The Root Ball, you need a ball to play the game

So, last year I wanted to grow my own Japanese Black pine. I scoured the internet to find information. I found a good article on https://bonsaitonight.com/. That website is a great resource for all things black pine and other things. The article https://bonsaitonight.com/2011/07/01/how-to-create-seedling-cuttings-japanese-black-pine/ mentioned that he had used some methods that were found in Bonsai Today issue numbers 12 and 20 (Click on the link to find Bonsai Today 1-20 ).  I found out that Kusida Matsuo the author of the article Back Pine From Seed put pine trees in a colander. When the tree grew bigger he would leave the tree in the same colander and plant the tree, colander and all in a bigger colander. Finally when the tree was big enough Mr. Matsuo would remove the tree from the bigger colander and prune the roots. He would not disturb the root ball formed in the original colander.

I am not writing about the japanese black pine per se. I am writing about the idea of

keeping the root ball intact. Here is the idea behind that. If you think about most trees and shrubs from just about any part of the world you imagine the roots in some type of soil. I'm going to generalize here. The trees may bend and sway with the wind.  Snow may bend and breaks branches. However, for the most part the roots remain untouched. Those who hunt trees in the wild take special care of how they remove the tree from the soil. It is very meticulous work to remove a tree and for it to survive. Big roots are not the problem. The problem is those fine roots that absorb water and nutrients. They hunters try to not disturb these smaller roots as much as is possible.  

We all know that the roots are important. Some trees are not sensitive at all to having the roots moved or cut. I have cut a four inch thick branch off of a ficus and it has rooted just fine, accidentally broken the new roots and the tree doesn't skip a beat. No harm no foul. I have also killed a few pines a couple years back because I root pruned to much, at the wrong time, etc. Yet the intention of this article is not about killing trees. It is about growth rates.

This cutting has no roots yet grew new foliage

Here is the big picture, pruning roots on any tree will slow a tree's growth. A tree feeds itself water and minerals, the building blocks of the trees tissues through the roots. If a tree has more roots it has the capability of taking in more nutrients. Does it necessarily do that? I am not sure. If a tree had a big root system and it is reduced we can agree that the trees capabilities to absorb water and nutrients will diminish. The tree will start to grow roots to get back to equilibrium. This might hinder branch and leaf production.

Unfortunately in bonsai we can not avoid cutting tree’s roots. Cutting roots is part of the process to fit trees in a small pot. When a tree is old and refined cutting roots will rejuvenate the root system.

So, we have to cut roots, and we want to shorten the tree’s recovery time. We can do this by maintaining a tree's root ball. Just like Mr. Matsuo if we leave the roots close to the tree as untouched as possible then the recovery time will be quicker. The size of the root ball will have to coincide with the size of the tree.  Another factor is the pot you use to keep your tree.

Good luck and cheers.

Guerilla gardening...

Collected California coastal live oak in reused water bottle

I believe wholeheartedly that everybody irrelevant of where they live should grow some kind of edible plant some time in their lives. Of course some people absolutely are not able too, but the vast majority can. What does this have to do with bonsai bro? I will tell you. Bonsai is a specialized branch of horticulture. All of the same things that apply to bonsai apply to raising food stuffs. There will be some modifications. Growing bonsai can be more difficult than growing food. Another similarity is guerilla gardening for bonsai and growing vegetables.

Collected Epiphyte

No, this may not be what you may expect. What it is is that sometimes we have to use the things that are at our disposal and not necessarily things we go out and buy. There are different levels of guerilla gardening. I started by collecting seeds. I loved collecting pods and what nots. I would try to grow some. Some would grow, and some would not. Later I would cut jugs open and grow strawberries in them. When I got into bonsai I was able to harvest epiphytic ficus. At my place of employment the gardeners for years have hacked and tried to poison them. They were unwanted, well, not really because I wanted them. I would come to work early, or after work I would cut them out of the trees they were growing out of. I was able to collect some very nice trunks with lots of potential. Sometimes the gardners dumped the pots after they planted some annuals. Yes, I collect those too. When I can't find some pots and I need them i cut open the water bottles that I drink at work. I punch holes with a hot wire.

Collected Wisteria seeds

Discarded Stone pine

Collected Cork oak acorn

I have collected seedlings when I knew they would be mowed. I still collect seeds. I found a California coastal live oak in front of an industrial building. The acorns get crushed by the cars. I try to save as many as possible. I collect wisteria pods in the fall. Where I collect them they get cut off and thrown away.  This last year I collected italian pine trees, aleppo pine trees, and rosemary. They were bought as mini christmas trees. Then after the holidays they were discarded . I thought to myself, what a waste. Some can be made into bonsai now, some will have to wait.

Collected Epiphyte

I am always on the lookout for construction sites. They will always clear a lot before building. Sometimes you can get permission and rescue old bushes. Most will die, but the ones that don't will probably be able to take pruning and root cutting.

Some people don't have an interest in bonsai. They should still grow things. Herbs like rosemary, and parsley are easy and don't need that much space and light. Growing plants gives us a peaceful feeling. Eating plants that we grow gives us satisfaction. Seeds for fruits and vegetables are inexpensive. You can use a two liter bottle of a soft drink to grow herbs. Cut the top off and place on the ground or hang off of a fence or tree.

Collected Kapok seeds

The point is to be creative. To use ingenuity to solve problems. To use the things around you so that you don't have to buy more things. Cheers.

Time, what is it good for?

It's all around us but we never have enough of it. Time, the first and most important lesson in bonsai. Some people do talk about time and patience. However, time is the common denominator in all bonsai. Time is the most important ingredient in making a bonsai. Do what we do to speed things up we can not make a plant grow two seasons worth of growth in one season.

  

My wife (I apologize for using you as an example) loves bonsai. If she did not I would have to find another hobby. Whenever we bought plants she would want to pot those plants right away. There would be no growth, no refinement. I understand what she was doing. I am guilty of doing it too. However, I came to realize that by potting plants before they were developed somewhat I was stunting their growth. Now, it would take even longer to have a bonsai with some refinement.

California Juniper, It's probably more than a hundred years old

If you want to become a master at anything you have to dedicate time to it. You have to sacrifice countless hours training your muscles and mind to do what you want them to do. There is a dichotomy with bonsai. A bonsai has to be worked on and manipulated. There is pruning, wiring, and fertilizing. We have to apply our time to develop the tree. Then there's the part where you give the tree time to grow. The tree has to grow new branches, new leaves, and more roots. That part also takes time. Not doing anything and letting the plant just grow might be the hardest thing for a neophyte bonsaiphile. Although, some trees don't need as much time as others. Then there is the time of rest. That time there is no growth.

I submit to you that the only way to master time is to subjugate to it. In other words, understand that time is not something that we can control. We can not rush time. We can not make a tree grow faster than it does. When we accept that, then and only then can we begin to develop all the other skills needed for growing bonsai.

I was once asked how a trunk could be thickened. The short answer is time. Cheers.