Will it increase the probability of disease or pestilence if I put my
trees among the garden plants in the backyard? Are there any
pathogens that would share a tree host and say, an Elephant Ear host?

At the moment, I have my trees leaning against the house on shipping
pallets, but have been thinking of putting them nearer the ground
spread across the yard, where they might become exposed to disease or
pests.

Has anyone seen a correlation between growing bonsai alongside flowers
and all that, and disease?

Robert the Bearded.

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Robert Kieffer wrote:
Will it increase the probability of disease or pestilence if I put my
trees among the garden plants in the backyard? Are there any
pathogens that would share a tree host and say, an Elephant Ear host?

At the moment, I have my trees leaning against the house on shipping
pallets, but have been thinking of putting them nearer the ground
spread across the yard, where they might become exposed to disease or
pests.

Has anyone seen a correlation between growing bonsai alongside flowers
and all that, and disease?


Sure. Aphids are fairly indiscriminate, as are white fly,
mealybug, various stinkbugs, and some scale. If your pots
are ON the ground, you'll undoubtedly get earthworms in your
soil and that's not good, either.

Of course, shipping pallets near/against your house isn't a
great idea, either because of termites.

Bonsai should be off the ground, on tables (or platforms),
ideally just below eye level -- but few of us do that.
There should be lots if space around each tree.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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In a message dated 8/2/2005 9:30:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Has anyone seen a correlation between growing bonsai alongside flowers
and all that, and disease?


You probably don't want your plants directly on the ground because:
1. critters that otherwise couldn't get in your pots can if in contact
with the ground.
2. Pots don't drain properly.
3. Roots can go into the ground, which gives extra growth that might
not be supported if the roots are cut free of the soil.
Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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Then again, putting pots directly on the ground and letting the roots grow
out... only to be root chopped at a later day is one way of getting more
growth out of the plant! That way you still have a rootball in the pot, but
the plant has had more room to spread... similar to chopping around the
roots of a grown-in-the-ground plant a few months before digging it up for
bonsai

From: "Billy M. Rhodes"
Reply-To:
To:
Subject: [IBC] Growing bonsai near or among other plants.
Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 17:48:36 EDT

In a message dated 8/2/2005 9:30:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Has anyone seen a correlation between growing bonsai alongside flowers
and all that, and disease?


You probably don't want your plants directly on the ground because:
1. critters that otherwise couldn't get in your pots can if in
contact
with the ground.
2. Pots don't drain properly.
3. Roots can go into the ground, which gives extra growth that
might
not be supported if the roots are cut free of the soil.
Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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Sue Marsh wrote:
Then again, putting pots directly on the ground and letting the roots
grow out... only to be root chopped at a later day is one way of getting
more growth out of the plant! That way you still have a rootball in the
pot, but the plant has had more room to spread... similar to chopping
around the roots of a grown-in-the-ground plant a few months before
digging it up for bonsai


Yes. That works, but you have to be willing to put up with
earthworms and other critters that can more easily reach the
tree when it is on the ground.

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

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Are earthworms such a big problem in the pot? You seem real down on
them. Of mollusks, slugs are the bigger annoyance.

But the general idea seems to be that its a bad idea to put the trees
with other plants, I'll leave them where they are for now I guess.
Maybe I'll elevate them some more.

But I'll definately keep the idea of letting the roots into the ground
to encourage growth. That sounds like it might work pretty well with
willows to get the trunk thicker. Though I don't have a willow, I
could always start one, I reckon.

Thanks all,
Robert the Bearded.

On 8/2/05, Jim Lewis wrote:
Sue Marsh wrote:
Then again, putting pots directly on the ground and letting the roots
grow out... only to be root chopped at a later day is one way of getting
more growth out of the plant! That way you still have a rootball in the
pot, but the plant has had more room to spread... similar to chopping
around the roots of a grown-in-the-ground plant a few months before
digging it up for bonsai


Yes. That works, but you have to be willing to put up with
earthworms and other critters that can more easily reach the
tree when it is on the ground.

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

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I have mine in the middle of my garden on a small bench, that way I
enjoy them with the rest of my garden and they ad nice visual
interest.

I'm not sure that what everyone said was discouraging you from putting
them in with your plants. Just make sure they are slightly elevated on
something. Bricks or concrete blocks work pretty well if you can't
build a bench or platform.

I had a really bad Aphid outbreak this year in my garden, my first one
since buying my house 5 years ago, and they didn't spread to my
bonsai. I was able to control them with a good blast of water from the
hose twice a day. So don't be too afraid of putting them close to your
garden plants. Just make sure if you see any sign of disease and or
pestilence in your garden plants that you take proper steps to rid
yourself of it before it becomes a major problem.

-Ethan

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Ethan Smith wrote:
I have mine in the middle of my garden on a small bench, that way I
enjoy them with the rest of my garden and they ad nice visual
interest.


Do you allow them to get full sun during the day? I keep mine on my
front porch -- one gets sun for a few hours, the other just shade
throughout the day. Both are thriving.

Maybe I'm missing something....why are earthworms a bad thing? They
aerate the soil, correct? They won't eat the trees or roots... Now I
wouldn't want them in my bonsai pots, but training pots or growing boxes
are another story - aren't they?

Jeff Isom
Cleveland, OH

-----Original Message-----
From: Internet Bonsai Club ] On Behalf
Of Jim Lewis
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 8:06 PM
To:
Subject: [IBC] Growing bonsai near or among other plants.

Sue Marsh wrote:
Then again, putting pots directly on the ground and letting the roots
grow out... only to be root chopped at a later day is one way of
getting
more growth out of the plant! That way you still have a rootball in
the
pot, but the plant has had more room to spread... similar to chopping
around the roots of a grown-in-the-ground plant a few months before
digging it up for bonsai


Yes. That works, but you have to be willing to put up with
earthworms and other critters that can more easily reach the
tree when it is on the ground.

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

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********
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********
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--
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail
+++++

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Isom, Jeff (EM, PTL) wrote:
Maybe I'm missing something....why are earthworms a bad thing? They
aerate the soil, correct? They won't eat the trees or roots... Now I
wouldn't want them in my bonsai pots, but training pots or growing boxes
are another story - aren't they?

Jeff Isom

If you want the soil in the pots (whatever kind) to drain,
and you do, then earthworms -- at least a lot of them -- are
a bad idea.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - When we
see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to
use it with love and respect - Aldo Leopold - A Sand County
Almanac

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In a message dated 8/3/2005 10:38:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
writes:

Do you allow them to get full sun during the day? I keep mine on my
front porch -- one gets sun for a few hours, the other just shade
throughout the day. Both are thriving.

The amount of light a plant needs to grow well can depend upon a lot of
things, but generally it is the natural habitat of the plant. Some plants grow
naturally as "understory" plants in the shade of others. Some plants will do best
in full sun. One thing to look at is "internodal distance," that is, the
distance between leaves. A plant searching for light will get longer internodes. A
Ficus benjaminia in full sun will have internodes very close together but on
one indoors the internodes will be inches apart.
If you want compact Bonsai usually you give them full sun. The big exception
is some Japanese Maples which are true understory trees and want dappled shade
as under a larger tree.

Billy on the Florida Space Coast

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