Ground growing?

[Jasonb]

Hi all,
I am currently looking for somewhere to fatten up some of my trees and was just curious as to whether there are any specifics that need to be seen to before I plant them out?

Regards jason

[Haydenmc]

Ive got a few little ash and tridents in just this year no special soil prep, but i did plant them on some old plaster board square to help the roots flair out - better to be growing radially than straight down.

H

[Paulneill]

You could wire some movement into your young trees before planting . And it's good to have a few low branches to build taper.

[Jasonb]

Cheers Hayden, Paul.

I will definatley place something flat under the root balls to try and aid flair.

And as for the movement, I already have desired movement, and am now trying to get them chunkier and more mature looking. But something I will employ on future ground growing as I get to it. Cheers guys.
Jason

[craigw60]

Hi Jason, field growing like all aspects of bonsai has its own set of skills and because its a fair investment in time you should try to learn them before you start. My experience is in deciduous and broad leafed evergreens so I am only interested in trunks, branch development happens once the field growing is completed. If you are working with conifers you need to consider future branches as well.
Soil preparation is very important, you want your trees to develop as much fibrous root as possible and a very rich friable and free draining soil will help to achieve that. So dig in plenty of organic matter and fertilisers, if you are on clay use lots of gypsum.
I spend 2-3 years preparing the trees for field growing in pots, making sure they have a good radial root system and the lower trunk has curves. I try to get the sacrifice branches in place as well, they should be low down on the trunk and well spread apart. If you plant a tree out with problems especially in the roots those problems will be compounded by the field growing and you will have to spend years rectifying them.
Do not try to thicken the whole trunk at once or the trunk will more than likely lack taper and have long straight sections. Its better to build the trunk up section by section over a number of years. Remember you want the big scars to be low on the trunk not at the top so the low sacrifice branches are very important.
2 years growing is not going to achieve much you need to think long term, at least 5 years for shohin and 10 for anything bigger if you bring the trunk up too quickly it will lack taper and curves.
I don't put anything under the trunks I think if you root prune correctly its not necessary. I lift and root prune hard every year, others say 2 years. Up to you but just don't leave them any longer or you will have really thick strong roots to deal with.
When you plant the trees out bury the nebari around 10cm deep so the root system which should be very shallow is well covered.
Hope that helps
Craigw

[kcpoole]

Excellent Info there Craig
I whole heartedly agree with everything you have mentioned and cannot think of anything you have missed

Also check out the page in the wiki which has some links to other threads here
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... nd_growing

Ken

[Jasonb]

Your a legend Craig,

The only question I have is " do you wanna help? " lol. I think I've found my spot and it is very orangey yellowy sandy soil on top of what seems to some sandstone bed rock, probably around two feet deep before it hits the rock though, so I don't think it will be too shallow. I'll be sure to get up some progress shots of the area if I go ahead with it. Cheers again Craig.

And cheers for that link ken, I'll read it properly when I get home. Looks to have some good stuff in there.

Regards jason

[craigw60]

Jason if you are on sand drainage is a non issue what you need in hummus and lots of it, also a really thick mulch.
I grow my trees in simple raised beds and fill them with compost, the raised beds make it easier to work on the trees.
You will need a soaker hose under the mulch
Craigw

[lacertilian]

Great info Craig, thanks alot for that. How long would you prepare a bed for prior to planting? A matter of days or months?
I have prepared a make-shift bed in my local heavy clay soil, hoping to plant out this autumn or next spring..

[Dario]

When you plant the trees out bury the nebari around 10cm deep so the root system which should be very shallow is well covered.
Hope that helps
Craigw

Hi Craig, thanks for all that info!
Craig when it comes to ground growing tridents how do you stop roots from forming on the trunk above the radial roots that have been established when planting out?
I assume roots will form on the trunk in the 10cm of soil above the nebari.
Is it a case of dealing with them once a year when you lift the trees for root work, or is there another way?
Happy and safe 2013.

Great Question Jason and best of luck with your ground growing!
Cheers, Dario.

[Jasonb]

Dario,

It's awesome to have members like Craig here on the forum to feed off and broaden our knowledge with the employment of their advice. I will be planting out this autumn and hopefully will be able to get e few of these methods happening.

Also Craig, when you say hummus, what do you mean? I'm unfamiliar with the term?

Regards jason

[craigw60]

I plant straight into the compost but its home made and cold. Full of weed seeds and some good things to, last year my beds were full of sauromatum venosum, google that one.
Hummus is just decomposed organic matter ie compost. If you can get oak leaf its the very best soil conditioner.
If you are using hot compost like mushroom then you would need to cool it for a few weeks before planting.
Dario just a few roots grow above the nebari and thats only a problem if you don't root prune often enough
Craigw

[Dario]

Dario,

It's awesome to have members like Craig here on the forum to feed off and broaden our knowledge with the employment of their advice. I will be planting out this autumn and hopefully will be able to get e few of these methods happening.

Totally agree Jason...we are very luck for all the help and experiences provided by members
Please let us know how you go with the ground growing.

Dario just a few roots grow above the nebari and thats only a problem if you don't root prune often enough
Craigw

Thanks Craig I appreciate the help
Cheers, Dario

[shibui]

I use very similar techniques to CraigW except that I only plant with roots 1-2 cm deep to prevent surface roots developing above the existing nebari if it is any good. This is especially critical with trident maples which produce surface roots very quickly here and even a 1 yo root can ruin the shape of the trunk but also because I tend to leave them in the ground for 2 years at a time. Other species its not so critical because they do not have the same tendency to throw new roots.

Soil preparation for a few months is good but a good bed can be prepared in a few weeks and possibly in a few days if the right materials are used and you know what you are doing.