Quote:
Originally posted by FredL
A year in the growbed, a year in a pot is a good idea. Perhaps it slows their growth down
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Very good point about correcting the roots while they are young.
And alternating between growth bed and pot is the answer.
I just want to make one objection if I may. One year in the ground is and one year in the pot is going too fast.
I did that quite a while until I've figured out that it's much better to leave the trees in the gound at least two years uninterrupted, preferably three before swithching to pot culture.
Doing that, I've accomplished more in 3 years than in the previous 6. Leaving the roots grow longer into ground also leads to a much thicker nebari.
So, I would never go back to the 1year/1 year formula.
Doing 2yr/1yr for fast-going trees and 3yrs/1yr for the slow ones works the best in my experience.
To me, one of the most exciting times is when digging out my trees from the ground and pruning the roots before potting them.
When working with young trees on a long-term project, roots that look anything-other-than-perfect are not acceptable. That means, you must be doing something wrong. Normally, after a few seasons in the pot and in the ground, they are a delight to look at.
Attila