Over potting vs. Ground planting

malik

Do you believe that planting a tree in a pot slightly larger each time you repot will allow the tree to grow just a strong as if it were in the ground? Please back up your opinions.

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lanig

I try to grow bonsai from seeds. As result, I have a lot of trees in the ground and a few tens in pots.
According to my experience, it is a mistake to think that planting in the ground will always bring fast grow. It depends maybe on your soil (mine is good) and very much on how much rain falls.
At my place, the last two years have be quite dry and tree growth have been slow except for my favorites which I watered.
In a pot, using adequate soil mix, chemical fertilizer and so on, one can grow easily trunks up to a diameter around one inch. Above that, I feel that the size of the pot you must use makes watering and more generally, care a little bit cumbersome and expensive.

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PatArizona

G'day Lanig...

You said "...except for my favorites which I watered...".

If your "favorites" need watering...so do the rest of the in-ground trees.

Isn't it counter productive to "not water" the "others" when there is not enough rain fall?

It occurs to me that if your don't have enough time to water all of your trees, you should EITHER provide and automatic watering system, OR you have too many trees.

I really don't see the point in "planting" the trees if if they are not going to get adequate water.

My thoughts...

Pat

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lanig

The point is that the last two years have been quite exceptionnal. There is normally far more rain during the growing season.

Moreover, I have quite a relatively large garden planted with a few hundred trees. Some of them have a already worked nebari and are marked. I also prune them from time to time. I intend to dig them up after 5, 10 or 15 only *if* I feel they are worth it. I don't really mind them growing a little bit slowly or even not eventually becoming a bonsai because they need very very little work and anyway I want to turn most of my land into a little wood.

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anttal63

my feeling and logic tells me that deeper in the ground there is elements we cant provide in a pot. one main factor roots being unrestricted to grow regardless of having a tile or such object underneath them, they can travel outwards without tangle and reach for the depths. on the other hand there are trees that can thrive more in the condition control of a pot. these trees dont like to to be wet for fear of drownig or growth retardation (example juniper squamata). but can be done in the ground when you know what you are doing and the variables have been taken care of as much as possible. theres never an excuse to not water your trees when in need. i always wish for more rain because i see a difference with rain water. tanks are great for this reason. the real thing is always the best i think. after all that rambling i am in the process of looking for a new home with more land so that i can develope most of my trees in the ground. i will be setting up a fairly sofisticated grow area. so i favour ground. but pots and grow boxes do have a place.

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nsmar4211

At this point i mostly raise Portulacaria, which enjoy being partially rootbound (in my experience). I've got many in pots, big and small, and several dozen in the ground. From what I've seen, when I put a plant in a big big pot it just pretty much sits there as the roots colonize the pot. Once the roots hit the bottom, then it starts growing like mad! However, the plants in the ground seem to grow roots forever before top growth... the ones in bigger pots have a lot more diameter growth. We're talking cuttings here, I've not put a "real" plant in the ground yet. I do know Jim Smith has one in the ground, and it's HUGE... it's also been there for quite a while compared to my sparse 15 months for my cuttings.

For plants that don't like being rootbound, I'd vote the ground in my area (if the soil is decent). Why? Well, first off the temperature of the roots doesn't fluctuate as much as it does in a pot-feel the soil in a pot and then go the same depth in the ground. Down here in Florida, roots can easily get overheated in pots-takes a lot more to overheat in the ground (not to mention the roots will grow to cooler areas). Water level is more consistant too, overwatering in the ground would be alot harder than in a pot.
However, it does take a lot more water in the ground to reach the same degree of "wetness" than it would in a pot, something to consider when under water restrictions! Rain seems to be a distant memory around here (which means we're going to get walloped when it does start)....

So, I'd say, for any species that likes being a bit rootbound, go for the bigger pot/box. For anything else, the ground with decent growing soil .

bonsaikc

Countless bonsai growers around the world will tell you this:

Unless you want shohin trees, generally speaking, you must put them in the ground to achieve the biggest growth in the shortest time.

Here is a caveat to that statement. You must give proper care either way. If you can only care for trees properly in the pot, then you should grow them in the pot. Neglecting trees in the ground can pretty much undo whatever it is you are trying to achieve. Neglect them too long and you have to collect them as if they were wild.

Think of it like this: if pot culture were just as good as growing in the ground, no professional would ever put trees in the ground. Pot culture takes up a lot less space and can provide more plants per square foot than growing in the ground, hence is less costly and more profitable. Professionals grow in the ground for one reason: it shortens the length of time they must work the tree and therefore is more profitable.

But you have to know what you are doing.

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AMKhalid

you can get some impressive results in a pond basket training pot (looks like a normal pot with hundreds of small holes in it). Helps develop a vigorous root system and deals with some of the disadvantages of growing in the ground (neglect, unchecked root growth...). Anyways, I think if you are a good enough gardener and not afraid to fertilize you can get similar results to field growing in a well-aerated training pot...

bonsainotwar

We have all bought trees from commercial nursery growers,that have bases that measure a good three inches or more across,not around.I have bought a number of such trees,and I believe this is a nice size to stick in a bonsai pot,and start training.These trees have probably never been in the ground before you buy them.So unless it's been done for many years,like decades,or more,as with a collected tree,planting in the ground usually does not make too much of a diffrerence.