and they more or less ground layer themselves in the stuff, they love it! And weeds can't get through. Has to be a thick layer...advantages and disadvantages.
- You may as well ground layer every tree, skip the tiles maybe? Ring-barking is too harsh, wire gets swallowed, I'm thinking steel car hose clips now....!!!
I have a couple friends who are ground growers, so I am not the voice of professionalism on this. I have dug quite a few though, but I do know for a fact that undisturbed growth is best so after 5 or 6 years in the ground who knows what you will have even if it was perfect before planting. I just know that once the roots get to the 1/4 inch point after that they are a problem and that can happen in one good season!!!
This is a field I dig out of. This is the owner walking in the field and one can see how far apart they are. But....here are some roots after just five years in the ground. It's those large long seeking roots that have gained the girth in those trunks. That frilly stuff so important for a bonsai pot, means nothing when ground growing.
I prefer a compromise between the two. A pot large enough to do the job and taking a little more time in growing the material. BIG, is not everything.View attachment 216023View attachment 216024View attachment 216025View attachment 216026View attachment 216027View attachment 216028
Luckely I'm a lazy bastard. Everything is still in the ground and doing greatThe secret is to LEAVE them in the ground.
Trees don't have problems til people stick them in pots.
You're not lucky. You're just avoiding criticism and scorn.Luckely I'm a lazy bastard. Everything is still in the ground and doing great