Thursday, March 14, 2024
Friday, November 25, 2022
What is Air Layering?
Air layering is the method involved with eliminating an enormous branch or segment of the storage compartment of a tree to make another tree. Before the branch is taken out it is supported, safeguarded with peat greenery or different media and the supported area is permitted to root. In the wake of establishing the branch is taken out from the tree. This is an extremely normal practice in bonsai to get one more tree from an undesirable branch or to save a thick trunk segment that would have been taken out at any rate. Knowing how a tree structures roots at an air layer site gives strong data to grasping the cycle, yet additionally a vehicle for responding to your own inquiries and tackling your own concerns in air layering.
Transport of Food, Water, and Supplements
Under the bark of trees (dicotyledonous ones) there is a layer of cells called the phloem. This tissue transports carbs and other photosynthates (counting auxin) down from the passes on to the lower portions of the plant. Underneath the phloem layer is another layer called the xylem that transports water and mineral supplements from the roots and soil up to the verdant pieces of the tree. Underneath the xylem is another xylem layer called the optional xylem. These xylem layers are thicker and more profound into the wood of the tree than the phloem layer. Lying on top of these layers simply under the bark is a layer of effectively partitioning cells called the cambium.
The Air Layering Cycle
During the time spent airlayering, the bark, the cambium, and the phloem layer are eliminated by removing around a 1 inch wide ring of these tissues from around the boundary of the shoot. The xylem anyway is left in one piece. This is known as supporting. By and large, manufactured auxins (in a vehicle of powder or by fluid) are applied to the site where the tissues have been eliminated. (In spite of the fact that applying auxin is the general practice today it isn't required for some trees). Wet sphagnum greenery (or one more dampness retentive soil) is then bundled around and over this supported site and covered with plastic and fixed.
What Occurs at the Air Layer Site
The evacuation of the bark, cambium, and phloem, however not the xylem, forestalls carbs and photosynthates from streaming down the storage compartment past the supporting site yet at the same time permits water and mineral supplements to stream up to the leaves. This holds the verdant bits of the shoot back from drying out and keeps up with them with a satisfactory inventory of supplements. The evacuation of the effectively developing cambium layer forestalls the recovery of phloem and mending over of the injury. On account of this the carbs and photosynthates streaming down the storage compartment gather at the supporting site. The presence of these abundances of carbs and photosynthates (esp. auxin) at the supporting site, in addition to the presence of the water in the sphagnum greenery, makes lethargic unusual buds in the space develop into roots. At the point when there are an adequate number of roots to support the shoot freely the shoot is cut off of the tree and afterward planted or pruned.
The Contrast Between Air Layers and Cuttings
The engendering of plants by cuttings happens by similar standards and has very much like conditions. The thing that matters is that the shoot is taken out from plant toward the beginning and water and supplements stream up the shoot from the cut site by slim activity all things considered. This sort of spread must be finished with little and slim shoots since the progression of water is deficient for bigger branches. Air layering takes care of this issue and permits the formation of new plants from extremely huge pieces of trees.
Thursday, November 25, 2021
ANYBODY NEED SAGE FOR THERE TURKEY DRESSING?
Hello to all and a very Happy Thanksgiving. Sage as a bonsai who would have ever thought? Oh excuse me I did.
Sage is a wonderful craggily looking material in the trunk and it is indigenous to most high and even some low Deseret areas of America and other areas of the world. I worked on a ranch in the state of Nevada years ago when I was young. The one small room little bunk house I lived in had an old pop belly stove and I would burn sage brush in it and believe me when I say sage makes for a quick and very easy hot fire.
The high desert of Nevada gets mighty cold at night and in real early morning time but that sage could warm up my entire little cabin in a heart beat and have my coffee brewing in a short time. Sage is very aromatic and the oils in the woody material will make it catch fire readily. The native tribes used sage for many different things and also for seasoning various foods. They made mats for there dwellings out of the sage wood as sage will strip fairly readily and can then be woven.
