On 18 Dec 2004 at 9:11, Mark Hill wrote:

Sure is quiet in here !!
Everyone in the northern hemisphere gone dormant ?

I'd like to start a discussion about replanting forests.
I have three.
A three tree gingko (thanks Carl !)
A seven tree larch (my creation)
A 21 tree Amur Maple (club auction)

Sometime this spring I'd like to repot the gingko and larch, and check the
roots on the maple.
This is a scary proposition for anyone who's never done a forest before.

Any words of wisdom from my learned friends ?


Yeah. "The books" are silent about repotting forests, aren't
they? Lots of info on how to design and plant but zilch about
repotting.

Anyway. Only repot forests when they are _thoroughly_
rootbound.

Treat the 3-tree planting like one tree (assuming the trees are
close together. Just don't do a heavy soil removal. Lift the
treees and snip long roots. (Do NOT repot unless the trees'
roots are thoroughly intertwined and the trees don't move
independently when you try to jiggle them.)

The bigger ones are more of a problem. Here's what _I_ have
done:

Remove the moss and any other small plantings.

Take a VERY sharp and sturdy knife (it will not be sharp by the
time you are done and you may even have to sharpen it midway)
and cut down to the bottom of the pot, tray or slab completely
around each defined grouping of trees within the main
composition, cutting as tightly as you feel comfortable about
around each group. I don't remove the trees from their
positions, but I DO scoop out the soil from _between_ the
groups. I have a very narrow trowel I use for this job. You
undoubtedly will find large uncut roots crossing into this
unoccupied territory and you will need to cut these with either
the SHARP knife or a SHARP root trimmer of some kind.

There will be a number of more or less ragged root ends sticking
out from the tree clumps. These need to be trimmed cleanly,
too. If it appears that there are too many very large roots in
that clump, you will need to carefully delve inside the soil
there (disturbing the trees as little as possible) and cut some
of them (again, cleanly). A scissors with longish blades is
useful here, but unless you carefully resharpen them they won't
be useful for branches again afterwards.

Replace soil from where you scooped it out, add a layer on top
(you probably took a good bit of soil off with the moss). Water
thoroughly, preferably a gentle shower from a watering can, then
wait a few minutes and repeat. Press the fresh soil down with
your fingers or a flat trowel, add more if needed, and water
again.

Sit the whole thing in semi-shade for a week or two. Don't
water too much, but don't let it go dry.

After a couple of weeks, add soil if needed, then moss --
preferably fresh moss (you've undoubtedly added the old moss to
your shady "moss farm" on the north side of your house for
harvest again in a few years).

I've heard people say to lift forests all at once and treat them
like a single tree. When I tried that, the whole damn thing
fell apart and I had to start from scratch. I don't think that
works for more than 2-3 or maybe 5 trees clumped close together.

Good luck, and if others have another (and better way) please
let us know, though I don't have any forests that will need work
for a couple of years or more. (Except, of course, for a couple
that I'm gonna totally redo next spring.)

Jim Lewis - - This economy is a wholly
owned subsidiary of the environment. - Gaylord Nelson

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