Autumn tips for field growing bonsai

In this video Terry Erasmus takes you with to view some trees he is field growing for bonsai cultivation. He contemplates which trees to dig in Spring and what techniques to apply before then to prepare the trees.
More about field growing can be found here: www.bonsaitree.co.za/blogs/tr...
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[@thomasfallon6656]

You by far are the best KZbin channel out there.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Wow! Thank you Thomas. I am certainly grateful for the compliment ☺️

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Wow! Thank you Thomas. I am certainly grateful for the compliment ☺️

[@emiledb]

Very nice!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you Emile! Cheers!

[@bustamante-music]

i’d be curious to hear about your field growing process, how to take care of them, how to decided what cuts to make, watering system etc

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Brandon. I would love to share that information as the opportunities present themselves.

[@bustamante-music]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai i was just looking at another video you had done on field grown stuff too and that was very helpful! i appreciate how in every video you give so much detail and explain stuff like why you’re making cuts and about sap movement. it’s so helpful for me as a beginner! are there any “holy grail” bonsai books you would recommend?

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@@bustamante-music thanks, well I try to share information I think will be helpful but as I don’t plan or script these videos sometimes I forget what I want to, or should say. However as I love field growing I am sure I will do more videos on the topic and eventually will cover all the points - hopefully. Good books….. that’s a tough one. KZbin along with several world class subscription services and blogs have become such valuable resources that books have a tough time to compete. Have you taken a look at my blog yet? www.bonsaitree.co.za/blogs/tree-talk

[@andrewt1176]

Hi Terry, amazing content. Hopefully we get a new video on each tree coming out of the ground with work done. There is some great ground grown material there and I’m very jealous. Think this could be your point of difference as no other KZbinr has anything close to this.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Andrew, that's a very insightful comment. I shall bear that in mind, as I would of course prefer to offer content which is not already plentiful on KZbin. I'll definitely try to capture the digging and subsequent work. The Trident I featured this past spring, which I dug up, has developed very nicely and so I plan to feature it this coming spring - including doing some grafts on it.

[@bradleyc9538]

Thanks for the info Terry, it's nice to get out in the field with you. Looking forward to spring to see these get potted up.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

You and me both Bradley! I too enjoyed getting out of the "studio." Will go again soon.

[@bonsaipage_]

Beautiful trees. I’m looking forward to their future progress and videos.

[@bonsaipage_]

Oh and it’s 100 degrees Fahrenheit here in Texas. Summer!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you very much!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

That is certainly warm! I must admit that I am enjoying the cooler weather here after a rather hot summer. Thanks for watching.

[@TonysBonsai]

Really nice video Terry. Packed with valuable information, thanks!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Glad it was helpful Tony! Thanks so much!

[@coronnation8854]

I always enjoy your videos. Thanks for them, and keep it up.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Glad you like them! I will do my best so long as there is an audience that looks forward to watching them.

[@BONSAIenCORTO]

Simple great. You're the reason I planted kaedes on the ground.... thanks.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Excellent! That is so great to hear. I am sure you will be very happy you made that decision in a couple growing seasons time.

[@BONSAIenCORTO]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai For me the question is always whether it is better to cut straight, parallel to the ground or inclined to look for taper. Thanks for these videos that have encouraged me to grow in soil. Best regards.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@BONSAIenCORTO when you make the initial cut it makes no difference the angle. Make the cut. Seal it. Allow the tree to establish a new line of sapflow into the new trunkline. Then go back and shape the cut accordingly.

[@tarian_bonsai]

I Like it's👍

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you so much Tarian.

[@sabikmercuriobravo5976]

Amazing video terry, I really love it! Csn you share with us how many trees you have in your field, wich species you use and show us a little bit more how big is your field!