I did not know but the sage plant can actually talk to one another. No not really talk but they give off a sort of special chemical sent that can be recognized by other sage plants in times of stress or pest infestations and the like so if one is being attacked it can send out the sent and others are for warned and then can actually infect the invaders.
I was lucky to get this one and its been in my collection now for about ten years. I have no idea how old it is as it is a collected plant and only god knows its age. Sage leaves are pretty small and very pretty light muted blue gray looking. The sage plant can go a long time with out water as it is accustomed to that in the high deserts.
My sage tree is in a cascade style potting and in a nice dark blue pot and I have only transplanted it once since I have owned it.
The soil is my ready mix of pumice akadama, and lava rock. Almost all of my bonsai are planted in this same mixture only at different levels of akadama depending on the tree. Sage is truly edible and many animals and birds depend on it for extra food sources and nutrients, rabbits, mule deer, pronghorn and sage grouse. The sage grouse also use the brush for cover and shelter in times of need from other predator's. The young eat the seeds and the sage is a real true friend of the sage grouse.
Sage is in the family of Asteraceae and grows fairly prolific in the United states in many states and in many other countries.
This sage brush was collected in the high desert around Madras Oregon. The region is prolific with sage. It was collected on a fishing trip to the area. The sage can produce small yellow flowers in early spring and if you rub a sprig in your finger tips and smell it then your in for a real nice treat and or surprise.
A lot of sage gets destroyed by wild fires every year and there have been ecology experts from the land management offices actually getting inmates in the Oregon Penial system to grow the plants to reforest a lot of the areas affected. It is said that they grew more 90 thousand plants alone in the year 2017 and are still making it happen to this day. The sage grouse is fast becoming close to being added to the endangered act and truly do depend on the sage for their survival.
If your out in any area where sage grows you may want to try and collect one. But always make sure you get permission first from a local forest service station area. Or try to get some seeds and plant them to grow one or many. If you do get permission to collect one then be especially careful to dig a wide area around the plant while trying to up root it and make sure you get as much of the root as possible.
Collect some of the actual soil where you dig the tree up and use that as its beginning substrate planting then later after your sure it is established good and not going to perish then move it on to the pumice, lave rock and akadama mixture. Sage can live to over 100 years old if cared for properly.
Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful Thanks Giving where ever you are in the world.
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Why do bonsai artists call multiple trees of the same kind a forest?
Hi there and welcome to yet another of my many rants. The correct terminology would be to call it a grove of trees and not a forest. To further bolster my opinion then please if you will, can tell me the last time you were any where in the world in a forest and seen only one kind of a tree growing?
No indeed in a forest of trees there are many varieties and types not to mention many other types of vegetation growing all over and around rocks, stumps, and ferns and all sorts of other things alive and or dead.
The Chinese are famous for plantings they call Penjing which often result in a very wonderful and beautiful looking bonsai display of many trees almost always of the same verity and kind of material.
Although this may not always be the case as in my personal Penjing for instance I have three different types of tropical trees and three ferns and a couple of Azaleas growing so it could sort of be a tropical forest I guess but I prefer to not call it that but a grove of trees and other materials.
I personally only have one of such type plantings and it is a tropical indoor bonsai and consists of a Saikei Penjing planting of Ficus Benjamina, little gems as they are called, dwarf Hawallan Schefflers and small little Azaleas Kakuo some various small ferns and they were all taken as cuttings and grown on to be a nice grove of tropical trees in a lovely small shallow pot and all the material is growing on a hand made concrete slab and with various rocks and other items to represent some what of an island scene placed into a very shallow cheremic dish type bowl.
Any way I guess the point of this rant is to indeed try to get other bonsai artists to call it what it is and not something else it is not. I will try to take a picture for you of the Saikei Penjing tomorrow and along with some other small bonsai I have planted. I do know that when the Japanese plant these type of plantings they always use an odd number of tress for what ever reasons they believe that even numbers of trees in a planting is bad luck and so every one of there grove type plantings consist of odd numbers of tress and or other items rock ferns and such.
