Muck and Watering

[nurvbonsai]

I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to know when to water this mugo? I had this rock re-mucked by a fellow club member as it seemed that my mucking was not enough.

I didn’t have the wherewithal to ask so i thought I’d ask here.

Thanks

 

[Shibui]

I think I have already given my opinion on muck and roots. The 2 certainly don't go well together here so I'm not sure why your club member felt the need for even more. I think everyone needs to be aware that there are several different types of club members: Those who have experience; Those who have plenty of theory and are willing to give everyone the benefit of their 'knowledge'; Those with little experience.
In my experience, the first group are often much quieter than the second so new members may not even guess that they actually know much more than the vocal ones who are so quick to offer well meaning advice.

Do the Mugho roots go all the way down into the soil in the container or are they confined to pockets of the muck on the rock?

 

[nurvbonsai]

I think I have already given my opinion on muck and roots. The 2 certainly don't go well together here so I'm not sure why your club member felt the need for even more. I think everyone needs to be aware that there are several different types of club members: Those who have experience; Those who have plenty of theory and are willing to give everyone the benefit of their 'knowledge'; Those with little experience.
In my experience, the first group are often much quieter than the second so new members may not even guess that they actually know much more than the vocal ones who are so quick to offer well meaning advice.

Do the Mugho roots go all the way down into the soil in the container or are they confined to pockets of the muck on the rock?

Hello, the roots are confined to the rock. The impression was that it was not dark enough for the roots to “grow” beyond the rock, therefore not becoming roots over rock. More muck was used because my layers were not enough in their estimation and the concern was the root ball would have caved.

 

[Shibui]

If roots are confined to patches of muck on the rock you definitely need enough volume to keep the tree alive. All that tree's roots will be in that small pocket of much for the rest of it's life so there needs to be enough space to provide all the tree's water and nutrients.

The impression was that it was not dark enough for the roots to “grow” beyond the rock

I do not understand this?
Roots do not need dark to grow. Witness aerial roots growing on Ficus (above ground, not dark), Roots developing on a cutting in a jar of water on the window sill (not in the dark). Roots are quite happy growing in light. It's moisture they require to grow successfully.
A trail of muck leading down the rock should be enough for roots to grow down into the soil, provided the muck stays damp enough to allow root growth. Whether you need the roots to do that depends on your design but to say they cannot is incorrect.
With foil wrapped rocks there's usually enough moisture trapped between foil and rock for excellent root growth. I find lots of new roots growing whenever I open one of my developing ROR tridents.
Did I post my 3 junipers on rock on your previous thread? The roots of those trees managed to follow the trail of muck down the rock to reach the tray under the rock so now all 3 trees have access to any water in the tray.

Now I am wondering what this planting will look like as it grows. My memory is the rock is not very big. It now has a larger clump of soil hanging on one side (or maybe all round?) to contain the roots of the tree. Will the whole arrangement still look OK or will it appear unbalanced?
It is all very well keeping the tree alive but if it just looks bad what's the point?
Hoping that's not the case and your mugho root on rock bonsai looks great and thrives.

With regards to watering:
Any planting with rocks dries out way quicker than a similar sized planting without a rock. Rocks absorb water and evaporate it to the air so plantings with rock - ROR, root on rock, trees on slab, even saikei need more regular watering to keep them healthy. You will definitely need to keep a close eye on this one as it gets warmer and drier through Spring and Summer and probably water it more often than other trees.
What did you use for your muck mix? When muck dries out it can be very hard to rewet. Some recipes are easier to wet than others.

 

[nurvbonsai]

Thank you. I don’t believe you posted your junipers. I also hope this tree thrives. It’s a heavy rock with a pretty wide flat surface.

I wonder if the roots though will smother under the muck? I took some muck off the top to encourage airflow. I don’t know the recipe as it was pre brought from Super Fly, now out of business.

If roots are confined to patches of muck on the rock you definitely need enough volume to keep the tree alive. All that tree's roots will be in that small pocket of much for the rest of it's life so there needs to be enough space to provide all the tree's water and nutrients.


I do not understand this?
Roots do not need dark to grow. Witness aerial roots growing on Ficus (above ground, not dark), Roots developing on a cutting in a jar of water on the window sill (not in the dark). Roots are quite happy growing in light. It's moisture they require to grow successfully.
A trail of muck leading down the rock should be enough for roots to grow down into the soil, provided the muck stays damp enough to allow root growth. Whether you need the roots to do that depends on your design but to say they cannot is incorrect.
With foil wrapped rocks there's usually enough moisture trapped between foil and rock for excellent root growth. I find lots of new roots growing whenever I open one of my developing ROR tridents.
Did I post my 3 junipers on rock on your previous thread? The roots of those trees managed to follow the trail of muck down the rock to reach the tray under the rock so now all 3 trees have access to any water in the tray.

Now I am wondering what this planting will look like as it grows. My memory is the rock is not very big. It now has a larger clump of soil hanging on one side (or maybe all round?) to contain the roots of the tree. Will the whole arrangement still look OK or will it appear unbalanced?
It is all very well keeping the tree alive but if it just looks bad what's the point?
Hoping that's not the case and your mugho root on rock bonsai looks great and thrives.

With regards to watering:
Any planting with rocks dries out way quicker than a similar sized planting without a rock. Rocks absorb water and evaporate it to the air so plantings with rock - ROR, root on rock, trees on slab, even saikei need more regular watering to keep them healthy. You will definitely need to keep a close eye on this one as it gets warmer and drier through Spring and Summer and probably water it more often than other trees.
What did you use for your muck mix? When muck dries out it can be very hard to rewet. Some recipes are easier to wet than others.