Grow Beds

FredL

Just put one of my 4 year old Hophornbeams (Ostrya Virginiana) into my growbed. It's probably fine, but looks a little peaked and unhealthy. This seems to be commonplace for end of the Summer Hornbeams here, but this one looks a little worse than most and I'd hate to lose it. I'll probably do the same with three or four Amur Maples that just haven't come out of repotting and pruning the way I think they should have.They are part of the crop of sedlings that have grown from seeds I collected from trees in one of our local shopping malls two years ago.

The main thing I wanted to send in about is the spectacular growth my trees are achieving in my growbed. My two year old Amur Maples are now 6 to 7 feet tall despite having been transplanted twice; once soon after they sprouted and then again this past Spring. Results with Privet, Hophornbeam, Persimmon, Hackberry, Peaches grown from pits from fruit we bought inthe local supermarket, Hawthorne and others are just as spectacular. I guess I have about 200 trees in my bed. Next Spring they will have to be thinned. I can only hope I can find homes for the many that will otherwise have to be discarded.

I am finding also that it is a very good idea to correct the roots of young, fast growing trees every year. A year in the growbed, a year in a pot is a good idea. Perhaps it slows their growth down, but my experience indicates that poorly formed root systems become increasingly difficult to correct as they get older.

Grow beds are turning out, at least, in fertile, well-watered soil, to give spectacular results in moving seedlings to the stage of being legitimate "Bonsai Starters". I am also finding that frequently, trees that don't seem to be doing well potted will recover to good health if put back in a growbed.

When I started out, 3 years ago, I decided to think in terms of 10 years to produce good, solid, Bonsai. Three years into it, I am very pleased at what I'm developing. Growbeds are proving to be a big part of accomplishing this successfully.

Fred

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Adam_MA

Fred,
This is encouraging news. Do you happen to have any pictures of your grow beds? Or any more specific information about the conditions you provide for these trees? Soil, water, feed etc.

Thanks
Adam

FredL

Adam, I promise to send in a picture or two. Gosh, by this time I should have sent in alot of pictures, especially of some of my trees that really are at a stage where they should be getting initial styling - and Heavens knows, I could sure use some help with that! The thing is, at the point I finally got out of Computer Systems Development, I found myself "technology aversive". I think I burned out certain critical neurons or thinking centers in my brain and I now just hate to figure out anything with any technical difficulty at all. It's a major effort for me to chnge the battaries in my garage door opener, much less figure out how to get digital photos in to Bonsaitalk!

However, a promise is a promise and I now owe you a picture or two of my rather large bonsai growbed.

As to how I do it: I got all my ideas from my years vegetable gardening.

First, I collect all our kitchen garbage, shrub clippings, weeds pulled from the garden, old newspaper.....basicly anything organic. This includes (I was almost lynched on another site for saying this, so it's just between me and you) meat scraps from the kitchen, dead mice the cat brings home and fish entrails or even fish from my fishing trips that we don't get around to eating (I based this on the use of fish in Native American corn farming). So, it is just about everything. I then dig the soil out of 3 or 4 feet of my bed to a depth of about 18" or so and pile everything into the hole, up to about level with the previous surface. Then, I replace the soil. Which results in the soil, at least for awhile, being mounded into a sort of "raised bed". I keep doing this, progressively moving down the length of the bed untill it has been entirely composted. I try to repeat this process annually. I think this process is called "trench composting".

When I am ready to plant my newly collected trees, seedlings, whatever, I use a cultivator to break up and level the bed, then plant.

Actually, it takes a couple or three seasons for this to produce really rich beds. The first year, about all you've accomplished is to bring the subsoil to the surface so I guess it's questionable how much good you've really done. Ah, but Bonsai is not really about the next 12 months. At least, not for me.

I've found there is quite a difference between those parts of my bed that gets watered regularly and those that rely on natural rainfall that the sprinkler doesn't reach. So, regular watering between rain falls is the only other thing that's of real importance. Well, except for dealing with insect damage. That's a pretty big issue here in NW Arkansas and while not often really critical, can make a difference.

I guess that's about all there is to it.

Fred

Attila

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

RedPine

Hello,

I went out to Freds' place about aweek ago, met his family and had a look at his material. Things are looking good out there.I don't know too much about outdoor Bonsai growing, so I can't offer any advise. But I can say Fred is a heck of a guy!! And he has some plenty of cool looking trees!! I left Freds' house w/ about 15 Persimmon,10 Privets,10 Hawthorns, a couple of maples and elms, I also think I may of gotten one of those dead rodents as-well.- lol - . He has also offered to help me get some more collected stuff. I didn't really visit just for free trees of course. I was just excited about Bonsai people in my area, and just looking at his stuff was well worth the trip. He has plenty of stuff I would have( out of eagerness) put into bonsai pots and started styling.I look forward to seeing his set up again.

Wow!! - Fred, Thank You!!

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Adam_MA

Fred,
Thanks for the information. I look forward to those pics!

Orn,
Sounds like you had a great time. Aren't bonsai people the best!

Adam

FredL

Why gee, Orn, thanks! Hope to see you again, soon.

Attila, thanks for the tip. I wonder if growth slows down after a few years. Also, do you think there are any negatives for Bonsai associated with ultra-fast growth? Is the wood softer? Does it matter? Does it result in internodes being too long? Once again, does it matter if you're planning to chop the trunk anyway?

I find that no matter how big your bed is or how many you have, it's incredibly easy to fill them up with bargains from Lowe's and Walmart, trees recovering from potting misadventures, collected trees and new seedlings. Can you comment on spacing trees in your growbed. Do you plant them pretty closely, figuring that you'll chop the trunks anyway or do you try to give your trees enough space for considerable branch development?

Fred

Attila

Fred,

There is not much disadvantage in fast growth since at the early stages what you are working on is the root base and the basic trunk shape. You cut back about twice a year to encourage very low branch development and then do consecutive trunk chops and pick new leaders. Going through this process every year eventually leads to the trunk-shape and taper you want.

The lenght of the internodes becomes an issue when you work on secondary and tertiary branching. At that point, you work with the tree already planted in the pot.

As to spacing, I usually space the pencil-sized ones about one foot apart. As they get thicker, it grows to a foot and a half. I don't have as much space as I would like to have, so I think this is still to dense, but the main thing I am concerned about is to check each tree that it has enough light for healthy growth. For instance, if I notice that a pine seedling is blocked by a large branch of another tree, I would trim that branch to let more light onto the seedling.

Attila