AusBonsai

See for yourself..... This Ash is healthy, neglected a little, due for a repot soon. With poor poor nebari.... Advice would be great please...

Hi NS, cant see the roots to the rear but i would be looking at taking thigher roots off(the rootsabove other roots), and get it into the gound or a fairly large pot to grow on. With good growth those existing roots should thicken nicely underground and start to form you a good nerabi..also chop ot the tap root if its still there,, hope that helps,,,Craig

cheers craig . thats the main option! getting it into a grow pot next repot. its a pitty i wrecked any chance for exsisting nebari!! one of my first trees so understand. it may end up destroyed!, with the trunk how it is now already... Or it could end up fitting eye. With a twist of fate, who knows....
art is chocolate perception.

Hey NS,

Like Craig said, chop that root off that looks too high. Apart from that, as far as I can see the nebari isn't looking too bad at all.

NaturalSelection wrote:cheers craig . thats the main option! getting it into a grow pot next repot. its a pitty i wrecked any chance for exsisting nebari!! one of my first trees so understand. it may end up destroyed!, with the trunk how it is now already... Or it could end up fitting eye. With a twist of fate, who knows....
art is chocolate perception.

Hi NS, like Mitchell said the nerabi will be fine ,it look sad but ok You haven't ruined your tree so don't be too worried, like i said make sure that the main tap root is GONE, that way the radial roots will pull the base of the trunk out. All those roots will grow/thicken nicely over time. I personally wouldn't cut back the roots at all when you repot. just leave them to grow and cut them back in a year or so.By leaving the roots alone, the tree will not need to expend energy growing new ones and tree should be more vigourous this season, water and feed well...I have a few Ash trees -Excelsior and Claret ash- and they are some of my favorites,, so just keep at it and you'll be fine keep us posted-, gd luck Craig

if you think you need to develop better nebari you could stick it in the ground for a year or so and strap a small piece of plywood board to the bottom under the roots to give it nice nebari spread, if you know what your doing it works a treat

To improve nebari like this you could try:
1 - cover the roots and base of tree with potting mix - a.Roots seem to thicken better when covered and; b. no new roots will ever develop while the base of the tree is uncovered.
2 induce new roots between existing roots by removing bark and treating with rooting substance or try 'toothpick treatment' (look for details elsewhere) which is a modification of encouraging roots by removing bark.
3. graft new roots.

This type of material appears to be a result of not cutting back roots to encourage root ramification in the early development of the bonsai. If it was a trident maple I would cut all vertical roots off completely and shorten all lateral roots to perhaps 1 or 2 trunk diameters long to force existing roots to ramify and probably force new roots from the trunk. However it is an ask and I'm not familiar enough with the root sprouting potential to say this would work on an ash!

At the very least cover the roots. There's plenty of time to expose the nebari when it has developed into something worth seeing.

NS instead of a flat piece wood or slab. Bury the whole lot over an upturned plate, that way you get roots that spread out in the nice way, but also grip the soil instead of just sitting there flat.

Cheers Pup

G`day NS , I don`t see to many major problems with your nebari, other than it needs to grow . What may be worth considering as an idea is air layering the top off, the trunk is a lot thicker from halfway up the tree. By doing this you would find the nebari would be in more proportion with the rest of the tree, and you would also gain another tree . I have done a similar thing to what pup is suggesting, with figs what I do is plant them in seed trays. It is amazing how much their nebari develops. In the virt I have not moved the trunks so you can see the difference in thickness, just a few options to consider.
Cheers Rod.......

much more to think about! much thanks for the replies!

Hi,
I agree with Rod. From the first knob which is above the the first series of branches the trunk appears to have a nice taper all the way up to the leader. You would be able to develop a great bonsai out of the top section.

Regards Ray

Rod wrote: In the virt I have not moved the trunks so you can see the difference in thickness, just a few options to consider.
Cheers Rod.......

Over the past few days i have been seriously considering and researching this option! It will be my first air layer so im pretty anxious!

Iv thanked everyone for their feedback but i want to thank you directly rod for the Great Virt! And for opening my eyes to the possibility! Cheers Mate

Here is the virt again people! Straight to the pool room! Cheers LKL

hi mate

Definately a great plan, Rod has some great design skill and I agree with his virt, definately the way to go. Air layers are quite simple and straight forward but it is always a little nerve racking when its your first, take your time doing it, there isnt a rush, try and keep it as clean and neat as possible. If you search for one of Flybri's post you will find a thread of a river redgum that he airlayered, he used some tile wedges under the bark to help give the new trees lower trunk more interest and flair. whatever you do with an airlayer though is to keep it moist, dont let it dry out and you should be good. if you are still getting frosts though i would hold off till spring and make sure there arent any late frosts.

I dont think there is anything wrong with the nebari on the tree as is, even the slightly higher roots, this wont hurt as when it thickens and grows it will pull the lower trunk out creating a nice flair, that nebari is going to be great for this!

good luck and keep us posted!

jamie

Cheers Jamie, i had a look at some of your work.. great stuff mate! wow!
I will keep anyone who is interested posted...

Information on Ash bonsai and Ash in general seems to be limited and foreign, id like to confirm this is an ash!
Also knowing the type would be great! Can anyone help?
Has anyone experience with them?

cheers LKL

G`day NS I pleased you like my idea, good luck I hope it works for you. Two great trees coming up !
Cheers Rod.....