Newbie Nebari

[Yannick81]

Good morning,

I wanted to show you guys how I'm developing Nebari (Acer Atropurpureum) in hopes to get some feedback on my approach.

I placed an upside-down petri dish into the soil at approximate depth of 1 inch. I placed the tree on top and waited until top level roots started gaining stability all around. Beginning of this season I cut off the lower level trunk where only submerged roots grew, forcing the tree to only sustain itself from ground level roots.

I gathered moss and placed it on ground level roots, hoping to keep the roots moist, but that didn't work. The tree is growing so I guess it wasn't the worst idea to build Nebari.
.
What do you think? Thanks.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Keep those roots covered for a few years and they’ll swell up for you, and ideally begin to ramify. That’s what makes great nebari.

 

[deadcs]

It is also important to prune the roots every year to encourage new growth and ramification. And keep them covered as Brian have told you.

 

[rockm]

It is also important to prune the roots every year to encourage new growth and ramification. And keep them covered as Brian have told you.

Pruning roots every year will slow development dramatically and possibly weaken or kill the tree

Root pruning on younger stock can be done as frequently as every two or three years, but the more you do it, the less developed the roots will be . Allowing some time for the roots to thicken and extend develops nebari much more quickly and effectively.

 

[deadcs]

Pruning roots every year will slow development dramatically and possibly weaken or kill the tree

Root pruning on younger stock can be done as frequently as every two or three years, but the more you do it, the less developed the roots will be . Allowing some time for the roots to thicken and extend develops nebari much more quickly and effectively.

I prune roots every year and never have a problem (in young trees). This deshojo comes from an air layer and I prune its roots every year.

2021
fom this

to this:




2022




2023




pic from right now (2 years progression from last pic)




In just 4 years he trunk has thickened a lot, and the nebari is fabulous. I have two younger Arakawa trees whose roots I also prune every year, and they're following the same path.

I apply the methods of this bonsaist

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

and so far I have obtained very good results with maples.
I think ebihara method also works like this.
If I hadn't pruned the roots the tree would have grown bigger but I don't think the nebari would have been that good. A matter of preference.
I think the topic of whether pruning roots every year during the formation of the nebari is beneficial or not, would give rise to a good discussion.

 

[rockm]

I prune roots every year and never have a problem (in young trees). This deshojo comes from an air layer and I prune its roots every year.

2021
fom this
View attachment 595292
to this:

View attachment 595293
View attachment 595294

2022

View attachment 595291


2023

View attachment 595288


pic from right now (2 years progression from last pic)

View attachment 595290


In just 4 years he trunk has thickened a lot, and the nebari is fabulous. I have two younger Arakawa trees whose roots I also prune every year, and they're following the same path.

I apply the methods of this bonsaist

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

and so far I have obtained very good results with maples.
I think ebihara method also works like this.
If I hadn't pruned the roots the tree would have grown bigger but I don't think the nebari would have been that good. A matter of preference.
I think the topic of whether pruning roots every year during the formation of the nebari is beneficial or not, would give rise to a good discussion.

I used to do that as well. Five or six years down the line lost a pretty good Korean hornbeam and maple because they weakened. Not doing it any more

 

[Yannick81]

@deadcs looks very good.

I don't think I need that much emphasis on my young tree. As long as the base thickens up I'm happy.

I'm gonna let it grow for several years, and at some point repot. Simultaneously I would prune the roots and apply some ramification method to a few large roots. From what I understand I could air layer root sections.

The root ball is still small and I want the tree to become more sturdy before anything.

Thank you.