Outdoor Plot

[Boics]

Hi all.

Thinking of putting a few of my little tree's in the ground to thicken up.
As space and ground is particularly limited these will need to go elsewhere which is a farm type environment.

My first concern is that this "elsewhere" will only have the possibility for manual watering..... Will this be ok?

Coming in to summer I naturally worry about too much sun and wind on some of the trees.
Being unfamiliar with outdoor beds how do those lucky enough to have them (beds) manage seasons?

I can't just up and move the tree's into less sunnier areas come summer.
Does one just use shadecloth I presume?

What about bugs insects and animals?

Any tips and advise welcome..

[Brian]

I think planting trees in a growing area is a wonderful way of getting some girth into your trunks. Many bonsai people here have growing on projects that are planted into the ground and heavily fertilized and watered.

[Bougy Fan]

Depends what species they are - if they were figs or some natives they should manage OK with infrequent waterings. I have some swampies and tridents in the ground at my mum's house but she waters then every day

[shibui]

Hi Boics,
All of the issues you have identified are possible problems and are reasons why not trees put into growing beds end up as great trees.
The rabbits are currently causing some problems with my grow beds. They love to prune Shimpaku and some have just managed to get bigger than when I put them in 2 years ago . This year the rabbits have taken to digging out chinese elms that were put in last winter. Very frustrating. Tree guards would be suitable to keep grazing animals off just a few trees.
Insects are generally not much of a problem but if the grasshoppers get too numerous they can defoliate the trees but that won't cause long term harm.
Watering depends on the soil, climate, species and location. My trees get watered about once a week if it doesn't rain for the first few months. After that they generally have roots down into the deeper soil and can cope with less added water - mostly I rely on rainfall after Feb. Drier climates may need more watering than this.
Trees in the ground should not need any shade. they should grow better in full sun.

I think it is a bit late to be thinking about planting out trees now. I'd put some time into preparing the sites - add some manure and control weeds this summer then bare root them and plant next winter so you can arrange the roots to produce better nebari. The trees will establish better when they are in the ground during early spring when soil moisture is better as well.