Pot inclination prior to angle change at repot

[pandacular]

I have a few trees that will be getting repotted at a new, often quite different angle at the next opportunity. Until repot, does it make sense to keep the pot at the new inclination?

I have seen that some professionals seem to do this, but it's not necessarily consistent. I've also seen some people post pictures of trees with their pots situated at a specific angle within another pot, in a manner that looks more permanent than just a photoshoot.

The benefits I see to inclining the pot are allowing the plant to reposition it's foliage through phototropism, as well as just getting to view it at it's future angle. A potential downside is that it could potentially impact the drainage, similar to how chocking a pot during heavy rain lowers the water table.

What do you do with your plants that are due to be repotted at a different angle?

 

[Clicio]

I have a few trees that will be getting repotted at a new, often quite different angle at the next opportunity. Until repot, does it make sense to keep the pot at the new inclination?

I have seen that some professionals seem to do this, but it's not necessarily consistent. I've also seen some people post pictures of trees with their pots situated at a specific angle within another pot, in a manner that looks more permanent than just a photoshoot.

The benefits I see to inclining the pot are allowing the plant to reposition it's foliage through phototropism, as well as just getting to view it at it's future angle. A potential downside is that it could potentially impact the drainage, similar to how chocking a pot during heavy rain lowers the water table.

What do you do with your plants that are due to be repotted at a different angle?

I usually keep them in the new angle, once it is definitely defined.

 

[PonderingSage:]

Watering can be a pain sometimes it the angle is steep. On occasion I will put it flat to water

 

[Shibui]

There may be something to foliage and new shoots adjusting to the new angle but they will do that after repot anyway.
I've used temporary chocks, etc to hold the tree at the new angle in order to wire and position branches. Really hard to get it jut right when guessing at the new angles.
Maybe it is more about seeing the tree in the new position so I know what angle to use at repotting.
Watering trees when pots are on steep angles is definitely a challenge.

 

[Baku1875]

There may be something to foliage and new shoots adjusting to the new angle but they will do that after repot anyway.
I've used temporary chocks, etc to hold the tree at the new angle in order to wire and position branches. Really hard to get it jut right when guessing at the new angles.
Maybe it is more about seeing the tree in the new position so I know what angle to use at repotting.
Watering trees when pots are on steep angles is definitely a challenge.

It can help as a head start for fast growing trees with a very aggressive vertical habit to angle the pot throughout the growing season as a stop gap for constantly wiring new growth. Especially when wiring flat pads, it's good to have the tree at the future angle as well.

ie- I'm considering making a semi cascade out of this little tiger bark, so I kept it on its side all summer to prevent the new growth from going the wrong way (straight up). So when i change the potting angle in a taller pot next year to emphasize the overhang, it will have more length in the right direction. I water it flat, then prop it on its side for the rest of the time.

 

[pandacular]

I could see how watering could be challenging, especially with an incline as steep as the one that Baku is showing. Fortunately, the tree i’m planning to incline is in a grow bag, so its not much of a challenge.

Are there any other concerns with inclining a tree this way? For winter, all my trees will be heeled into pumice or bark.

 

[River's Edge]

I could see how watering could be challenging, especially with an incline as steep as the one that Baku is showing. Fortunately, the tree i’m planning to incline is in a grow bag, so its not much of a challenge.

Are there any other concerns with inclining a tree this way? For winter, all my trees will be heeled into pumice or bark.

I note that no one has mentioned the main benefit of growing fine roots and improving the root structure within the new soil to be added when changing the planting angle. This can be one of the main reasons for this practice. With more root production on the final angle already underway, the subsequent repot is safer and development has been furthered.
Main note would be to ensure drainage does not begin root rot at the lowest point when propped.
Typically the drainage is improved through additional holes or coarser substrate on the bottom when carrying out this practice. Quite often specific grow boxes are designed for this purpose.
This is a very common practice within the first few years of acclimatizing and adapting collected trees as well as adapting developed nursery trees to more interesting angles.
Michael Hagedorn has archived many such projects on hid blog. He tends to push the envelope for design, often successfully working with trees that others would avoid.

