Eric explains the preliminary steps to creating exposed root bonsai from three, two year old black pines. Eric grew these Japanese black pine from a commercial seed source, and they've been growing in 3" x 9" Anderson bands. Learn how to address the roots we typically see after removing these trees from the Anderson bands!
00:57 Eric screened the bottom of the bands when he first put the young seedling in. He uses pumice, and then finer soil at the bottom. The intent is for the young seedling's few roots to run down through the pumice to get "little wiggles" in them and then start dividing toward the bottom of the Anderson band. Using the bands works well because you don't get circling roots.
02:01 Eric shakes out the loose granular soil, pulls apart the roots stuck together, and scrapes off peat moss soil. He's focused on the medium size roots that have some wood on them.
04:45 Analyzing the root structure provides cues for the design of the tree. Eric separates major roots into root clumps so he can move them relative to each other. To create the illusion of taper with roots, cluster them together so the roots flow seamlessly from the trunk through to the roots.
06:23 Eric clears the pines up before beginning wiring through to the trunk.
06:47 Tree #1: Using 3mm aluminum wire and starting at the junction of the roots and the actual tree, Eric demonstrates how to wire to create a cylinder/clump of roots together.
08:39 Completely design the finished tree through a controlled design process. At this stage, Eric has in mind that as he bends the roots he wired, the overall size of the tree won't change.
10:28 Tree #2: Eric excludes two large roots from the clump he's wiring, and wires them separately to create outliers of roots. He adds tighter movement to create more interest and complex interplay between the trunk and roots.
13:41 Tree #3: Another approach to harmonize the roots. Eric wires just 1 large root to bring it into line with the remaining root clump, and wires it around the clump.
17:04 Repotting after wiring. From a horticultural perspective, we can't just expose all the recently wired roots at once; Eric builds an apparatus that enables the tree to return to growing after the "traumatic" wiring experience.
18:05 Watch this! (Really)
19:54 The tree examples in their new containers.
20:17 Eric provides one caveat for the safety of the trees - this work should only be done during your repotting window, based on your climate.
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