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[pandacular]

I actually have some grey root pouches on hand. I’ll swap it into the pouch. It’s a 3 gal size so I guess I can roll the sides down to make it smaller? I have never used them and I have no idea how to anchor the tree. But after seeing how you put the pouch in a pot I’ll copy that for sure.

I was also concerned about anchoring trees in pouches. I have found that with some proper chopsticking technique and leaving the tree out of a windy spot alone for about a week, you will have no issues with stability. You have less control over angle for sure, and likely would have issues with a cascade or majorly slanting tree, but otherwise I have had no issue with stability in a pouch.

Picture is me observing the buds on my mountain hemlock and realizing I’m a bit behind on repotting it…

 

[Fidur]

I found mealybugs in the trunk and roots of this cotoneaster last week. So I cleaned and killed them, and today, as the tree was very overgrown, I prunned a bit to give it back its shape...

 

[shohin_branches]

I was also concerned about anchoring trees in pouches. I have found that with some proper chopsticking technique and leaving the tree out of a windy spot alone for about a week, you will have no issues with stability. You have less control over angle for sure, and likely would have issues with a cascade or majorly slanting tree, but otherwise I have had no issue with stability in a pouch.

Picture is me observing the buds on my mountain hemlock and realizing I’m a bit behind on repotting it…

I do the same. The slight elasticity of the material and a good bullnose chopstick helps you kinda pack the tree into the grow bag. I keep it under lights for a week and then it gets some time in the greenhouse. I have been thinking of ways to use wood support in the bag but with the material flexibility I don't see any benefits with wiring it to the felt. Anything that is unstable can go into tokoname training pots.

Here are European beech seedlings solidly packed into a grow bag and I'll throw them in a corner of the yard to forget about for a few years.

 

[Maiden69]

I actually have some grey root pouches on hand. I’ll swap it into the pouch. It’s a 3 gal size so I guess I can roll the sides down to make it smaller? I have never used them and I have no idea how to anchor the tree. But after seeing how you put the pouch in a pot I’ll copy that for sure.

In the case of that seiju, I would use a small tile (about 2" shorter than the bag all the way around) and make some holes to attach the tree to the tile. Add a few inches of soil, then place the tile and fill up to where you would normally plant the tree up to. I did this to my cork oak.



I don't have a pic of it inside the pot, but you can kinda see it on the lower left corner on the pic below.



Forgot to add, on trees that are too tall, skinny, or going in a pouch that I don't have a tile for I use the method that @leatherback uses. I make a few holes in the plastic container and then thread some copper or aluminum wire to hold the tree up while the roots take a hold of it.

 

[Japonicus]

Started cleanup in a very old cemetery.

 

[KateM]

Found one of my tree peony seeds sprouted. I bought them in fall of 2022 and the suggested stratification was to put them in a pot outside and let them do their thing. And it worked. Needless to say, I don't remember how many seeds were there and I also planted some acorns in the same pot in the fall of 2023...

 

[19Mateo83]

I picked seedlings from under a very old JM at one of my customers houses.


Momma tree

Kershaw leek for scale

 

[TrevorLarsen]

Okay take 2. Hopefully this will be a much better home for my Seiju. Thank you all for helping me do it right.

 

[Arie Botanie]

I had some forgotten Ligustrum Vulgare cuttings in a corner. I saw a rock. And there you go.

The roots looked good and I placed them in the "folds" of the rock and "glued" them down with the organic soil they were growing in.
Wrapped it in aluminium foil and put it in a basket with inorganic soil. Now let's wait and see.

 

[Maiden69]

Okay take 2. Hopefully this will be a much better home for my Seiju. Thank you all for helping me do it right. View attachment 538254View attachment 538255View attachment 538256

water it often and feed it as well... they do grow like weeds in a Rootpouch. Mine was needing a bag change this spring, too late now so I may just move it to a larger size bag without root work and next spring I will work it hard. I plan on air layering about 2/3 of the tree this year to make hopefully 2 more trees.

This was the growth of the first season in the bag. From MAR-DEC 2022.

