It's too late to do that with the Maples. That kind of branch requires more space between the trees and forced me to space the trees further apart, which was good. The character of individual branching from day one. This Tamarack forest has the same number of trees, 12, and has branching that lends itself to layers of branches and I have always maintained My Maple forest is losing the individual canopies because I didn't start early enough to shape them that way. Most canopies eventually grow together into one canopy, with some individual canopies partly visible on the outskirts, while some others become one big helmet. Some people prefer a low canopy with just the toes of the nebari visable. (There may be other layouts that can be called forests, so expect others to chime in) I like to be able to look up and see bare bottoms of branches and architecture. I like the vertical style of an old growth layout where the trunks are bare for a substantial length, while many people like what I call a clump where the trees are closer together at the base and all of the trunks bow outward. Place the tray under similar conditions as the seedlings were before.ĭo note: If you get your seedlings to grow strongly, think about baby-bending some seedlings to get tight movements.There's a lot of different forms of "forests". I then place the tray in the shade and out of the wind for 24 hours, after which the seedlings can cope with the normal weather again. Using a bonsai watering can or hose attachment that produces a fine mist is best. I use a very fine spray, as regular watering can would disturb the substrate too much. So once the tray is full, water the tray. Meddling with young seedlings and their roots make them somewhat sensitive to drying out. Aftercare for transplanted seedlings Bonsai seedlings For this tray I kept a planting distance of 3*5cm so the seedlings can grow for the rest of the year in this container. I do NOT tap down the soil but let that happen naturally through watering afterwards. Do this until you have filled the new container. The substrate being fluffy and dry it falls back into the hole directly covering the roots. Holding the seedling with one hand next to the spatula, I push the substrate sideways with the spatula creating a small hole. As we are at the start of the growing season and bursting with seedling energy this will only slow them down for a day or so.įor replanting I take the spatula. As the taproot has no function for us, I pinch the tip off between my nails, ensuring at least half of the total amount of roots is preserved. For bonsai we prefer horizontal roots for a good nebari. At this stage you usually have one long root going down and few side-roots. Usually a bunch of them come up and I put all of them with their roots in the dish with water to keep the fragile roots wet. This will loosen the substrate and you can then gently (!) pull the seedlings out. By subsequently leveling it the substrate with seedlings is lifted up. I start off by pushing the spatula vertically into the tray, a bit away from the seedlings. How to transplant seedlings for bonsaiįor starters, find a location out of the wind and in the shade to avoid unneeded stress for the seedlings. Finally, I use a chopstick or spatula to lift the seedlings. I keep this substrate fairly dry before planting and I do water the pot at this stage. The grainy component is there to facilitate later cleanup of the roots. All is sifted to avoid big lumps and create a fluffy substrate. For substrate I use a mixture of good quality potting soil, enriched with some fertilizer and an equal amount of grainy substrate. Of course, a large flat container with substrate to plant the seedlings in. Then I have a shallow tray of water, where I can put seedlings that I take out of the tray. As they were very crowded I have started to thin them and repot some individuals. Now with the sunny days they have shot up and started to produce their first real leaves. In any case, the first seeds started to sprout in late February, due to the warm winter weather we have had. And a few random elm seeds I came across are in there. Predominantly these are Japanese maples and possible some trident maples too. These seeds were collected from trees growing along the street so I am not completely sure what species they are. In winter I have sown a range of maple and elm seeds.
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