Replanting My First Forest

Carl_Bergstrom

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I replanted a maple forest that I started from seedlings two years ago at a Peter Adams beginner workshop here in Seattle. This was the first forest planting that I tried.

At the risk of making public a relatively weak effort, I thought I'd share some pictures with you.

Here is the forest in the summer of 2001, a few months after it was planted. Twigs in a pot!

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Almost a year later, in May 2002. At my dear wife's requset, I'd added a few accent plants and a stone path to make it seem a little more interesting. The trees were being allowed to grow out; by the end of the summer, some of them had sent out whips five feet long.

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Carl_Bergstrom

Yesterday I decided it was time to repot, as the leaf buds were swelling and about to break. (Well, that and the fact that my wife and I are about to have our baby any day, so there'll be less time for bonsai later than there is now!)

The planting came out cleanly (that is its pot in the foreground.)

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Carl_Bergstrom

The entire pot was filled with vigorous but not-yet-potbound roots. This was the right year to repot!

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Carl_Bergstrom

I combed out the old soil (not a great soil, by the way - too fine and not well draining), revealing the plastic "scaffolding" that we used to lay out the forest.

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Carl_Bergstrom

Next I carefully cut away the plastic scaffolding, and separated the planting into a group of three trees, a group of two, and two smaller single trees. (Here the smaller ones are placed with the larger groups). I combed out the roots radially, and starting playing with positions in the pot.

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Carl_Bergstrom

The previous arrangement had a number of problems. The thickest trunk was in the back of a group. The smallest trees were in the front. The groups of trees were evenly spaced in nearly equilateral triangles.

To remedy these, I rotated the groups, moved one of the smaller trees to the back, and placed the other up against one of the larger trees. I filled in with soil (a mix of lava rock and bark - this is something of an experiment in and of itself), mounding the soil into two raised hills. I covered the surface with long-fibered moss to protect it from being disturbed during watering and to keep the surface roots more moist (this, too, is an experiment that I've not tried before.)

Here's the "finished" replanting.

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Carl_Bergstrom

Obviously this group is far, far, from truly finished. I'm not even sure it will ever be a decent forest. Right now, the trees are a bit too tall and way to straight for the planting; I think the next step is to reduce their heights and try to introduce some movement. I could see chopping back that big tree (front on the left) substantially. What do you think?

I'd love to hear comments from people. Please don't pull any punches! I don't really know what I'm doing and want to learn. I'd much rather hear "You moron, why did you ___?" than just "nice job."

With my best regards,
Old Mister Crow

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In love with trees

Jay

Hey Carl, good luck in the coming days!!

I too am far from an expert. I am trying a few forests myself 1)to learn how they work and why. and 2)they are a quicker way to a good looking Bonsai with far less expense.

As to your maple forest, it is coming along. The tallest tree does look like it has a little movement in it. I like the tree sizes, they are nicely shapped and differing in a realistic way. I think I would personally like to see a couple of additional trees in the left group, perhaps one to the far left and the other between what is now the visual first two left trees... but somewhat infront. To my eye this would give the larger grouping better presence and eliminate what appears to be too even a gap to the right and to the left of the last trees.

Jay

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing