From time to time I thought it would be a good idea to feature questions that have been asked of the Dr.Bonsai smartbot. Feel free to add your comments
Quote:
Hi Doc i recently bought 5 juniperus chinesis xmedia balauws about 1and a half feet tall half an inch trunk with a view to growing them in the ground to thicken them up but there has been very little new groth in the past 8 months if any are they just a very slow growing speices
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In my own experience, you would not expect in the first year, with most species, to see a huge difference between growing in the container or in the ground.
During the first years, the tree diverts a lot of its available energy to pushing out a root system that will enable it to grow more rapidly. It will need that root system to anchor it in the ground, and it will store a lot of energy in the roots for a spring push.
Ted Matson described this as a "sleep, creep, reap" situation where the first year, (the SLEEP year) not much is observed happening above ground. During the second year (CREEP) the root system expands quite a bit and the tree readies itself for growth. The third year (REAP) everything takes off like gangbusters.
Feel free to add your comments to "Growing in the Ground"