Starting a Japanese "style" garden

[the collecter]

I just got into Bonsai a few month ago and as you can tell by my username I've collected alot of native trees from the general area in which I live. I am now getting to the point where I have too many trees for the roof I now have them on so I'm in the process of making a garden.
Right now I only turned my soil and I am currently in the thought process. I'd like to be able to move my plants around (yearly) my garden without playing around with pots or plant boxes.

my questions:
can I make one big plant box that would be as big as my garden?
can I use a tarp from the hardwear store to do this - will the roots grow through the tarp?

Also:
lattice (I think it's spelled) - the stuff that vines grow on - is that a good enclosure matterial? I'd like to enclose my garden so the neighborhoodlems can't vandlize my plants


If any one could help me out I'd greatly appriciate it
~the collecter~

[Zombiefreak]

I'm not being mean here but why would you want an entire portable garden. This is quite an ambitious project. Bonsai as it stands are portable enough I would think that most people would be satified by this fact. In reality the concept is neat but maybe not so functional. I don't think people on here are unwilling to lend suggestions I just think that most of us might be a little confused about this whole thing, but thats just my opinion. All I can say is think outside the box if your going to do something of a large scale. I would be interested in knowing if you intend on potting the plants into your receptacle or what. I wish I could picture better what your talking about here.

[the collecter]

basicly what I'm talking about is a garden with something on the ground to limit the growth of roots with out using pots. Also I collect trees from all over my area from the wild so my tree inventory is always changing...with that being said, I'm sure I'll change my mind about the placement of my trees - I'd like to be able to move my trees around my garden if another tree would look better in a spot - I do not want my trees planted in the ground with out limitations due to root growth, I'd like to be able to pot my trees if later desired. I fear that if my trees grow with out limiting factors, if I try to put the tree somewhere else, or in a pot I might damage it. I just wanted to know if there's any way I can make a garden and limit root growth with out using plant boxes and pots, not that I want portable trees, I just want to be able to move my trees around my garden if I find another tree that better suites the spot and I can then put the other tree elsewhere in the garden. Could I make a plant box that is as big as my garden, it would be like a huge plant box?

[Zombiefreak]

My thoughts on this would be build indivdual boxes of light wood with adequate drainge and plant your trees in them, periodically check the roots monthly yearly quarterly maybe. In effect you would be building an oversize training container, with the exact dimensions you wish. Always keep in mind with the depth of the box, by using the spacial guide for general in ground plantings then using that measurment add about 1/3 to a full 1/2 over the scale of the recommended in ground planting specs. If this makes sense good if not I will post more info on the idea for container sizing. Let me know how unclear this may be. I'm having a bit of trouble working it out exactly myself.

[Gnome]

Collector/Zombie,

It is detrimental to your plant to greatly overpot. The idea behind this is that the soil will remain damp for too long a period. Training pots should be only marginally oversized. It is benificial to establish a wet/dry cycle in your pots, too large of containers slow the drying time and can lead to root rot. Read this excellent article and take a look around the rest of his site.

[url]https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/earthpot.htm[/url]

Many growers are now using containers with perforated sides to aid in aeration and drainage. These containers are sold as pots for pond plants, check sites that sell pond supplies.

Collector, your best growth will be realized by putting your plants in the ground and leaving them for several years. But don't bother if you think you might dig them up before three years pass. Collected trees should be afforded several years to recover anyway.

Norm

[Zombiefreak]

Thats cool norm but I have been never one to stick to convention. In general it sounds like this gentleman wanted to do an almost completely portable garden. He asked for how I would go about it and off the top of my head I offered a quite brilliant solution. Trees especially if they are native to his area
are going to fare well and acclimate themselves, I don't belive he is talking about moving them consantly just something for root containment, so that they are portable, so adjust the boxes to have phenomal drainage. Experimentation is a reason to defy convention, all while keeping convention in sight so there is no over sight as to what may have gone wrong if the experiment fails.

[the collecter]

"I don't belive he is talking about moving them consantly just something for root containment,"


this is exactly what I'm talking about...it's not that I want portable trees that I can move where ever when ever....however in starting my new garden I have many ideas and since my tree inventory constantly changes (due to collecting native trees) my ideas also are ever changing

example:
Let's say I have a waterfall with room on both sides of it for 1 large tree on each side...let's say these trees are Junipers.
Now let's say I had just gone out and collected 2 nice Holly trees and think they'd look better than the junipers next to my waterfall.
Now I'd like the Hollies where the Junipers are so I'd have some gardening to do.

this is more like what I'm taking about - my mind is always changing - and I'm always looking for that perfection

I just didn't want to have to play with boxes and pots but you guys make good point and it looks like boxes and pots are inevidable here



thanks every one if you have any more suggestions post them, all is appriciated
~the collecter~

[Zombiefreak]

No matter how you do it factor in both what I and norm said and also take into consideration the high risk of transplant shock if you will be continually moving your trees in and out of the ground. It sounds to me like you should take pictures and start using photoshop to get the arrangement you want then stick with that for no less than a year. A year is even risky IMHO the risk of transplant shock increases highly when ever you plan on moving trees so often.

[the collecter]

No matter how you do it factor in both what I and norm said and also take into consideration the high risk of transplant shock if you will be continually moving your trees in and out of the ground. It sounds to me like you should take pictures and start using photoshop to get the arrangement you want then stick with that for no less than a year. A year is even risky IMHO the risk of transplant shock increases highly when ever you plan on moving trees so often.

All my trees do well after I collect them from the wild. I mostly collect saplings and small things like that. I picked a few Poplars about a week ago (got chiggers doing it) and I potted them the next day...I am now seeing new growth on almost all my Poplars. In about a month I watched one Poplar grow from about 3 inches tall to about 8 inches tall. I try to reduce roots of bigger trees as less as possable so I leave as many natural roots as possable, my trees do better this way and I do this with many more trees, not just the Poplars. I just don't want the roots to grow too deep and like I said my tree inventory grows every time I leave the house, this is why I don't have a planed placement in my garden for spacific trees. I don't plan to move them constantly, I only plan to move them if I don't like the location and or if I think something else might seem better there for some reason. I don't transplant trees on a weekly basis, only when it's needed.

[ynot]

I just wanted to know if there's any way I can make a garden and limit root growth with out using plant boxes and pots,

Yes, There is.
Plant them in the garden as usual. BEFORE you do that though, Place a tile, Or an inverted clay saucer works well. [Cheap & easy to get, The smaller ones are less than fifty cents] in the ground and plant the tree over it.
This will force the roots to grow laterally before they head south. You would be better off using containers though if you feel you are going to be moving plants yearly, [Or nearly ].
IMO that would be a bit tough for most trees to survive.

Zombiefreak has suggested an excellent [And harmless] route to take wrt garden design via photoshop.

Goodl luck.
ynot