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Bareroot plants ordered
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Author:  cmarkr [ 05 Mar 2021, 23:03 ]
Post subject:  Bareroot plants ordered

Having ordered 100 bareroot beech for a hedge, I may have got a little carried away ordering some extra trees for future bonsai projects. I'm on chalk so while some will go in the ground, some will have to go into airpots.

What tips can you share for how to treat these? Just plant/pot them up and give them a bit of time or a bit of hedge pruning etc? Thoughts on planting on to a cd or tile for nebari development?

My order (all species plants):
green beech
amelanchier
blackthorn
cherry plum
wild cherry
crab apple
hawthorn
Field maple
EU larch
jap larch
Acer palmatum
Euonymus europaeus
cornus mas

They'll need protecting from the muntjac :bully:

Author:  Sizzla [ 06 Mar 2021, 08:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

Wonderful, would you mind sharing your source?

I reckon out of all those you might get 10% that will have roots suitable for bonsai. All of the ones I've had in the past had just two or three thick roots heading straight down. And so needed to be planted into deep pots to avoid cutting off most of the root. Then address the roots at a later date once there are more to work with.

Survival is really top priority, the ones I messed around with all died, they will take a full season to get started

Author:  richardb [ 06 Mar 2021, 08:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

Are they all bare root or are some of them young trees? With the bare root products you have very little roots. With these I would remove the odd very fine root which is high compared to the majority and then plant in the ground or any large pot. Then initially just let them grow for the next 2 yrs. You need to view the roots as a long term process the same as the tree. If you chop off the roots now whilst trying to get the roots in the right place they will either die or be very slow for the next 2 to 3 years.Then the next time you lift you should have stronger roots where maybe you can start to cut back the tap root and be more selective with what you want to save. Without the roots the tree will not grow and without the tree growing the roots will not increase.

Author:  Penny Ann [ 06 Mar 2021, 20:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

I bought some bare rooted saplings three years ago. I put them in pots for the first year then into the ground for two years on tiles. Cutting them down at the end of each year. I had about twenty altogether, this year half have gone into bonsai training pots the rest back into the ground to thicken up after a root prune.

Author:  cmarkr [ 06 Mar 2021, 22:28 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

OK, thank you. Like everything, sounds like will require even more patience than I'd hoped. I think keeping them alive is probably the best thing to focus on initially.

The source is Ashridge Trees and they're all bareroot. Mostly 60/80cm whips. I've not used them before, will feedback with photos once they arrive. Their sample photos (eg below) suggest a decent amount of roots so fingers crossed. (If you're tempted then sign up to the mailing list to get a 20% off code on first order).

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Sounds like I might not have much option with the roots but to plant them as best I can, prioritising not damaging them. So would planting over a tile be something done after a root prune at a later date? Any preferences at this stage on planting in the ground vs in an airpot (assuming deep enough) in the first instance?

Author:  Owen [ 07 Mar 2021, 00:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

Ashridge are good, I’ve ordered from them a couple of times, but as others have said the roots will be miles from what you need. I’m trying field maple whips in the ground with a tie-wrap around them to ground layer this year.

Author:  cmarkr [ 07 Mar 2021, 09:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

Will be interested to hear of your progress Owen.

I'm wondering whether planting at a slight angle might be an idea to get some immediate movement in?

Author:  Owen [ 07 Mar 2021, 11:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

Definitely go for it. Worked a treat on a couple of £3 Tesco maples - one turned into a cool little multi-trunk.

Author:  cmarkr [ 31 Mar 2021, 15:42 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

Trees received and now in the ground. The roots certainly are not good for bonsai so air layering will be in the cards at some point.

I had 10 beech left over from the hedge so they're in the ground along with 12 others, mostly one of each species. The lime haters will go into pond baskets along with some that had barely any roots and I therefore want to keep them cosseted.

Still got to lay the weedproof matting and put up the wire mesh to keep out the muntjac but at least some of the non-thorns are protected from bunnies for now...

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I realised after putting a few in at an angle that it won't make any difference when I come to airlayer.

Author:  richardb [ 01 Apr 2021, 14:33 ]
Post subject:  Re: Bareroot plants ordered

I had had the same with hawthorn and scots pine. To me you need to let the tree grow so that the roots strengthen. You can start to select certain low branches which will be the first to worry about getting in the correct position. With the roots this will also take a few years, no rush, it's bonsai. Try and find the best set of roots near the top of the root system , cut off any fine roots above these. Then trim a portion off the lower tap roots. You have to judge what's realistic to leave enough to keep the tree growing. Plant to the correct level for the top roots and let it grow. Next year , lift and if you have good root growth you may be able to take some more off the longer bigger tap root and lower roots. Ultimately over a few years you end up with a strong ring of roots near the nebari area. I think too many people expect to get a tree into a bonsai pot too early. You can only do this once you have the roots as they need to be. Without the good root work what you do above ground can be irrelevant. Imo.

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