Growing a Flat Nebari & Video of Fast Draining Soil
Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:24 pm
Nebari are the surface roots of your tree.
When they are thick and spreading in an even radial fashion [Typical for an upright tree.] they really do help to give your bonsai that 'Aged Big Tree' look.
As John Y. Naka said: "Don't make your tree look like a bonsai, Make your bonsai look like a tree."
Here is a Ficus b. cutting that I recently pruned back hard.
[url=https://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0001mc5.jpg][img]https://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3674/ficuscuttingflatnebari0001mc5.th.jpg[/img][/url]
A better shot of a soil ingredient to show the particle size, This is a handful of {mostly} pine bark, [The organic component of my soil. Yes, It is wet.]
Nothing in my soil is any smaller than this. It's chunky as you can tell.
[url=https://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0002xp6.jpg][img]https://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4259/ficuscuttingflatnebari0002xp6.th.jpg[/img][/url]
See how flat it sits on it's own? This is an attribute that will be very helpful when the time comes to put it in a very shallow bonsai pot. [1" deep, Perhaps 3/4"]
[url=https://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0003os5.jpg][img]https://img110.imageshack.us/img110/8830/ficuscuttingflatnebari0003os5.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0004ze3.jpg][img]https://img110.imageshack.us/img110/900/ficuscuttingflatnebari0004ze3.th.jpg[/img][/url]
The root system is very lateral and has not grown straight down into the pot. The root system looks very healthy and fibrous with no large storage roots.
[url=https://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0006ut9.jpg][img]https://img128.imageshack.us/img128/183/ficuscuttingflatnebari0006ut9.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Sorry about the focus here but I wanted to show the bottom of the root system. It consists of small healthy feeder roots, No large storage roots taking up space.
[url=https://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0005un1.jpg][img]https://img124.imageshack.us/img124/104/ficuscuttingflatnebari0005un1.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Why did it happen this way? Here is the answer:
[url=https://img112.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0009gc1.jpg][img]https://img112.imageshack.us/img112/795/ficuscuttingflatnebari0009gc1.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Sitting to the right of the ficus is what once was the bottom of a bottle of cherry coke [The size you get for a dollar from the vending machine.] It has been cut off and trimmed to about 3/4" high.
The ficus was planted on this dome and that forced the roots to grow outward to the edges of it before they could head into deeper soil.
The picture is for illustration only, There was/is soil in-between the tree and the bottle bottom.
This principle is commonly used in training pots or when planting trees out for growth. [Using a slab beneath the tree to promote lateral root growth And hence excellent nebari.]
[url=https://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0008pr0.jpg][img]https://img66.imageshack.us/img66/5060/ficuscuttingflatnebari0008pr0.th.jpg[/img][/url]
This has now been potted into a 4"x4"x3.5"d pot where it will continue to grow unrestrained. This growth will thicken the nebari and later it will be root-pruned to fit into an appropriate pot.
Here is a video of me watering another ficus, This one is a root over rock though I doubt you can tell due to the fact that 90% of the rock is buried. This one is in a much more typical soil mix for me: 85% inorganic/15% organic Soon this will be getting chopped down to just 3.5" or 4" high off the rock vs its current height of 8".
[url=https://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/novusordo1/?action=view¤t=FastSoilVidForHG.flv][img]https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/novusordo1/th_FastSoilVidForHG.jpg[/img][/url]
You can see I am pouring as almost as quickly as it will go, Yet the water does not overflow the rim of the pot.
It simply drains right through.
Notice how soon the water comes out the bottom of the 5"x5"x5" pot. It was just a bit more than half a gallon of water poured through the pot in under 30 seconds.
This is well draining soil. And it is all due to the size of the soil particles. Here is a view of the soil:
[url=https://img113.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pa041774ra8.jpg][img]https://img113.imageshack.us/img113/8405/pa041774ra8.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://www.interworx.com.au/users/brian/]Did you know that little bonsai do not grow up to be big bonsai. Read about it here.[/url]
[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3343]Need Bonsai inspiration? Click here.[/url]
[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3557]Here are tips on taking better pictures of your Bonsai.[/url]
As always questions, or comments are welcome.
ynot
When they are thick and spreading in an even radial fashion [Typical for an upright tree.] they really do help to give your bonsai that 'Aged Big Tree' look.