I also purchased a couple of small variegated ivy and one that was a little larger and had already been started as a bonsai. I do not know much about ivy but I will learn and start growing some varieties for my garden. I do know that we have an English verity here that is very strong growing and can be somewhat of a pest in the garden if not kept in check. I have some growing in my garden as ground cover and it does well as long as you do your diligence and keep cutting it back and keeping it under control.
I have a very nice Fukin Tea and it needs a hair cut very bad as it went nuts this summer and I did not trim on it and now it looks out of control but tomorrow I will prune it back and try to regain some control over the plant. I will try to root the cutting material off of it but do indeed not know if I will have any success in rooting any of it as it should be rooted from cuttings in the summer and or planted and grown from seeds. I have never done either so we will see what happens by just keeping the cut material in a jar of water and see if any of it forms roots.
No harm in trying as I hate to throw any material away that could possibly be grown on to make a nice little future tree. I got my hands on some very nice material this year and will be posting articles about the trees and pictures here in the next few weeks. So in closing for now until tomorrow when I attempt to get some pictures of the materials I purchased today I say good evening to you and have a good one.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Getting close again to winterize.
Hi there to everyone.
Don't let the snow balls hit you in the well now, you know where and start monitoring the weather in your area of the world.
So here we are in the month of October and it is getting close to getting into colder weather and so I personally have brought in all of my tropical bonsai and plants even last month in September. Although I wish I had a green house I do not, and it is not that I could not afford one. It is simply more of the plain fact I do not have the room where I live to set one into place and have it.
So as a bonsai artist I have a very limited amount of topicals and I keep the collection small so that I can keep them in my home inside during the winter time. However all the rest of my trees stay in there original positions in the garden all winter. Now the only time that may differ is if I know in advance that we are in for some really severe and bad weather. Let's say for instance a really sudden cold snap or high winds and or ice sleet snow and the like then of course I do take the necessary precautions to protect my plants and trees.
Let's first talk about locations and how you may display your trees. Everyone has a different kind of a garden and a different amount of room and such for display. So the type of precautions you may take are a matter of choice and what kind garden you have and of course the effort you wish to be involved in and the room you have to move plants and the time constraints and so on.
You may be in the position to put your plants in a protected are like a shed a garage or shop what ever and of course depending on how many you have and need to move to safety. Sadly to say I'm not blessed with that option so it is what it is and I make do with what I have.
I for one have never personally done or do what the norm suggests I use my own common sense and do what simply works for me. All right you say well what is that? Well so here goes my explanation of what I do to winterize or protect my trees if I know bad or harsh conditions are on the way. First of all I will move my tress down from any display stands to the ground and then if possible huddle them as close to together as possible and if at all possible up against a structure if possible. Also the location of your display garden matters. Is it east, or west, or north, or south, light and or winds and or other elements that might affect your trees.
My garden is rather large in respect to the lay out. I have one side that is east and west light so I get the morning light and sun on one side of my garden from about early sunrise till around 1:00 pm and then that side becomes full shade for the rest of the day and is a prefect place for a lot of my deciduous or more fragile trees. The other side is full sun from around 1:00 pm until sunset so it does get hot and needs to be monitored a little more often especially if it is a really hot summer like we had this year with temps rising into the triple digits and believe me it was hot.
On the other hand it is the perfect place for all of my confers, and I have a lot of them. As most of you should already know confers do like full sun and can tolerate it fairly well and still not harm the trees.
Now winter is a different ball game. Like I stated it depends on the conditions. Now let me back up for just a moment and explain bonsai display. For the most part everyone I know displays there tress on some kind of a wooden structure of sorts. Individual stands for instance or long displays where several trees are displayed on the bench and or structure.
Well it may surprise you to know I do not display that way no indeed all of my trees are displayed on Cinderblock built up stands if you will. I try to keep most tress at different heights as to make the viewer not get totally bored while viewing and looking at my bonsai. Now for the reason I use cinder block for displays is that it is heavy and not going any place once set into position and the main reason is that wood rots, cinder block does not and I can tear down and move the display easily any time I so desire.
