Applying Bonsai Techniques and Knowledge to Landscape Situations

[Orion_metalhead]

A discussion on the effectiveness, plausibility, and challeneges of applying bonsai techniques to landscape situations.

Id like to experiment with things such as using wiring techniques to train landscape shrubs and trees.

What potential soil ammendments and fertilization used in bonsai can be applied to landscape environments?

Can continuous root work to landscape plants result in longevity and better health for specimen landscapr trees and plants?

Thoughts????

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Can continuous root work to landscape plants result in longevity and better health for specimen landscapr trees and plants?

I've read articles on fruit production and especially in older orchards the rejuvenation of root systems can make plants way more productive. But it was a cost vs. Labor thing: it's still cheaper to plant new stock than to wait a year for recovery.

 

[Cajunrider]

A discussion on the effectiveness, plausibility, and challeneges of applying bonsai techniques to landscape situations.

Id like to experiment with things such as using wiring techniques to train landscape shrubs and trees.

What potential soil ammendments and fertilization used in bonsai can be applied to landscape environments?

Can continuous root work to landscape plants result in longevity and better health for specimen landscapr trees and plants?

Thoughts????

Your thought is similar to Niwaki. Look it up.

Instead of using wire, most of the time twine is used to shape the trees.

 

[Shibui]

Beware of coiling wire to shape landscape trees. They grow much quicker than most bonsai and swallow the wires in just a few months. Guy wires and ties can only move branches in one direction but are much safer for the tree.
Fertilizer for landscape trees is well studied and documented. They don't usually need the same fert regime as bonsai because we don't water as often so nutrient leaching is less.

 

[Paradox]

The soil landscape trees are in also retain fertilizer better than bonsai soil so they need to be fed less.

I question how much root work a tree would need if it's not going to need repotting. We do root work on bonsai to promote roots closer to the trunk and to keep them in a pot.

Would pruning be enough to keep it in shape without resorting to digging them up?

I suppose one could go around the base of the tree with a shovel to cut any extending roots once a year but not sure how necessary it would be.

We shape hedges and topiary plants all the time without doing any root work at all

 

[BobbyLane]

Your thought is similar to Niwaki. Look it up.

Instead of using wire, most of the time twine is used to shape the trees.

This is what I thought too.

 

[Haines' Trees]

Beware of coiling wire to shape landscape trees. They grow much quicker than most bonsai and swallow the wires in just a few months.

Can confirm this! I have used wire to try to set a new leader on landscape trees. The faster growth rate of landscape trees was demonstrated very quickly. The flip side of this issue: the bite marks grew out before the season was over. It took heavy gauge wire to move the branch and the shape didn’t stick, so I felt it was a wasted exercise.

 

[snowman04]

Just got this from Amazon and it's got a lot of what you are talking about in it...

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Just got this from Amazon and it's got a lot of what you are talking about in it...

Awesome will have to get this.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Can confirm this! I have used wire to try to set a new leader on landscape trees. The faster growth rate of landscape trees was demonstrated very quickly. The flip side of this issue: the bite marks grew out before the season was over. It took heavy gauge wire to move the branch and the shape didn’t stick, so I felt it was a wasted exercise.

What species? How long before the branch grew out of shape?

 

[Cajunrider]

What species? How long before the branch grew out of shape?

Anyone who has ever worked on farm fences know that trees quickly grow around and swallow up fence wire in less than a season. It doesn't matter what species of trees. I've seen pines, oaks, fruit trees etc. grow around wires from fences. In some cases, it only takes one summer growing season.

 

[rockm]

It's worth doing some actual research on this since the Japanese have been doing it for centuries. FWIW, pines ARE handled similarly to bonsai, but not with root work. Candles are trimmed and reduced, for example. For deciduous trees, directional pruning is used.

Midoritsumi and Momiage – Pruning Pines

Pines in Japanese gardens are pruned twice a year. In my company in Germany, where we hadn't so much time, we only did all the tasks together once in early summer, which is possible too, but not desirable. Here in Japan, my first company did both, Midoritsumi in early summer, and Momiage in late...

realjapanesegardens.wordpress.com

A Lesson on Pine Trees - Gresham Japanese Garden

www.greshamjapanesegarden.org

Candling: The Art of Japanese Pine Pruning — Seattle Japanese Garden

You may notice at this time of year pine trees are covered with prominent upright buds at the branch tips. These are called candles, and they are the spring growth of the tree.

www.seattlejapanesegarden.org

Gardening: The art of Japanese pruning

A few weeks ago I traveled to Shin-Boku Nursery in Wentworth, New Hampshire, to attend an all-day workshop on...