 

[pandacular]

I note that no one has mentioned the main benefit of growing fine roots and improving the root structure within the new soil to be added when changing the planting angle. This can be one of the main reasons for this practice. With more root production on the final angle already underway, the subsequent repot is safer and development has been furthered.

In this case, would one need to add more substrate at the new horizontal to promote this? I have seen some of Michael Hagedorn's grow boxes, and they can be quite elaborate!

 

[BobbyLane]

It would only make sense to have the pot/tree at the new angle if you're styling it or taking photos. If it's just been styled at the new angle maybe you simply just want to admire it from that angle until the change.

 

[River's Edge]

In this case, would one need to add more substrate at the new horizontal to promote this? I have seen some of Michael Hagedorn's grow boxes, and they can be quite elaborate!

Yes, that is the practice. When the tree is repotted at the preferred angle the shape of the root ball has already been adjusted to accommodate the change. If the soil were not added then that side would be weak after repotting and cutting the rootball off on that side of the base. This would extend or compromise the development. If you check some of Michaels work you will notice that this is often done in stages, not necessarily all at once. This primarily depends on the severity of the change.
One detail in execution is the trick of moving roots to the new area to encourage the new growth. often one can simply tie or bend roots to strengthen the other side or change inclination. Once the fine roots begin to form in the new section, progressive development is much easier.
This approach is often used with junipers to balance the root ball formation.Raffia and jute are good products to use as they decompose over time without damaging growing roots. If necessary wire can be used, however one must remember to remove in subsequent repotting.

 

[pandacular]

It would only make sense to have the pot/tree at the new angle if you're styling it or taking photos. If it's just been styled at the new angle maybe you simply just want to admire it from that angle until the change.

This is definitely part of it; I find it's useful to be able to visualize future work if the tree is kept at the right angle even when not being actively worked. In a sense my question has two parts:

* is there potential harm in doing this, if just to see the tree at it's future angle? Potentially issues with root rot and difficulty watering
* are there horticultural benefits to doing this? The ability to grow out roots at the new position and (my thoughts only) allowing the tree to adjust it's foliage into position through phototropism (and I suppose other tropisms, with which i'm less familiar)

 

[Baku1875]

This is definitely part of it; I find it's useful to be able to visualize future work if the tree is kept at the right angle even when not being actively worked. In a sense my question has two parts:

* is there potential harm in doing this, if just to see the tree at it's future angle? Potentially issues with root rot and difficulty watering
* are there horticultural benefits to doing this? The ability to grow out roots at the new position and (my thoughts only) allowing the tree to adjust it's foliage into position through phototropism (and I suppose other tropisms, with which i'm less familiar)

It would depend on the drainage of the pot. If a pot is tilted in a direction that pools water at the base without a drainage hole, and you need to water it often to keep the rest of the substrate properly moist, I can forsee problems with rot in the lower section that isn't draining out. This is why i open up a few holes in the bottom corner of any pot that I'm tilting to ensure that it drains out, and water it untilted (i wouldnt do this on a nice ceramic pot, but most of my plastic training pots have holes on the edge of the bottom on all sides for this reason). With enough tilted trees, however, it can become tedious to remove chocks/shimmys daily, water, then place them back on the chocks.

@River's Edge 's point about fine roots is something I didnt know about, likely to do with gravity and the path of nutrients influencing fine roots' direction and location.

to sum it up so far, tilting can be useful to
*view tree at future angle to facilitate styling
*using phototropism to avoid constant wiring (fast growing trees with a vertical habit, or trees that want to curl towards the ground, parsoni juniper comes to mind)
*improving drainage during unforeseen wet time periods or accidental over watering(if it has a hole near the base of the tilt) because a taller water column will help force water out more quickly than a shallow water column due to weight, gravity.
*fine root formation in the future direction