Here in the Northwest mother nature is the garden hose all winter and so I do not ever need to water any trees out side. Yes I know there are woods that are treated and so forth but trust me they still do rot and so I simply made the decision a long time ago not to ever build show stands or displays of wood. But that is your choice.
Now if for any reason I do need to bring the plants to the ground for protection then the cinder block displays also provide a very nice wind break and I can simply move 90 percent of my tress to the ground in a couple of hours and then they are well protected from high winds and as for ice and snow well let it fall as it only acts as a insulator like I stated earlier.
Now I now that a lot of books and articles state to use mulch and or hay and other various products to help protect and to also some what insulate the trees. I know a lady that uses old blankets I do not knock it if it works for her then it does and so be it I would not take a hammer and try to fix what is not broke. She swears by it.
I have never done that and never will unless were way below zero for many days and it simply so far in my life time in this area never got that cold the worst may have been 19 degrees and trust me confers can handle that kind of temps. One thing I will add here is that be prepared ahead of time do not wait till the last minute to make adjustments to your garden. I for one simply do not baby any of my bonsai they either make it or they don't. Simply put things do die and especially trees can go at any time no mater what you might do or think.
I will add that I personally have never lost a tree to cold weather but I did loose a couple this year do to the sever heat and it was my own fault for not moving the particular tree to a shady location in the garden. Being lazy and or not fully attentive cost me two trees that were very favorites of mine and not to mention they were very old and had been in training for many years. Oh and I lied I lost an azalea one year because it was in a cheap pot and that pot cracked and well you can guess the rest.
Also I might add it may continue with unpredictable weather conditions around the globe and I think we all know why. If you don't well then look up global warming.
Oh well you gain some and you loose some that is the nature of this hobby and anyone who tells you different is either a braggart or a liar. Trees do die and that is just the way of it. So if you can not handle that then do not create bonsai or buy them. I could rattle on and on for days about the various ways to protect plants and or bonsai in the winter time but I will leave you to do your very own assessment of how you wish to go about it in your particular garden and I will continue do mine as I always have simply because it works for me..
In closing I will state this fact to you. Be diligent and monitor the daily and nightly weather in your own area and be aware that topicals will not survive at temps below 42 degrees. So get them in a heated green house or bring them in doors to a well lighted area either with naturel light preferred or if not that for what ever reason then use plant grow lights.
If you have a cell phone or a tablet or a computer it is very easy to check in your area and know what the weather is going to be at any given time so no excuses if you do not check and loose plants. Also an important note here if the temp drops to the point that your trees are frozen solid in the pots then you can have a problem. Because you can not get water to the roots in that condition so the rule of thumb here is to have watered very good before the freeze. Need I say that once again water before the freeze a few hours in advance if at all possible.
The plants and or trees can then release moisture as they need it to the roots. Expect to loose your trees for sure if you did not carry out this task before a hard freeze. I have had winters here where the posts were frozen solid and like concrete for many days and still my trees and plants survived just fine when I watered before the freeze. Now I'm not talking just for say a one night freeze here I'm talking when it stays that way for many days.
By the way here is what it looked like in part of my garden the very first day an hour after it started snowing.
A few hours later I realized that it was not going to be a short duration and was only going to get worse so I moved all the trees to the ground in front of there stands.
Trust me this is only a few I have nearly three hundred eighteen bonsai so it took about three hours to move them all and I was needless to say a tired man when done but it was necessary. So good luck to you where ever in the world you are and have a happy holidays on the horizon. Be prepared is the word of the day. Please if you have not read the article I wrote in 2019 about winterization it has suggestions that are not in this article so I suggest you read it also.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Time to winterize
Yes it is that time of the year once again, at least for my area and zone to start getting the plants ready for winter that is just around the corner. So you may ask well what do you do or what needs to be done to get the plants ready for the winter months.
The first thing I want to convey to you is that you should be very vigilante of the daily weather forecast for your area or zone and pay close attention to that to be truly safe. Storms we all no can happen in just a matter of hours and catch us sometimes off guard or not prepared. So above all for the health of our trees and plants be ready and prepared at a moments notice to move your plants into a safe area and out of the harsh winds and freezing temps if you have a space.
