Trident seedling group

[kvan64]

This is my second attempt at group planting. I also have trouble with this no matter how many times people've tried to help with suggestions like having odd number of trees, put them in perspective with the main tree at front and contour the soil. I guess this time my homemade crack pot seems too small. Maybe they looks better on slabs? I just made some small shallow pots. Hope that they fit!

[Bougy Fan]

Hi DK I am becoming more intrigued by groups. I do think it would look much better on a slab or shallow tray - it sits way too high. Have some undulation in the mix does make it look more natural. I do think smaller groups are harder to pull off - the more trees I think the eye has less time to settle on individual faults. Have a look at Harry Harringtons site bonsai4me - it has some useful tips. I also read some books on penjing which had some useful tips. My best so far has 21 trees in 3 groups. I do think it's hard to be successful as we are fighting against our nature to have things ordered and neat - our attempts at looking random are sometimes way off the mark.

Tony

[cuwire]

Hi Dk
I think your layout looks just fine, but it looks to me like you have a pad of roots sitting on top of a pad of soil in the pot.
Are the roots penetrating below the rim of the pot?? Also it looks like your watering has washed away too much of your mound of soil. I would re-pot into a deeper pot and check that the feeder roots have somewhere to go.
I am not an expert (not close) but it looks like one of my plantings that I lost.
But for me the placement of the trees looks good.
Cheers David

[shibui]

Great to see some people having a go at group plantings. Great to see you using trees of varying heights but I think it would look better if the taller trees were also thicker than the smaller ones. When putting groups together I try to use a couple of older trees for the main ones along with the smaller seedlings.

There is also a tendency to plant all the trees equidistant from each other and it looks like that has happened in this group. In a natural forest some trees grow close to others, some further away. It pays off to prepare trees a year or 2 ahead. Plant 2 or 3 seedlings in one pot, some with the trunk bases almost touching and let them grow on for a year then use them in your group the following winter. The same effect can be achieved by cutting almost all the roots off one side of a couple of seedlings so they can be planted closer together in the group.

Something else to bear in mind is the trunk shape and movement of the trees in the group. Groups do look more harmonious if all the trunks have a harmonious flow - not exactly the same, but similar in shape. Sometimes it is just a case of rotating the tree a little until the trunk movement matces the main tree a little better.
To get the best I find it is necessary to have at least twice as many trees to choose from as you intend in the group because some just will not fit properly.

Look forward to seeing future attempts at group planting.

And don't be frightened of taking a group apart and reassembling the trees in future years. The trees will all be more advanced and will produce better groups.

[kvan64]

That's very thorough shibui. Thank you very much for the valuable suggestions. Thank you Tony and David also I have quite few more trees that could be used to reform the group. The only problem is it's getting too hot currently. I may have to wait till early spring next year.

[shibui]

Here's what I mean by potting 2 or 3 seedlings in a single pot. These could go into groups in future years. Potted into 15 cm pots at 1 year, seedlings now 18 months.