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thanks Sabik. At this field I am growing Hackberry, Chinese maple, Flowering quince, Natal plum (dwarf leaf), Pride of India (dwarf and typical) and few junipers. There are about 50 trees in total, so not that many. The Hackberry are the oldest at around 15 years and more, grown from seed. At a new field I am growing olives, junipers, pines and other plants but I am not ready to show this, maybe in a few months :)

[@stonelantern1584]

Another great informative video Terry. Great trunks coming up. I take it the trees that you collect will be for sale soon? Can't wait. Will have to start saving. Did you seal the large cut on the first tree in the video and will you clean it up and seal it again before spring? Can't wait for the next video.

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you so much Stephen for these good questions. Well I never grew these trunks for resale purposes, but I think the reality might be that I cannot keep them all so perhaps. For you as you are such a great guy "I give special price!" I did not seal the cut. Actually it surprised me how much sap was still in the tree, when I assumed it was dormant - I mean there was a leaf on it! It was dripping off after a while. So sealer would have just washed off and not bonded. I might go back and seal it but considering as its just a pruning cut and not a cut which I intend to try to heal I don't think it is entirely necessary to seal. No, I will not rework it yet. Although I did attempt to explain the reasoning behind the cut perhaps I was not clear enough. At this point its preparation for removing the tree from the ground so as to avoid a lot of sap loss in spring (although you might achieve the same objective by first digging and root pruning - then chopping???). The sapflow will now recede to one or the other set of buds I indicated in the video. Once the sapflow has receded a new flowline will be established by the tree, most likely into one or more of the currently dormant buds. I would give this new growth at least 1 season or 2 to grow and then I will cut this chop again and shape it into the new leader, trying of course to shape it so the resulting scar is as much towards the back as possible. On some of the other trees which I showed, I will need to get back to before spring and reduce the amount of shoots I got from the late spring pruning I did or I will start creating inverse taper. Thanks so much again for watching!

[@stonelantern1584]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Thank you for the answer. Sound good. Special price hey...he he he...😁

[@bonsaisemeru]

nice bonsai material, Terry ! 👍 hopefully, you make the next video, i’m really curious about the result of your bonsai use this material.. 🙏

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Thank you, I will definitely do so. In case you have not already done so, be sure to check out this video which is of a Trident from this same batch which I dug this past spring. It has done really well and I will feature it again this coming spring again. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmiqg2uDbsqIers

[@gyulazarka730]

Dear Terry! I would like to know what to do with the many side lateral branches during the field growing phase in tridents. Do you keep cutting them to have smaller diameter scars on the trunk? When you decide the new apex, do you leave only one shoot in the apical area? PS: I've started field growing thanks to your videos and advice. Thank you so much for these lessons. Greetings from Hungary😊

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

Its always such a compliment when I understand that someone has been inspired by my videos to do something. Thats great! To answer your question, this is something which has taken me many years to learn and I am still learning but I will share what I know. Keep the lateral branches. They will help to add girth to the trunk and their calloused cut scars will add character. Tridents heal so well that even large scars of 15cm or even bigger are not a problem to heal over in a short period of time. Yes, when I select a new leader it will be a single shoot which would be allowed to grow. I would encourage you to watch this also though, the Taiwanese are masters of deciduous species and you might draw inspiration from their multi trunked trees which I think is more natural and incredibly impressive. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6bVeKuwja58oZY

[@gyulazarka730]

Thank you very much😊😊

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

@gyulazarka730 my pleasure!

[@oussamachaachoui3727]

Thank you for the beautiful video. I like to know how much degree you get there in summer? I have some little maples trees imported from Europe and I like to grow them in the ground but hire in north Africa in summer it can get 45 degrees for few days . They can be burned ? Thank you

[@TerryErasmusbonsai]

My pleasure Oussama. Actually this area can get to around 40 deg also. The key factor is also the humidity. Here the humidity is fairly low at around 50% or even less. You may want to plant your maples in the ground and then put some sort of shade structure over them just for the hottest part of the day. Tridents should handle the intense sun a lot better than Japanese maples. Japanese maples, especially the more ornamental varieties can be quite delicate.

[@oussamachaachoui3727]

@@TerryErasmusbonsai thank you so much for your help