If no space is available then you must take other actions. For instance you may want to try and have a cold frame built and in the ground just slightly above ground so light can still filter down to the plants. Or may be even two or three cold frames or more depending on the size and amount of trees you may have in your collection.
If this is not an option and something you can not do then the next best thing is to move as many plants as you can safely to the ground and as close to some structure your home or complex for instance and then mulch over the tops of your pots up and too the first branch on your trees. Some people have been known to use even blankets or burlap sacks if available any thing that you could help to wrap around the pots and top layer of your plants to help protect them from the harsh elements.
If you live near or close to any kind of farming community or place where they sell farming supplies then I would be looking for some hay bales one or two depending on how many bonsai your trying to cover and protect for the winter months. Spread the hay about around all the tress and up to the tops of the pots and then I would place about half and inch of hay right on the top of the pot. Like I stated try to keep the potted plants at ground level and as close together as possible this will help prevent heat loss and also conserve space in the area used.
In my area I only use this method if it gets totally extreme cold or perhaps snows and the temperature lowers into the teens for several days. I live in Oregon in the Great Northwest and yes there have been times when it gets into the teens but seldom.
So in my area for the most part the plants are left in there original display areas and only moved to the ground in case of severe weather conditions or very high winds that could or might blow the potted tree from its existing platform.
As for my own personal trees I like to make sure that they are always in the best possible health and condition that I can provide before winter sets in. I also like to have my tress planted in the highest grade of bonsai pot as possible. Some people just never use good pots or in some cases even bother at all they simply leave the tree in the nursery potted plastic pot and do not bother with a high grade well fired pot at all. Well the difference is noticeable when spring arrives and your posts are either chipping off glaze or the pot is cracked.
It simply costs a little more to insure you have a well winterized pot for your plant. Winter month temperatures do and will fluctuate and things tend to move and contract at the temp affects it so if not a well fired pot to with stand this you will have many pots over the years that will crack chip or simply break all together.
I like to take my plants one at a time in the month of September and begin preparation for winter.
The month of September is probably one of the most critical of all months for fertilization of your tress for the setup of nutrients for the following spring. The tree needs this fertilizer to make sugars and starches for the next springs explosion of growth.
I prepare my fertilizer in empty organic tea bags and use about two good teaspoons per bag and the amount of bags used depends on the size of the pot so for an example for a 12 inch sized pot I may use four bags and this is only my personal preparation some may use more or even less that is there choice.
I also like to clean off the top layer of bonsai soil being careful not to disturb the roots and add just a little bit of new materiel for added protection during the winter. Another thing to remember is most all tress roots settle in for the winter in most colder locations around the end of October and when at night the temperatures begin to drop below 42 degrees the roots tend to stop moving and then the tree begins to rest or is not nearly as active if at all.
At this time also I like to do any trimming of dead materiel away from the tree and in some cases I will even set some wire on certain tress as fall is the best time to see the limb structure at its best once all the leaves have fallen off and nothing is in the way of wiring.
But of course all of this can and will change depending on the one factor the weather in your given area and if your having a mild fall or a more sever one so again do your home work and watch the weather reports.
In closing always remember that the health of the tree is above all else paramount. So be vigilante and plan a little ahead and you will be glad you did.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Why do we repot bonsai and is it important
First of all let me explain that there are many answers and factors involved in this question . But first and for most in my opinion and very important it is for the health of the tree. Why do we re-pot and when is yet another question that often is ask of me and then again the answers are varied so let's get right into it and see if I can possibly answer some of your questions with the proper answers.
It is of my opinion after creating and working with many types of bonsai trees over the years that one of the most critical things we as bonsai artists need to learn and do with our bonsai are first watering properly and second re-potting when needed for the health of the tree. Your main job as a bonsai artist is of course healthy tress and you can not attain that buy sitting on the side lines wondering what to do. So let's get on with it and see some of what is involved.
