Planting Black Pines in the ground

[Figman]

Good evening ,

I am looking at planting 20 Black Pines in the ground what is the best soil mix to plant them into the ground.

I have been looking at expanded clay, scorria, with a mix of fine pine bark and river sand...

Looking for some advice from from other bonsai enthusiasts that have gone down this journey.

Thankyou for taking the time to share your knowledge.

Cheers Mark

[shibui]

I just plant pines in the soil of the grow beds.
Are you planning on raised beds or just putting a small amount of something in the holes?

[Figman]

Thank you for your reply, much appreciated..

I was going to have raised beds with either black plastic at the base or 2-3 layers of weed matting to prevent the roots going down to deep to quick.

But definitely raised beds with irrigation

Was going to use Diomite but have heard that it no longer suitable, so started looking expanded clay or 5-10 ml scoria, pine bark fines and river sand?

I was also going to leave sacrificial branch on each one to help fatten up the bases quicker?

[shibui]

The components you are talking about will be quite expensive for anything more than a little raised bed. As I only grow in natural soil I can't offer any advice on how those components will work but they are really just a bonsai mix and a very large pot so should be fine as long as you can keep the water and fert up to the trees.
I went looking for scoria last week and was told it is very hard to get at the moment, at least where I am.

Plastic/weed mat is not really essential. If you root prune well at planting the trees will usually rely mostly on lateral roots which is what we want. Some roots will go down but are easily dealt with when you dig. A base layer will probably make lifting the trees a bit easier at the end but unless the bed is really shallow you will still need to prune vertical roots in the end.
A really shallow bed probably defeats much of the advantage of ground growing IMHO.

Sacrifice branches are definitely useful when growing pines. It is critical that enough growing points are retained low so you can develop a bonsai after the sacrifice branches are removed. I assume you know enough about pine growth to manage them while they are in the ground?

[Ryceman3]

Not much to add that hasn’t already been said but in case you need another perspective :
I planted out JBP (and other pines) last year into their own bits of dirt (no real soil additives, apart from fert & some coir as the base soil was basically sand).... they grew like stink. More development than those left in pots definitively.
Sacrifice branches are essential... just make sure growth below is not the part sacrificed.
JBP are a fun game... always learning!

[Figman]

Thank you all for your advice, I have been doing a lot of research and really appreciate the time you've taken to reply.

My focus is really well draining soil, full sun and correct pruning...

I have 2 acres so I am going to plants lots in the future..

I think I am going to grow in mounded beds like 10 cubes of mix as discussed with irrigation and prune accordingly with sacrificial branches..

Thanks for replying and will post photo updates for others to observe my mistakes and failures

PS. bulk irrigation supplies; any recommendations?

Cheers Mark

[tinto]

sounds perfect, will be good to see how they develop compared to pot grown,I would add some slow release tree food.

[tinto]

so lucky to have open space to develop trees, good luck!