when to plant my hornbeam in a training pot

legatoistheman

I bought a 1 year old Korean Hornbeam from a bonsai nursery along with a training pot. The very knowledgable man who runs the nursery told me that i could plant it in the training pot when fall rolled around. I am new to this and unsure about everything so i just want to get a second opinion. When is a good time to plant this in a training pot? Is it big enough yet to do that?

I am also wondering when i should plant my other trees, a european hop hornbeam and a rockspray cotoneaster in a training pot.

The pictures of these trees are below

thanks

Attached Images

	Korean Hornbeam-low quality.jpg (71.4 KB, 71 views)
	European Hop Hornbeam-low quality.jpg (72.0 KB, 56 views)
	Rockspray Cotoneaster-low quality.jpg (71.7 KB, 67 views)

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Aaron_K

Hi Legato,

Personally, I'd skip the training container and slip pot the tree into the ground for a few years to really get some growth on it.

All the best,

Aaron

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legatoistheman

Thanks for the reply, but im not sure if my dad would really want me to plant them in the ground around the house. He has a very nice landscaped yard and it would ruin things. Any other suggestions on when i should plant these into a training pot, or if i should just let them grow for a while more in the pots they are already in?

any input would be appreciated

thanks
Legato

Repotter

Keep in mind that if you put these in a training pot now, it will slow the growth down compared to them being in the ground.
The next best thing is to put them in grow boxes, giving ample room for them to grow.

Right now they are mere twigs, and twigs don't make good bonsai.

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legatoistheman

Sounds good to me. But one question. What are grow boxes? Big pots so that they have room to expand? Im not quite sure what you mean by that. I can be patient and let them grow, thats fine, because i would rather have good bonsai than horrible looking bonsai so i agree with you, I just dont know what a grow box is...lol

Please reply and tell me what it is! Thanks!

Sterling

A grow box that I use is an old wine crate. I drilled holes in the bottom and put the plant in with some bonsai soil. All of my plants that I have done this with are groing really strong here in southern california. You don't have to put them into a box though. Any container that allows room for a large volume of root growth will help the plant thicken up. Given that there is still nothing better than the ground. I watched a bouganvillia stick that I bought fatten up from barely a one inch diameter to 3 1/4 inches in one growing season.

Bonsai Barry

Legato,
You mention that this tree is one year old. Are you sure its that age? It looks older to me.

Just curious.

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legatoistheman

Barry,

I'm fairly certain the hornbeam is one year old. The metal tag on the the plant says carpinus coreana 05. I didn't really ask the age of the tree though so you could be right.

Sterling,

thanks for clarifying what was meant by a grow box. I figured it was a huge pot with lots of room for the roots to grow in, i guess i wasnt too far off.

Joanie

You can make a wooden growing box very cheaply, and to whatever size you want. The main attribute of a wooden growing box is drainage. By leaving spaces between the bottom slats and covering them with wire mesh or something, you get wonderful drainage. Which means good roots.

Here is a link to one I built. If you search for "growing box" you will find a lot of information.

It's a good idea, and you will be pleased with the growth!

Joanie

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