Autumn

FredL

Here in the Ozarks we are only a few days from Fall, with its blessed relief from the heat of the last two months. We've had a couple of days of wet, cool weather and the trees look mightily pleased with it, with many of them taking off with growth spurts after being pretty well quiesced for July and August.

I'm excited, coming into Fall. I will get my yard much better organized in the next two or three months. I'm taking all trees out of my vegetable garden, which will be for vegetables only next year, and replanting them in the 100' grow bed that I have developed for trees only along my back retaining wall or in grow boxes. I develop a grow bed by removing the dirt to a depth of about 18-24", filling it with whatever organic material I have (Landscape prunings, kitchen waste, weeds from the gardens, etc.) then replacing the soil and letting nature take its course. In the course of a couple of years of doing this, my garden or grow beds become very fertile and vegetables or trees grow very quickly indeed in them. I will also be moving a number of one year old seedlings into my new grow bed from the containers I started them in this past Spring, as well as some other younger trees in pots or grow boxes that I think could profit from a year or two in the ground.

My experience is that, in this area, as long as you refrain from substantial pruning, either roots or branches, it's pretty easy to pot, repot or put into the ground most deciduous species. I've had bad luck with conifers. I do not know why the difference, but I will leave all repotting of Pines and Junipers until Spring. Excessive pruning results in major new growth, with the result that the tree has large amounts of very tender new growth exposed to Winter cold. Caused some serious die off in the past for me.

I now have the population of trees that I want. I suppose I have 400 trees, including seedlings and and newly sprouted root cuttings. I am really looking forward to next Spring because I have lots of work to do as some of my trees begin to reach the "Potensai" stage. If I do any collecting, it will only be of really desirable trees with very clear potential as bonsai. The only really tough decision will be what to do with the new Hophornbeam and Cherry volunteers in my garden and in the landscaping gravel. "Take me, take me!" they seem to say and it's hard to explain that I have too much immature material now! I really should begin to discard some of my younger material, but its like deciding which of my children to give up!

Regards, Fred

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