Redwood Bonsai

[Gary Lockhart]

I just got my 1st Bonsai. A Redwood. I put some moss on the soil and used metal pins to hold the moss in place. Could the metal pins cause a problem or become toxic to my Bonsai?

 

[Colorado]

“Metal” is ambiguous, but generally the answer is no, the pins will not hurt the tree. Unless you’re using Valyrian Steel. That could be dangerous to some of the more cold-hardy species ?

You should be securing the tree in the pot with metal wire anyway.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

iron rust is actually used in small amounts by the tree as an iron source.

Copper is a self protecting metal, its oxides are so hard it does not dissolve easily at all, so even though copper can be toxic in large amounts, the tree never absorbs any if the copper is in metallic form.

Similar with aluminum, aluminum is essentially inert, the metal itself oxides slowly and the oxides are not absorbed to any appreciable degree.

Steel is no problem.

The only metals that would be a problem are rather uncommon. Stick to the list above and you will have no trouble.

 

[flor1]

Moss will do more damage then the pins.

 

[Emanon]

iron rust is actually used in small amounts by the tree as an iron source.

Copper is a self protecting metal, its oxides are so hard it does not dissolve easily at all, so even though copper can be toxic in large amounts, the tree never absorbs any if the copper is in metallic form.

Similar with aluminum, aluminum is essentially inert, the metal itself oxides slowly and the oxides are not absorbed to any appreciable degree.

Steel is no problem.

The only metals that would be a problem are rather uncommon. Stick to the list above and you will have no trouble.

Great information! And I guess this is the explanation for why some people purposefully put rusty wire in their substrate? For example, Mr. Valavanis has posted a picture on his blog (Valavanis Bonsai Blog entry dated February 11, 2015) of a tree he found at the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo that demonstrates how "old rusty iron wire" (along with charcoal) is used "to improve the health of the trees" there.

[I apologize if I'm breaking proper protocol by attaching Mr. Valavanis's picture here to this forum (found at https://valavanisbonsaiblog.com/2015/02/11/shunka-en-bonsai-museum/).]

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Yep, that is why you will see rusty iron nails and other rusty ''junk'' in a pot occasionally. If your well or municipal water leaves rusty stains on porcelain, you don't need to do this. You are getting plenty of iron in your water.

As for using Mr Valavanis's photos, You did it right, you credited who owns the photo, and are using it to forward a bonsai related discussion, I am certain he has no problem with that because you gave him credit. If you cite the owner of the photo, when it was taken (if known) and are not claiming it as yours, I think you have covered all this site worries about. Then it more or less falls into ''fair use''.

 

[Stormwater]

Oh, that’s was good!

“Metal” is ambiguous, but generally the answer is no, the pins will not hurt the tree. Unless you’re using Valyrian Steel. That could be dangerous to some of the more cold-hardy species ?

You should be securing the tree in the pot with metal wire anyway.

h