Beech forest soil

[Jrmcmich]

I got European beech trees to make a forest and was planning to place in wooden box to grow out since I dont have a chosen pot and assume good to get some growth. Just wondering if I should use a basic soil of perlite/coco coir or if better to use more a standard bonsai soil (A/P/L)? Not looking for soil war but wondering if it matters much at this stage to grow out. One downside of perlite is how light it is for keeping trees in place.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

It shouldn't matter too much. I prefer organic soils at early stages.
If you can replace the perlite with pumice, you have some more weight in the ground.

 

[Shibui]

Trees should grow well in either soil while in the grow box, provided you can manage watering and care to match the soil type.
It's usually not difficult to remove old soil and replace with whatever bonsai mix you prefer when it's time to move to a shallower pot.

I avoid perlite in potting mix for the very reason you mentioned plus pots tend to blow away with a light mix though that's less of a problem in a larger box.

 

[gschup]

One downside of perlite is how light it is for keeping trees in place.

Any thoughts appreciated.

In most cases, I think it's better to simply fix the tree in place with wire or any other method.

I still don't like perlite because it gets blown by the wind and floats on water.

 

[johng]

If your material is just seedlings, it is my opinion that you are better off developing the trees in separate pots as individual and 2-5 tree clumps for a couple years before assembling the group. You can more easily manage growth to create trunks of various diameters and heights when trees aren't in the same container. Starting a group planting with arranged young seedlings is an old technique that typically has poor results...It goes right along with the misinformed but long taught notion that you should only use trees in a group planting that won't work as individual trees.

 

[Jrmcmich]

Thanks…ended up using perlite/coir mix as I have more of that vs other and took decent amount to fill box. I will also say making a forest is not easy to get trees oriented and standing up as desired. Tried using large wire matrix to add smaller wires to hold trees but in hind sight think too slick and wooden sticks or chop sticks might have need easier to add some grip. Ended up adding rocks to add some security around trees until roots come in better.

 

[Jrmcmich]

If your material is just seedlings, it is my opinion that you are better off developing the trees in separate pots as individual and 2-5 tree clumps for a couple years before assembling the group. You can more easily manage growth to create trunks of various diameters and heights when trees aren't in the same container. Starting a group planting with arranged young seedlings is an old technique that typically has poor results...It goes right along with the misinformed but long taught notion that you should only use trees in a group planting that won't work as individual trees.

Well did it last night as group in box. Hoping they will grow out and possibly could separate down road to develop further. I had Thought about keeping some separate but did not at this time. Will keep this in mind

 

[Gabler]

I've had good results developing a flat nebari and then relying on that to keep the trees upright. Some will inevitably have flaws/gaps in the nebari, and I put those close together to create variation in spacing. Twin-trunk trees are nice for similar reasons. For others, I can either mesh the roots together like velcro, or I can space them farther apart. In the end, I find I don't need any wire. It's just there for security, in case I drop the pot or something.

 

[pandacular]

If your material is just seedlings, it is my opinion that you are better off developing the trees in separate pots as individual and 2-5 tree clumps for a couple years before assembling the group. You can more easily manage growth to create trunks of various diameters and heights when trees aren't in the same container. Starting a group planting with arranged young seedlings is an old technique that typically has poor results...It goes right along with the misinformed but long taught notion that you should only use trees in a group planting that won't work as individual trees.

An extreme example of this is commonly seen in penjing, particularly the work of Zhao Qingquan. He will often have upwards of 80 plants to make a group planting, ranging from 2 to 10 years old, all having been trained their whole lives in separate pots.

 

[NaoTK]

I just put together this 21 tree beech forest (more like a group planting than a saburo kato forest.) It will eventually go on a rock slab. They were developed in 3x Anderson flats, the largest is 2ft tall and 8 years old from seed. The others are 5 years old from seed. I picked these up from a local park.

The key to a really convincing forest is variation in diameter and trunks that are clumped/merged together. So I echo @johng that you should plant 3 and 2-tree clumps in flats for a few years and also a few solitary trees.