MAR 22


DEC22

Seiju Elm from Evergreen Gardenworks

I received this elm in NOV 2020 in a 4" pot from Brent, I moved it into a colander spring 2021 and didn't paid much attention to it other than water and fertilizer. NOV 2021 I moved it into a grow bag this spring, March 2022, and moved it into my above gropund set up. Took a few pics...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[19Mateo83]

I got my bonfire and Beni maiko out of their nursery cans and into something a little more presentable. Left to right, Beni maiko, bonfire and mila
The symmetry is nice. Left to right aoyagi, kiyo hime and deshojo

FYI, if you have an Ollie’s near by they have decent pots for $19.99

 

[Wulfskaar]

Found one of my tree peony seeds sprouted. I bought them in fall of 2022 and the suggested stratification was to put them in a pot outside and let them do their thing. And it worked. Needless to say, I don't remember how many seeds were there and I also planted some acorns in the same pot in the fall of 2023...
View attachment 538240

Along the left-center of the pic (SW of the chopstick) it looks like maybe one of the acorns is pushing up?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Multiple jobs today. Here’s two.

Clean off moss and soji JWP.
Gotta explore to find every little pooka that was caked with media and moss ensure max relief shows.



all done


Cleaning and Lime Sulfur deadwood on old juniper



Cheers
DSD sends

 

[KateM]

Along the left-center of the pic (SW of the chopstick) it looks like maybe one of the acorns is pushing up?

There is something there and it got bigger since yesterday.

 

[pandacular]

Multiple jobs today. Here’s two.

Clean off moss and soji JWP.
Gotta explore to find every little pooka that was caked with media and moss ensure max relief shows.

View attachment 538339

all done
View attachment 538340

Cleaning and Lime Sulfur deadwood on old juniper

View attachment 538341

Cheers
DSD sends

Hey, I recognize those trees! Looking forward to starting my docent shifts later this month.

I removed wire from one of my maples. I know I’m still learning, as it cleared that I killed a fair few twigs in the process—removing the wire was interesting as it showed me some of the limits of bending. Some were cracked or split while wiring, but others didn’t seem to have external fractures but still died.
Oh well, it’s a rebuild project and a learning project, and every time I work on it, I become more interested in chopping it above those low bends.

 

[Weta]

Getting ready for winter, heaps of weeding and moving of pots, happy with jade cuttings from this year that have taken root, this one the cats are experimenting a new form of bark texture technique

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Hey, I recognize those trees! Looking forward to starting my docent shifts later this month.

I removed wire from one of my maples. I know I’m still learning, as it cleared that I killed a fair few twigs in the process—removing the wire was interesting as it showed me some of the limits of bending. Some were cracked or split while wiring, but others didn’t seem to have external fractures but still died.View attachment 538351
Oh well, it’s a rebuild project and a learning project, and every time I work on it, I become more interested in chopping it above those low bends.

Nice bend in the base of the trunk though!

What do you think about switching to clip and grow except in the rare instances a branch really needs to have a immediate direction change?

cheers
DSD sends

 

[shohin_branches]

Got my aeroponic cloner today because @jeremy_norbury is always telling me how awesome his is on reddit. Started with a cheap model. The plant shop I sell at is antsy for more plants so i threw my nepenthes gaya cuttings in there that I've been trying to root since September along with some cuttings I ran around took just to throw in for now.
I have to wait for more trees to leaf out so I can take more cuttings.

Let the experimenting begin!

 

[Jrmcmich]

Repotted my last tree (Zelkova). Hopefully didn’t remove too many roots. First year repotting so now all trees (sticks in pots) in known soil.

 

[pandacular]

What do you think about switching to clip and grow except in the rare instances a branch really needs to have a immediate direction change?

My first thought, I suppose, is “when then would I learn how to wire?”

I actually just unwired another tree, which was wired a few trees after the previous one, and I noticed quite a large improvement in my own technique. My general philosophy at this point is that I will damage my trees while learning, and wire scars and dieback are parts of the process, to be avoided, but not fully able to be.

(some larger pieces left on)

I do notice that it’s important to “pick your battles” with wrap wire. This is something I see in the trees of some of the more advanced practitioners that I follow.