Buying a new tree
- AlienPotter
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- BonsaiLearner
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I think you may have slightly confused organic soil with field soil (the soil that mallsai come in) as people say to immediately remove the clay-rich field soil from the roots of the tree because it doesn't have any of the above properties.
I wouldn't buy plants from online
Ed
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- leatherback
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you say you do not want to trim roots. But, once you start working on getting the old soil out of the rootball, you are going to do lots of damage. So it would be best to only do this on an very healthy plant.
Organics are not bad. It is just harder to control the nutrient fluxes & moisture status. Which is why many people move away from an organic/humus based substrate to a coarse in-organic substrate. However, pretty much all plants can grow in normal soil-like substrates. It just requires better attention of the grower.
What do you mean with sharp edges? And why? Never ever heard this before, and cannot see the biological reasons?BonsaiLearner wrote: that can retain water, drain freely, has sharp edges and aerates well you should be fine.
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- BonsaiLearner
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leatherback wrote:
What do you mean with sharp edges? And why? Never ever heard this before, and cannot see the biological reasons?BonsaiLearner wrote: that can retain water, drain freely, has sharp edges and aerates well you should be fine.
It's something I heard once, it's supposed to split the growing roots. It may be complete hokum but I guess it stuck in my head.
Ed
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- AlienPotter
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- Auk
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I have seen this before. The idea behind it is that, when the tip of a root encounters the sharp edge, it will split, thus creating finer roots.leatherback wrote: What do you mean with sharp edges? And why? Never ever heard this before, and cannot see the biological reasons?
This is a myth that has been busted.
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- Auk
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Colin Lewis, source:Auk wrote: This is a myth
www.colinlewisbonsai.com/Reading/soils2.html
"Shape
Here many myths abound…. Some would have you believe that sharp-edged grit is best because when a root hits the sharp edge it it forced to split in two. Preposterous! For one thing that is not what causes root division, for another, the chance of a root tip colliding precisely head-on with the edge of a grain of grit are millions to one. "
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- AlienPotter
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- Bunsen33
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AlienPotter wrote: What is the problem you see in mail ordering your plants?
Most people are reluctant to purchase plants over the internet because there is really no knowing what you will receive. I'm sure it will probably be the species you ordered; but health, size, structure, presence of pests, etc are all a gamble. But maybe if the price is right it's worth it. Maybe you end up with this ugly tree you hate.
Overnight shipping costs less than the gas/petrol to drive there?
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- AlienPotter
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