Lars Grimm
Chumono
Hi All,
This is my first real season potting up collected and field grown trees. I was able to get some massive American Hornbeams (trunks from 6-10 inches) as well as some large tridents and japanese maples. I thought I would share some of what I have learned with those new to the process. Hopefully there are not too many black pearls, but I have no doubt people will jump in if they disagree with something =). Please note that these tips are only for deciduous and obviously local climates and species will vary.
In no particular order:
1. The most important thing is survival. You can do some basic structural shaping of major branches but don't go nuts as you are going to need to regrow most branches anyway. You want that newly collected tree in a pot as soon as possible and you will have years ahead of you to work on branch structure.
2. Don't be too afraid of aggressive root pruning. I repotted a few trees myself and was so scared of taking off many roots that I left a lot of thicker roots long. Then, I worked with a senior club member who collects a lot of trees and he cut things back almost all the way to the trunk with a chainsaw. In retrospect I am going to have to go back in a couple years and prune some of these roots back even harder again. It is almost better to know if the tree is going to survive up front than do piecemeal heavy insults every couple years.
3. Make sure your final root cuts are very clean and sharp. You want new fine root growth from all of your big cuts and one import factor is ensuring that you have really clean cambial edges. You can use a rough saw but then go over the edges with a sharp tool. I really like using a pull knife used for carving to quickly clean up the edges.
4. Do not move your newly potted trees. Once you have pruned off all the major roots, the tree is very vulnerable. Fine new root growth will happen within 24 hours but if you move the tree even small shifts will damage these tiny roots. Remember, the tree is mostly being held in place by your wire. Put the tree in a place where it can stay protected for the next couple months.
5. You don't need fancy bonsai soil for new trees. Newly collected trees require a lot of soil and you don't need to break the bank getting that perfect mix of fancy Japanese soil. The most important thing is that it is freely draining. I ended up using a bunch of expanded shale (Permatil) from my local hardware store mixed with some sifted reused bonsai soil.
6. Making the perfect sized wooden box is fun but might not be worth the effort. I really enjoy cutting and working lumber to make pretty boxes with handles but if you have a lot of material it might not be worth the effort. Old nursery tubs work great also and won't break the bank.
7. Buds can move from swelling to extending fast! I had a week of vacation so I was able to look at all my trees very closely and I almost missed my window on a couple.
8. Bring a buddy. Having an extra pair of hands and shovels makes all the difference in the world. We were able to dig up a 12 inch hornbeam in 15 minutes without too much effort.
9. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Remember, if you dig it up you need to haul it out. We almost got a little overzealous with a large beech that weighed a ton.
I might add more things if they come to me, but I hope these help some of the newer members.
Lars
This is my first real season potting up collected and field grown trees. I was able to get some massive American Hornbeams (trunks from 6-10 inches) as well as some large tridents and japanese maples. I thought I would share some of what I have learned with those new to the process. Hopefully there are not too many black pearls, but I have no doubt people will jump in if they disagree with something =). Please note that these tips are only for deciduous and obviously local climates and species will vary.
In no particular order:
1. The most important thing is survival. You can do some basic structural shaping of major branches but don't go nuts as you are going to need to regrow most branches anyway. You want that newly collected tree in a pot as soon as possible and you will have years ahead of you to work on branch structure.
2. Don't be too afraid of aggressive root pruning. I repotted a few trees myself and was so scared of taking off many roots that I left a lot of thicker roots long. Then, I worked with a senior club member who collects a lot of trees and he cut things back almost all the way to the trunk with a chainsaw. In retrospect I am going to have to go back in a couple years and prune some of these roots back even harder again. It is almost better to know if the tree is going to survive up front than do piecemeal heavy insults every couple years.
3. Make sure your final root cuts are very clean and sharp. You want new fine root growth from all of your big cuts and one import factor is ensuring that you have really clean cambial edges. You can use a rough saw but then go over the edges with a sharp tool. I really like using a pull knife used for carving to quickly clean up the edges.
4. Do not move your newly potted trees. Once you have pruned off all the major roots, the tree is very vulnerable. Fine new root growth will happen within 24 hours but if you move the tree even small shifts will damage these tiny roots. Remember, the tree is mostly being held in place by your wire. Put the tree in a place where it can stay protected for the next couple months.
5. You don't need fancy bonsai soil for new trees. Newly collected trees require a lot of soil and you don't need to break the bank getting that perfect mix of fancy Japanese soil. The most important thing is that it is freely draining. I ended up using a bunch of expanded shale (Permatil) from my local hardware store mixed with some sifted reused bonsai soil.
6. Making the perfect sized wooden box is fun but might not be worth the effort. I really enjoy cutting and working lumber to make pretty boxes with handles but if you have a lot of material it might not be worth the effort. Old nursery tubs work great also and won't break the bank.
7. Buds can move from swelling to extending fast! I had a week of vacation so I was able to look at all my trees very closely and I almost missed my window on a couple.
8. Bring a buddy. Having an extra pair of hands and shovels makes all the difference in the world. We were able to dig up a 12 inch hornbeam in 15 minutes without too much effort.
9. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Remember, if you dig it up you need to haul it out. We almost got a little overzealous with a large beech that weighed a ton.
I might add more things if they come to me, but I hope these help some of the newer members.
Lars
