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| Potted trees into growing beds http://weetrees.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18823 |
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| Author: | the bargee [ 11 Jan 2020, 11:40 ] |
| Post subject: | Potted trees into growing beds |
Just got a house with a garden and growing beds. My few trees are in pond baskets. My plan was just to sink the baskets into the growing beds, so that when they're ready for a pot, the roots outside the basket could easily be trimmed. The trees are Larch, J maples, in need of development. When should i plant them out ? |
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| Author: | daryl [ 11 Jan 2020, 11:47 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
I think that if you leave them in the pots you will still be restricting root growth and that rather defeats the object of putting them in the ground. I'm sure others with ground growing experience will explain the best ways to get full value from using a grow bed, such as planting them on a tile or board. I know that Gary has done a lot of these so I'm sure he will explain. |
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| Author: | Paul B [Swindon] [ 11 Jan 2020, 15:13 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
The reason behind pond baskets is that the bigger roots get to the light then die off which promotes a high number of feeder roots to grow, back into the base of the tree. More feeder roots = greater growth By putting it into the ground it will restrict the amount of feeder roots and just act like there was no basket there at all. So as Daryl says, either plant without the pond basket in the ground, with a tile under to get max growth Or just leave in the basket where you can better control feed/water/maintenance etc I would prefer the pond basket as the roots will be finer when you do decide to plant in a small ceramic pot and you won't have to trim off large thick roots. |
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| Author: | Penny Ann [ 11 Jan 2020, 17:28 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
I grow quite a lot in baskets sunk in the ground. I find them useful, as I can cut down around and under the basket every couple of years. Then when the trunks are thick enough the trees lift out very easily. I usually do a final cut about a month before I take the tree out so that it doesn't suffer from shock from cut roots. |
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| Author: | the bargee [ 13 Jan 2020, 10:08 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
Penny Ann wrote: I grow quite a lot in baskets sunk in the ground. I find them useful, as I can cut down around and under the basket every couple of years. Then when the trunks are thick enough the trees lift out very easily. I usually do a final cut about a month before I take the tree out so that it doesn't suffer from shock from cut roots. Did you still get only fine feeder roots inside the basket when lifted from the ground Penny Ann ? |
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| Author: | Penny Ann [ 13 Jan 2020, 16:07 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
Yes, as the roots outside the basket get cut every second year. I found the best baskets to use are ones with solid bottoms and mesh around the sides ( from Lidl/Aldi etc). I put some small holes in the bottom for drainage. The result is all roots have to go sideways. I leave them for a whole year in the basket after the are finally dug up before sorting out the roots and transferring to shallow pots. The tap root needs to be removed before they go into the basket at the beginning. |
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| Author: | Sizzla [ 16 Jan 2020, 08:08 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
I put some spruce, larch and Scots pine in the ground in pond baskets but put some plastic in the bottom of the basket. My plan is to run a reciprocating saw round the baskets but won't know the results for a while yet. Surely the maples are so tolerant of root work it wouldn't be necessary? When I asked on here I was told it was a bad idea because the roots clog up the holes and the baskets need to be cut off. But I've also heard that the roots that go beyond the basket will be girdled as they thicken, die off and rot away being replaced by finer roots closer to the trunk. And probably both things will happen to some extent, I suppose, hopefully I can steer them to do the latter but who knows |
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| Author: | Sizzla [ 12 Jan 2021, 21:41 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
Just wanted to provide an update to my post here to say that pond baskets in the ground work great:     free image hosting site The first of each pic is from may 2019 just before I put them in the ground, the second ones were taken today, I just ran the saw around the outside of the baskets last spring and then again today when I lifted them out. Theyve thickened nicely and the pots are full of root |
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| Author: | johnbaz [ 12 Jan 2021, 22:07 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
Hi I watched a Peter Chan vid on youtube where he uses baskets for his trees but he stands them on gravel beds, There was a huge amount of growth on them but when he picked them up there was a couple of yards of fine roots under the gravel!!  John 
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| Author: | Gary Jones [ 13 Jan 2021, 09:43 ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Potted trees into growing beds |
Good stuff. Nice results. The logic discussed at the start of this thread would seem reasonable in suggesting that it can't make any difference but the evidence is that it works well. I remember listening to Ryan Neil talking about this and he said the same sort of thing. It seems to work. You get the growth benefits of ground growing and the development / maintenance of a fine root ball at the same time. Nice. |
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