As John Y. Naka said: "Don't make your tree look like a bonsai, Make your bonsai look like a tree."
Here is a Ficus b. cutting that I recently pruned back hard.
[url=https://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0001mc5.jpg][img]https://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3674/ficuscuttingflatnebari0001mc5.th.jpg[/img][/url]
A better shot of a soil ingredient to show the particle size, This is a handful of {mostly} pine bark, [The organic component of my soil. Yes, It is wet.]
Nothing in my soil is any smaller than this. It's chunky as you can tell.
[url=https://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0002xp6.jpg][img]https://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4259/ficuscuttingflatnebari0002xp6.th.jpg[/img][/url]
See how flat it sits on it's own? This is an attribute that will be very helpful when the time comes to put it in a very shallow bonsai pot. [1" deep, Perhaps 3/4"]
[url=https://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0003os5.jpg][img]https://img110.imageshack.us/img110/8830/ficuscuttingflatnebari0003os5.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0004ze3.jpg][img]https://img110.imageshack.us/img110/900/ficuscuttingflatnebari0004ze3.th.jpg[/img][/url]
The root system is very lateral and has not grown straight down into the pot. The root system looks very healthy and fibrous with no large storage roots.
[url=https://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0006ut9.jpg][img]https://img128.imageshack.us/img128/183/ficuscuttingflatnebari0006ut9.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Sorry about the focus here but I wanted to show the bottom of the root system. It consists of small healthy feeder roots, No large storage roots taking up space.
[url=https://img124.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0005un1.jpg][img]https://img124.imageshack.us/img124/104/ficuscuttingflatnebari0005un1.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Why did it happen this way? Here is the answer:
[url=https://img112.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0009gc1.jpg][img]https://img112.imageshack.us/img112/795/ficuscuttingflatnebari0009gc1.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Sitting to the right of the ficus is what once was the bottom of a bottle of cherry coke [The size you get for a dollar from the vending machine.] It has been cut off and trimmed to about 3/4" high.
The ficus was planted on this dome and that forced the roots to grow outward to the edges of it before they could head into deeper soil.
The picture is for illustration only, There was/is soil in-between the tree and the bottle bottom.
This principle is commonly used in training pots or when planting trees out for growth. [Using a slab beneath the tree to promote lateral root growth And hence excellent nebari.]
[url=https://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ficuscuttingflatnebari0008pr0.jpg][img]https://img66.imageshack.us/img66/5060/ficuscuttingflatnebari0008pr0.th.jpg[/img][/url]
This has now been potted into a 4"x4"x3.5"d pot where it will continue to grow unrestrained. This growth will thicken the nebari and later it will be root-pruned to fit into an appropriate pot.
Here is a video of me watering another ficus, This one is a root over rock though I doubt you can tell due to the fact that 90% of the rock is buried. This one is in a much more typical soil mix for me: 85% inorganic/15% organic Soon this will be getting chopped down to just 3.5" or 4" high off the rock vs its current height of 8".
[url=https://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/novusordo1/?action=view¤t=FastSoilVidForHG.flv][img]https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y291/novusordo1/th_FastSoilVidForHG.jpg[/img][/url]
You can see I am pouring as almost as quickly as it will go, Yet the water does not overflow the rim of the pot.
It simply drains right through.
Notice how soon the water comes out the bottom of the 5"x5"x5" pot. It was just a bit more than half a gallon of water poured through the pot in under 30 seconds.
This is well draining soil. And it is all due to the size of the soil particles. Here is a view of the soil:
[url=https://img113.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pa041774ra8.jpg][img]https://img113.imageshack.us/img113/8405/pa041774ra8.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://www.interworx.com.au/users/brian/]Did you know that little bonsai do not grow up to be big bonsai. Read about it here.[/url]
[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3343]Need Bonsai inspiration? Click here.[/url]
[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3557]Here are tips on taking better pictures of your Bonsai.[/url]
As always questions, or comments are welcome.
ynot