Has anyone ever done this?

emorrin · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 2:31 pm Post subject: Has anyone ever done this?

Now that I have joined the pond basket craze, I have bought one for all my Pines, Mugo and Japanese Black variety. For my dwarf 'white bud' mugo pine, I bought a circular pond basket. When I brought it home, I realized that it is a bit too deep for my liking. As a result, I am planning on using an old music Compact Disc (CD) like a tile. I plan on filling up the bottom half of the pond basket with crushed granite then put the CD on top of that. I plan on drilling a bunch of small holes in the CD for better draining. Once I have this in place, I will re pot my dwarf Mugo Pine on top of the CD with my usual potting medium (i.e. Turface, crushed lava, akadama, and a little aged pine bark.

Has anyone used a CD as a "tile" before? I am wondering if the plastic or silver coating on the CD may be harmful to the Pine roots? This idea sounds good in theory but ...

kenuk · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:24 pm Post subject: Re: Has anyone ever done this?

I have not used a C D disc before but i have heard of plenty of people that have, the plastic won't do any arm so have that facing up. Also i don't think there is any need to drill any holes you don't want the roots to grow through the holes.

ken

emorrin · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Has anyone ever done this?

That is true about not needing to drill any holes in the CD now that I think more about this. First, there is a big hole in the middle of the CD. Second, we are talking about a mesh pot, not a regular solid pot, so drainage will not be an issue.

Thanks for the confirmation.

kenuk · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject: Re: Has anyone ever done this?

if you are still worried if the plastic or silver will be arm-full to the tree, you can always cover it with something like cooking foil.

n33bling · Green Belt Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 514 Location: Oregon

I am using pond baskets on a few pines. planted some 3 years ago,it was tough keeping enough water on them, this year the trees are in a raised bed in the the basket and growing good. had to move one about 2 weeks after putting them in the bed and the root growth was surprising Very Happy

think that I will leave them another year to take advantage of the new roots before digging them up. trying a crape myrtle seedling in one all so but in a 5 gal pot with the basket , it's doing better than it ever has.
as for the Cd's I plan on planting maples with them in the ground like a tile with them going through the hole. I don't think that there is anything that will leach out of the plastic.
I think others are trying the baskets all so Smile

emorrin · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:35 am Post subject: Re: Has anyone ever done this?

I figured out even a better solution. I am using the transparent filler CD that comes on top of a stack of new CD-Rs. You are probably right though in nothing leaching out on a regular CD. The only thing that I thought could happen in the silver part of the CD flaking off over time. I have done further investigation and have seen a few other instances where people use CDs so I went for it.

Here is the Mugo Pine, pond basket, transparent CD top (you can barely see it but it is there) and crushed granite:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii208/emorrin/BonsaiRomeo272.jpg

Here it is after I put the granite and CD in:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii208/emorrin/BonsaiRomeo273.jpg

Here it is after re pot:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii208/emorrin/BonsaiRomeo278.jpg

n33bling · Green Belt Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 514 Location: Oregon

isn't spring or during there dormant season better for transplanting most things Question

did you do root pruning? keep it well watered, might consider some shade to recover, some superthrive or vitimin b1 something for the shock.
I'm shure that someone with more experience with pines will chime in, I done my transplanting usually through the dormant season, unless I can avoid disturbing roots in a potting up into a larger container. hope this works without any trouble for you
I like the tree, looks great Very Happy

emorrin · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:04 pm Post subject: Re: Has anyone ever done this?

I had a feeling that someone would ask why I would re pot in summer. With Mugo Pines, the optimum time to re pot is late summer.

Here is an article about Mugo Pines. They react better to a summer re pot as opposed to spring.

http://www.bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATMugo%20Pines%20Indepth.htm

I agree that all other Pines should be re potted in spring right before they come out of dormancy. As for using superthrive on pines, I have read in several places that it is not good to use superthrive on pines because it kills off the beneficial mycarrhizae fungi. That being said, I don't use superthrive on any of my pines. All I used is a couple of drops of liquid seaweed when I watered. I put all my bonsai/pre-bonsai in a shady area (i.e. under a bench)for at least 2 weeks to let them recoup after the re pot. With this Mugo pine, since it is a dwarf variety, and since I heard they are very delicate, I only root pruned a couple of long roots and did not disturb the rest. I just made sure that they spread out in a nice radial fashion.

n33bling · Green Belt Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 514 Location: Oregon

good to hear Laughing

thanks for the link
I think I'll wait on my trees before trans planting them at least till we get some rain, just to hot and dry where I live Sad

emorrin · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:26 pm Post subject: Re: Has anyone ever done this?

Yeah, Oregon is rather hot this time of year. Vance Wood, who is dubbed "Mr. Mugo" says you can transplant in 90F weather and has done it several times. I am not sure about 100F temps though. It probably would be ok if you don't re pot in the heat of the day