First of all we may be re-potting because we only wish to change the values of the tree by that I mean perhaps we want a different pot for a different overall look and or feel or perhaps we want a different color of pot or we wish to re-position the way the tree sit's in the pot and we may want to change some of the styling which in turn often affects the pot chosen for the tree. Or as stated above perhaps we are re-potting because the tree needs it for the total health of that tree. Which I might add is most often the reason we do re-pot our trees and that is to keep them healthy and thriving for many years in pots.
So when and how often do you re-pot you may ask and again I would answer there are many factors that we would take into the scope of it all. The type of tree or shrub and the health of that tree or shrub and other reasons are many but is your tree healthy and growing vigorous and strong? If so then why re-pot I ask?
But on the other hand is it in need of re-potting because it is root bound or not growing any more and just kind of sitting around on the bench not doing much, do you wish possibly to re-pot it because you want or need a different pot and or shape style and or color. Is it the proper time of the year to re-pot the tree and is it healthy enough to re-pot.
Once you are more experienced then you will learn when and how, and it will be a task nearly every year for your deciduous and of course longer for conifers simply because conifers grow at a much slower pace than do deciduous trees.
Although at this point in this article I will endeavor to give you my own personal insight here. The teachings in many of the better quality bonsai books on the subject will try to tell you or point out to you the age old wisdom taught by the Chinese and or Japanese that the rule of thumb pardon that pun that for conifer it should be every three to five years and for deciduous every other year. I personally find this to be rubbish.
I have been raising and growing bonsai trees and shrubs since the young age of 9 and I'm not nearly 80 and I have trees in my collection that are truly as healthy as can be for any bonsai and some have not been re-potted on that time line or any other time scale.
I pot or re-pot when it is as explained above for most for the health of the tree but why as the old saying goes take a hammer and fix what is not broken. Simply put as I can it is a matter of your choice and the way you may or may not have been taught.
You as a bonsai grower or caretaker must learn about your trees and there needs and if I might say the wants of every tree as they by species are all different other than a huge class they might belong too.
Some need little attention and can grow on healthy and fine for many years with out being totally fussed over or touched at all other than to water and fertilize. While yet others will need that so called time table and need attended to year after year by re-potting and root pruning and so forth. So I would tell you if your going to grow bonsai for your own personal enjoyment or for resale learn the needs of each species of tree and or shrub and the class it resides in and what it requires to grow vigorous and healthy.
There are so many yet other total factors that I could touch on here in this article but I fear for the sake of bonsai in general you would after all become totally bored so I'm trying only to hit on the real reasons.
It would be fair to say here that most all deciduous trees should be re-potted in the very early spring or when you as the owner can first see signs of buds begging to swell and close to opening on into leaves.
In point of fact please kind of consider re-potting to that of major surgery on your self it is a critical thing and must be carried out in a good clean manor and in satisfactory time, and by that I mean you should be prepared and have at least some knowledge of what to do, you should not be fumbling around looking for a tool that you should have had at hands reach right from the start or you should not be letting the exposed roots dry out because you do not have a spray bottle with water at hand to keep them misted and wet while working.
Of course there are many other things that are involved and I will try to explain them as best as I can but if your indeed a beginner or in question of what to do it is always best to attain as much information to prepare yourself in advance or simply take a class from someone that is accomplished and can instruct you how to do it, there is truly no substitute for hands on information.
Now Conifers can and will wait until further into the spring to re-pot. So my rule is to re-pot my deciduous first and conifers second unless totally needed sooner for the health of the tree.
We as the surgeons must be prepared and ready in advance, we need to have all necessary tools ready cleaned and a new pot selected and prepared if your indeed going to use a different pot. If your going to use the same pot the tree was already in then it is slightly done a little different but still all tools and materials should be prepared in advance. You would not take a patient into the operating room and not be prepared.
What are the tools needed for the task at hand?
Now at this point bear in mind that this is my way of doing it and could be done different by others and I would be the first to tell you that this is only my method and not always excepted by others and that opinions are like clothes most everyone has some and or wears them but opinions of how they dress in them can truly differ. So it is up to you to decide. If you like my method use it if not find another's way of showing you or doing it.