www.providencejournal.com

Pruning shrubs in Japanese gardens (karikomi)

Karikomi is a special design and pruning technique in a Japanese garden which is often seen done with plants of the Rhododendron family in Japan. It is separated into the usual karikomi and o-karikomi - a larger element in the garden put together by more than one shrub. What I want to talk about...

realjapanesegardens.wordpress.com

Course of “tamamono” and “karikomi” creation – Niwaki et Niwashi

Shearing of Tamamono: Tips & Tricks - North American Japanese Garden Association

najga.org

 

[Cajunrider]

It's worth doing some actual research on this since the Japanese have been doing it for centuries. FWIW, pines ARE handled similarly to bonsai, but not with root work. Candles are trimmed and reduced, for example. For deciduous trees, directional pruning is used.

Midoritsumi and Momiage – Pruning Pines

Pines in Japanese gardens are pruned twice a year. In my company in Germany, where we hadn't so much time, we only did all the tasks together once in early summer, which is possible too, but not desirable. Here in Japan, my first company did both, Midoritsumi in early summer, and Momiage in late...

realjapanesegardens.wordpress.com

A Lesson on Pine Trees - Gresham Japanese Garden

www.greshamjapanesegarden.org

Candling: The Art of Japanese Pine Pruning — Seattle Japanese Garden

You may notice at this time of year pine trees are covered with prominent upright buds at the branch tips. These are called candles, and they are the spring growth of the tree.

www.seattlejapanesegarden.org

Gardening: The art of Japanese pruning

A few weeks ago I traveled to Shin-Boku Nursery in Wentworth, New Hampshire, to attend an all-day workshop on...

www.providencejournal.com

Pruning shrubs in Japanese gardens (karikomi)

Karikomi is a special design and pruning technique in a Japanese garden which is often seen done with plants of the Rhododendron family in Japan. It is separated into the usual karikomi and o-karikomi - a larger element in the garden put together by more than one shrub. What I want to talk about...

realjapanesegardens.wordpress.com

Course of “tamamono” and “karikomi” creation – Niwaki et Niwashi

Shearing of Tamamono: Tips & Tricks - North American Japanese Garden Association

najga.org

I am planning to do Niwaki in the yard once I move to PA. Right now it looks to be Spring 2025.

 

[shohin_branches]

It's worth doing some actual research on this since the Japanese have been doing it for centuries. FWIW, pines ARE handled similarly to bonsai, but not with root work. Candles are trimmed and reduced, for example. For deciduous trees, directional pruning is used.

Midoritsumi and Momiage – Pruning Pines

Pines in Japanese gardens are pruned twice a year. In my company in Germany, where we hadn't so much time, we only did all the tasks together once in early summer, which is possible too, but not desirable. Here in Japan, my first company did both, Midoritsumi in early summer, and Momiage in late...

realjapanesegardens.wordpress.com

A Lesson on Pine Trees - Gresham Japanese Garden

www.greshamjapanesegarden.org

Candling: The Art of Japanese Pine Pruning — Seattle Japanese Garden

You may notice at this time of year pine trees are covered with prominent upright buds at the branch tips. These are called candles, and they are the spring growth of the tree.

www.seattlejapanesegarden.org

Gardening: The art of Japanese pruning

A few weeks ago I traveled to Shin-Boku Nursery in Wentworth, New Hampshire, to attend an all-day workshop on...

www.providencejournal.com

Pruning shrubs in Japanese gardens (karikomi)

Karikomi is a special design and pruning technique in a Japanese garden which is often seen done with plants of the Rhododendron family in Japan. It is separated into the usual karikomi and o-karikomi - a larger element in the garden put together by more than one shrub. What I want to talk about...

realjapanesegardens.wordpress.com

Course of “tamamono” and “karikomi” creation – Niwaki et Niwashi

Shearing of Tamamono: Tips & Tricks - North American Japanese Garden Association

najga.org

Thank you for the resources. Will Radler who has a few bonsai was asking me about Niwaki last week and I was trying to find him a few resources. He has a nice Japanese maple collection, and of course, the most beautiful garden in the area.

 

[LuZiKui]

One thing I was just reading about is the necessity of some preliminary root work before a landscape tree goes into the ground. I'll have to see if I can dig up the article I was reading, but here in Southern California they are noticing that a lot of 50-60 year old cork oak trees are getting weak and dying out. The theory is that this is around the time they started using smooth walled growing cans that promoted the roots to circle. These trees were then planted and eventually the circling roots started to kill out the trees.

I would imagine that as long as you do a little root work to eliminate circling roots and try to make sure that for the most part the roots are spread out radially, you shouldn't need to do much to the roots, especially not during our lifetime.