AusBonsai

I picked up a few Canadian Maples the other day from my local nursery. I'm not sure if there's a lack of stock rotation or they've been left "out the back" far too long before becoming available to the public, but I've always found that plants I buy from there are excessively root bound. With this in mind I decided to take a look and give them some fresh soil and re-pot them. With one of the Maples I came across this chaos of thick roots just below the trunk with finer roots below them. My question is: could these roots be developed in exposed roots, or is this just a hot mess? Secondly, should I keep them exposed as shown or should I bury them under the soil. And thirdly, is nebari the only term used when referring to exposed roots or are there other terms used that indicate different 'styles' like raft and informal upright refer to different styles and mame and shohin refer to different sizes, etc.?

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they are a hot mess,
The solution will be to ground layer a new set of roots that are nice and radially arranged.

Ken

I believe that 'neagari' is the Japanese term for exposed roots but there's just exposed roots. Nebari refers to the area where roots and trunk meet. We use it to talk about the bits of surface root that you can see poking through the soil as they meet the trunk and shows long term stability rather than erosion. If you can see the entire width of a root it should probably be called neagari.

Commercial trees are, unfortunately, potted on quickly without ant regard for the future roots so you usually get this sort of mess in general stock.
I can see some possible potential in the roots shown in the picture but you need to ask whether Canadian maples often grow in places where conditions expose the roots like this. A. Probably not so I would not use this style with this tree.
It does not take much to layer a tree and grow new roots that will complement the bonsai much better.

Thanks Ken and shibui. Would I be right in saying that Spring would be the best time to begin ground layering?

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Would I be right in saying that Spring would be the best time to begin ground layering?

Yep

I would wait until after the leaves fully open in spring
but maybe you could make the cut earlier and collect some sap for syrup before covering the wound to get roots

shibui wrote:maybe you could make the cut earlier and collect some sap for syrup before covering the wound to get roots

Haha, freshly squeezed maple syrup on the Sunday morning pancakes!!


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Hi quodlibet_ens,
Wait until you see new buds appearing in Spring then do the ground layer. Have you ever done a ground layer before?

Regards Ray

Ray M wrote:Wait until you see new buds appearing in Spring then do the ground layer. Have you ever done a ground layer before?

Hi Ray,

I've not attempted a ground layer, but I have air layered before. I imagine it is much the same. What I was planning to do was get myself a sheet of tin and cut it into a disc with a hole in the middle to fit the trunk and place it just under the cut zone so when root grow, they will grow flat along the surface of the tin.

When I airlayer I use sphagnum moss and cling wrap, would I still use sphagnum moss around the cut zone or would I simply use soil? I just imagine with regular water the hormone gel would wash off if I used soil instead of sphagnum moss. Would love to get you feedback on this.

Cheers,
Nathan.



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I'd use plastic instead of tin so you avoid warping and use spag so you avoid drying, the roots will go in search of nutrients

quodlibet_ens wrote:

Ray M wrote:Wait until you see new buds appearing in Spring then do the ground layer. Have you ever done a ground layer before?

Hi Ray,
I've not attempted a ground layer, but I have air layered before. I imagine it is much the same. What I was planning to do was get myself a sheet of tin and cut it into a disc with a hole in the middle to fit the trunk and place it just under the cut zone so when root grow, they will grow flat along the surface of the tin.

When I airlayer I use sphagnum moss and cling wrap, would I still use sphagnum moss around the cut zone or would I simply use soil? I just imagine with regular water the hormone gel would wash off if I used soil instead of sphagnum moss. Would love to get you feedback on this.

Cheers,
Nathan.

Hi Nathan,
Have a look at this article I did for our WIKI site. I have had a great deal of success with this method.

https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... ound_Layer

Regards Ray

Ray M wrote:Have a look at this article I did for our WIKI site. I have had a great deal of success with this method.

https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... ound_Layer

This looks fantastic, Ray! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

When would you suggest is the right time to do this in terms of the trees age? Is it better to do this when the tree is younger, like sapling size, or wait until the tree is older and has some girth in the trunk?



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quodlibet_ens wrote: When would you suggest is the right time to do this in terms of the trees age? Looking at your photos, I would do the layer this year. The trunks are large enough in diameter to allow for this type of layering. This tree being a Maple, I would wait until new buds appear before doing the layer. This will most probably happen early Spring. Is it better to do this when the tree is younger, like sapling size, or wait until the tree is older and has some girth in the trunk? I would do the layer this year when the new buds appear. The sooner you get the new roots going the better. They will mature and develop with the trunk and this will allow for a better Nebari to develop along with the growth of the tree.

Regards Ray

Ray M wrote: I would do the layer this year when the new buds appear. The sooner you get the new roots going the better. They will mature and develop with the trunk and this will allow for a better Nebari to develop along with the growth of the tree.

This is brilliant, Ray, cheers!!

I think I'll be working on all my trees this year!

Thanks again.



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