Bonsai Myth Busters

[Greth]

True, Ozzy, and some even live inside the cells of the roots, they aren't gonna mind a bath.

[Bretts]

So is there any reason to inoculate?

[Greth]

Its probably not a bad idea to keep some soil/mix moving with the plant.
David Attenborough's 'Private Life of Plants' had some very interesting information on the relationships of plants with soil microorganisms, think this is an area which still needs a lot of research, it's a way complex world down in that soil, and poorly understood as yet.
Helping yourself to soil samples from particularly healthy specimens at shows is probably a practice to be frowned upon though, .

[bonscythe]

by Bretts » 11 minutes ago

So is there any reason to inoculate?

It's not always the good species that can harbour inside & around the root cells unfortunately.
I don't know alot about innoculation but my best guess would be that it gives the beneficial genera a bit of a head start on the nastier ones, and as soil pasteurisation/sterilisation are basically out of the question, it might be the only way to introduce a viable strain of beneficial microbes.
Cheers

[Bretts]

Ok try this one. At re-pot time you find very little mycorrhizal fungi compared to the previous repot where the mycorrhizal fungi was very abundant. Here is the clue. Maybe it was too abundant.

[bonscythe]

Maybe, or maybe something else happened..
I don't think I know what your getting at?
I'm guessing you mean you have had a beneficial microbe population decline after repotting?

[Bretts]

Could go either way maybe after having very little mycorrhizal fungi you have an abundance, maybe too much (that clue again)
Is an abundance of(benificial) mycorrhizal fungi always a good thing?

[bonscythe]

One would assume so, although it is a very interesting point you raise. Bear in mind, most mycorrhizal relationships are symbiotic and thus the microbes need the plant to survive too, so I don't know if they could be too abundant.
Measuring/testing it would be a nightmare though
Now I've got some tough questions for those 'in the know', wonder what the academics will give in response

[Greth]

Ive worked in a soil biology laboratory, its not particularly difficult to measure these things, but certainly time consuming.
The test is :how healthy was the plant when the microrhizal population was apparently high? and when it was low? The tree will tell you if its ok.

[ozzy]

This whole microbiology thing is another field altogether, I saw a show on the ABC the other day about a scientist that was going around farmers paddocks reintroducing micro organisms to the soil that had been all but wiped out after decades of poor farm practices and pesticides, had very good results once he'd reestablished the original micro organisms.

[Luke]

That! There, Is interesting stuff! i dont know if anyone here has grown veg/fruit, but from 'slight' experience, my food tastes way better than anything mass produced!
although i am most probably biased seeming as i grew and watched every step of the process. (my babys).
Anywho...
Has anyone ever grown bonsai in a hydroponic system???? i grow hydro cucumbers for pickles as a hobby(outdoors), and will be setting up a aqua-ponic system with silver perch soon... funds allowing!
Has anyone had experience with hydroponic bonsais? more to the point, are there any myths about hydro bonsais out there?
*luke*

[Bretts]

http://www.bonsaivault.com/Mycorrhizae_POLV.html
A paragraph from Colin Lewis' article on Mycorrhizae

Almost all plants benefit in nature from mycorrizal association of one kind or another. Although mycorrhizae are by no means essential to the well-being of any plant, their associations are of a tremendous benefit in less than ideal circumstances. For example a tree planted in a fertile, moist yet well drained soil with a good supply of readily available nutrients will already be growing at it's maximum rate with maximum healt and so has little need of mycorriza. Indeed as we will see later, mycorrhizal fungi would probably not survive for long in such conditions anyway. On the other hand, trees planted in marginal conditions would probably not survive without mycorrhiza and it is in these conditions that mycorrhyzae will thrive.

So my understanding is that although Mycorrhizae is very good stuff any tree can live without it. Also If you don't have any in your bonsai pot don't panic maybe your soil conditions are already as good asd they can be. If you have alot of it maybe you could improve the soil conditions

As Grant noted in another thread(hope I get this right) He found some Junipers that had not been fertilised enough and where a little poorly had an abundance of Mycorrhizae. The healthy ones that where fertilised well did not!

[Joel]

"You need organic matter in the mix for a tree to survive" is one ive busted. Well not exactly, i guess it still needs its roots? But then again, what about aeroponics?

Joel

[Luke]

Aeroponics is bubbles in water beneath the roots, could work??? anyone know?
*luke*

[aaron_tas]

well i do remember kingston (bonsai environment) had an aloe vera living in water for quite some time, don't know what became of it tho...