The reason to grow them seperately has nothing to do with branches as some have mentioned and everything to do with roots. You need to cut the roots back severely and establish them in very shallow pots for one year at least (preferably two. You won't have much in the way of branches in 2 years (maybe just the odd primary or secondary branch if you are pruning correctly)Jason57 wrote:hey Mike, is that so they don't have to compete for nutrients etc....in the same pot, and weaker ones stay weak?treeman wrote:Individually
My guess is they can grow individually and the grower can manipulate how they grow according to what
they want the overall scene to look like and then put them together once they are all strong and healthy
Is that right? (Im new to this and look forward to reading everyone's answers.)
Another reason to grow seperatlely is to equalise the vigor in the individual trees. Yet another reason is that you can collect several more trees (usulally smaller/thinner) to add to the group while you are waiting. Remember to make a good 10 tree group you should have 15 or twenty on hand.
Once you have nice flat radial roots, you can prune them as you see fit when constructing your group. Also if you feel that you need to re-arrange it the following year (highly likely!!), the job will be very much easier.
You can grow small groups of 2 or 3 trees in the same pot but this will make the arranging a little more difficult later.
