Tree Know How & Video Guides
Explore
Starting a tree from seed or sapling brings many rewards. If you’re interested in;
- Tree development and general knowledge of how different tree species work.
- Growth manipulation in nature and how they react.
- Observing the progress throughout your lifetime.
- Growing your trees in pots, in the ground or turning them into bonsai.
you’ve come to the right place.
In the world’s current situation we all know that trees are essential to our very existence. So why not grow something different and unusual as an ornamental piece. Dependent on the species of tree, they grow much faster than you may think, but don’t be put off by this. You’ll not wake up one morning and find a 100 meter tall redwood that’s sneaked out of it’s pot and snuggled down in the flowerbed at night. They only require a few minutes of your time once a year to manipulate, prune and designing a shape. Starting trees young, you’ll learn how each species develops, what their requirements are and what you can and can’t do. If you have a keen eye, you may learn as you go. Most of what I’ve learnt and shared is my personal experience in growing trees. I have video guides on “Youtube” which are at the bottom of this page. I’ll continue to make more as I learn what people want to know, so feel free to ask me anything. You’ll find that your question will likely be the content of a future video. If you’re thinking it, I can guarantee someone else is.
The B word. I love a bonsai as much as the next person and I will release an extremely in-depth video guide on the subject in time, once I’m happy I have ticked all basic questions that beginners may ask. Did you know that it was once called “Punsai” and actually originated in China. The Japanese call it “Bonsai” meaning “Plant in shallow pot” or “tray planting”.
Quick bonsai facts;
- There is no such thing as bonsai seeds.
- Bonsai should create the illusion of looking into the distance at a landscape of mature wild trees, whether it’s a lone tree or a group of trees. Stretch your arm out with a bonsai pot in hand and imagine that large mature tree in the distance sitting in your pot. That is the aim.
- You can turn any tree species into bonsai within reason. They won’t all look so great as bonsai but it is archivable. One example of this would be the leaves. Some trees have extremely large leaves that aren’t suitable for bonsai. Though some species will push out much smaller leaves when you prune away the larger ones.
- Bonsai can be large or tiny. Bonsai size is measured by how many fingers, hands and people it takes to carry. And yes, you guessed it, there’s special names for them that not all of us can pronounce. The smallest being “Keishi”, Held on a thumb, up to 2.5cm in height. The largest named “Imperial” held by 8 hands or 4 people, up to 200cm in height.
- Bonsai belong outside. If your tree is not sub-tropical or tropical they must be subject to the varied temperatures of our sessions.
- Bonsai trees are much harder to keep alive compared to trees in large pots or in the ground. This is because a tree’s roots are the most important part. Bonsai limits the root space causing the tree to be very temperamental in regards to requirements.
- You can’t just plonk a young tree sapling into a bonsai pot and hope for the best. It takes time, patience and allowing your tree to grow vigorously in large pots or in the ground before hand will give you that thick trunk you’ll need to start off with. This is the trunk chopping stage. You’ll need to do this every year or every few years to build that taper.
- Tapering is when you create the trunk to be thicker at the base than at the top of the tree. Again, how those big trees in the distance look.
Below are video guides I have produced so far. Remember that if you have any questions, feel free to ask. The best means of contact for your questions will be our facebook page, or simply scroll down on any page within the website and use the "Contact us" section.
How to take Dawn Redwood cuttings (Video Guide)
How to grow a tree from seed (Video Guide)
How to grow and care for Japanese maple acers (Video Guide)