First off let me explain my method when using a new pot. I will always have my pot prepared in advance and ready to accept the tree. The pot could be of any of many different styles and shapes but it should always have at least one main drain hole and possibly more and some smaller and other tiny holes for inserting wire tie downs. I would interject here that the hardest pots to use are ones with only one main drain hole and they are very plentiful so you will always see a lot of them around in Nursery's I personally try to avoid them if there are other choices as the process for making and tying in screening and tie down wires is somewhat different for this type of pot.
But if your out and about pot shopping then try to attain a pot with more than one drain hole and at least two if not more smaller holes to insert wire tie downs into the pot. Now let us assume that you have selected a new pot with these characteristics and are ready to prepare that pot.
First step is to cover the drain hole from the inside of the pot with some drain screening so that bugs and other incest's most often can not attain entrance into your pot from the underside. Turn your pot upside down on your working surface and measure across the drain hole from left to right or right to left does not matter the width of the drain screen your going to use and it should by pass on either side of the drain hole at least ample enough to completely cover the hole and have some material left over all the way around that area.
Then cut a piece of wire from at least a size 1 or 1.5 or possibly 2 or 2.5 of at least three times the length of the size of your drain hole. Now it is of note to make here that there are many different types of ties for the drain screen but in this lesson I only use one and that is of the U shape simply attained buy bending and shaping the cut piece of wire in the shape of a U equal lengths on either side. So if you were for instance to hold up your thumb and little finger straight up and tuck the rest of your fingers into your palm you would form like a U looking shape and that is what you want with the wire tie for the main drain screen in your pot. I guess here it could be easiest explained that the shape would indeed look like a staple.
Also for the purpose of this demonstration I'm going to use a pot that does indeed have only one main drain hole and some other holes for tie down wires. Now in the picture below you see the bottom of the pot and it could be any style of pot as long as it complements the tree and of course that is a different lesson and time.
So then indeed below you can view a picture of the pot I selected and the tools I use to re-pot with but remember like I said this is only my selection and may vary from person to person.
So then here are my choices from left to right first the pot with one main large drain hole and five much smaller holes that are used for wire tie downs and that I will discuss in a moment but first the rest of the tools in the picture, next is my curved blade used to help loosen the soil around the edges of the pot if you are indeed re-potting a plant that is already in a pot. This will be yet another lesson in part two of this series of re-potting in the next session I will go into more detail of the actual re-potting of a tree that indeed is going to go right back into the same pot and more showing you how to trim the roots and make it ready to go back into the existing pot. But in this lesson I'm not showing the trimming of roots and all the other factors only the way I prepare a pot and make it ready to plant a tree assuming of course that the tree has all ready been prepared for the pot and ready to plant.
Next you will see my wire cutters, then there are my are my pliers, next are my chop sticks, and finally my Scissors. Then you will see one piece of screen that I have already cut for my drain hole.
All the above are what I use to re-pot and to make ready my pot. Wire is the only thing not shown in this first example and a spray bottle for keeping roots wet wile the process is taking place. Wire of course depends on the tree its self and the size and how large or small the tree may be. For obvious reasons a little bigger wire for tie downs if the tress is indeed larger and needs it and smaller of course for smaller trees that is your choice as to what size you use and if it be copper or aluminum and again this is a matter of preference.
Next then I would take the piece of screen that I cut to size and turn my pot over and position the screen in the pot as close to center of the main drain hole as possible then I would take my precut U shaped wire and run the wire through the precut screening just at the very edges of the main drain hole on either side as to make a rather good snug fit then hold in place with your thumb or other fingers while you turn the pot back over and then press the wire emerging out of the bottom drain hole into place on the bottom of the pot firmly with your other thumb to hold the drain screen snugly in the pot.
All right then now we come to the tie down wires they are to of course added into the pot from the bottom and then brought to the top and also in the shape of the former U. They are used to tie the tree into the pot anchoring it in place. There are couple of main reasons, one so that the tree is sung and stable in the pot and the roots are not moving all around in the pot every time the wind wiggles the tree and to insure that it is not blown out of the pot in foul weather and of course to prevent your not so bonsai friendly friends from picking up your tree by the trunk and in so doing actually yanked it free removing it from the pot because it was not wired into the container. On my gosh did I really say that... Yes in my early years before I learned to wire them it actually happened just that way.
All right then let's make ready our tie down wires and insert them into the pot. I take enough wire to measure at least three quarters around the pots circumference and one slightly smaller buy perhaps and inch or so at best then I bend these wires also into a u shape and then insert them into the smaller tie down holes most often at the outer edges of the better well made pots and you will indeed learn what are good pots as you progress and what are bad ones for sure. Now pull these wires on through and place them as close to the edges of the pot as you can and actually place them over the rim or edge of the pot out of your way.
Now your ready to plant and make ready your chosen tree. Next I would place a layer of medium to large pumice into the bottom of the pot for drainage. Then I would place at least one scoop of my favorite potting soil into the pot in the position I want the tree to sit. I will work the scoop of soil into a upwards mound and then carefully position the tree over that mound and gently push down on the mound while twisting the tree from side to side slightly to insure some of that soil works its way into the center mass of the root ball on the tree.
Now then I'm ready to tie my tree into the pot into the desired position. I will bring the wires together over the mass of root ball as gently as possible and then twist them together a few times to ensure they have made a grip and then I will take my pliers and gently pull upwards taking out some of the slack in the wire and then with the pliers make a couple of twists too the wire and release then repeat till you feel that you have indeed secured the plant into the pot. Now your ready to begin adding more soil and working the plant into its desired container.
Once again here I will add that you should use if possible two sets of tie down wire and if not one will often suffice. But again more is better and once again a matter of choice and preferences. This way with more tie downs you can work from one side or the pot to the other and make even a more secure tie down overall. As most people that have been doing bonsai for any time will tell you the wire ties are also now acting as the anchor for the tree because in a lot of cases you have removed larger roost and even the main tap root of the given tree to insure that it fit in the pop you selected in the first place.
Now here below you can see a proper prepared pot with drain hole screen in place and cut to proper size at edges so not to have excess wire on the bottom of the pot which could make the pot shaky or wobble around on it sitting surface. Some do have legs while yet others do not so they are not raised up so that the wire does not interfere with the pot wobbling around. Of course it is best to find a pot slightly raised above its intended surface some what either with legs or some other way slightly above the surface or you might need to raise your pot up by placing something under it.
Also another good use for chop sticks if your just starting out with bonsai and want to really learn when your plant needs to be watered then take a pair and break them in half making now four pieces and place one of them into your potted tree all the way to the bottom and then every day pull it up and take a look at it and you will be able to see the water line on almost all wooden chops sticks as they will absorb water and then when drying out the water line will continue to works it way up the chops stick. the closer to the top the dampness is the sooner you should water again. Simple enough right.
Anyway off the beaten path here so back to it, now I will take my scoop and add more soil all around the pot and gently tap the sides of the pot to settle as much of the new soil as I can then starting at the edge of the pot I will work the chop stick all the way to the bottom and gently wiggle back and forth and with my for finger pushing soil on down into the hole the wiggling has made and then repeat all the way around the pot at the edges until it is firm and once in a while I will tap the sides of the pot yet again to see if more soil will indeed settle if not then I will insert the chop stick at about a 45 degree angle pushing towards the center of the pot and work the same way causing new soils to settle in the center root mass closer to the center of the potted tree. Work the soil until you feel that no more will fall into the small holes you have made by the wiggling of the chop sticks back and forth.
Now like I stated and will once more this is my method but you must learn what truly works best for you and if you take lessons from some one and they clearly have been doing this for a few years and have proof to show you then you should by all means do what they tell you or show you because it should be clear to anyone that if they have planted trees in bonsai pots in there garden and they are healthy then they must know and have some knowledge of what they are doing.
Bare in mind this is part one of re-potting and I will show you the other parts of my ways to re-pot in yet another installment in part two so be looking for that and as always happy bonsai to you and hope you return for more of my ramblings..
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2016 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me: h.yearout@gmail.com
