Oh, the joys of winter! Specifically, the joys of Japanese Greybark Elm in winter! We've just released a batch of one year old bare root Zelkova and we're selling them in bundles of 5, 10, 25, and 100. They've been grown in flats with some roots trimmed. They're kind of like a lump of clay, you can do whatever you want with them.
00:00:21 The story of Eric's 15 year old Zelkova, which he started from seed. It's a beauty! With patience and good bonsai practice, you can go from our bare roots to a bonsai that looks just as good. Eric demonstrates three options for planting the bare root trees.
00:01:41 First, an individual tree (like the 15 year old we previously discussed). To get a radial root spread, cut off the bottom of the seedling back real hard and drill a hole in the base of a flat piece of plywood, using a chopstick to arrange the remaining roots to be straight out. For smaller plants (like our bare roots), Eric recommends using a washer (he is using a Fender Washer in the video: amzn.to/3G0J1q2). Next, put the tree into a container, keeping the washer relatively flat with all roots remaining below the washer, and then backfill with soil.
00:04:48 Second, a clump. Position the trunks right next to each other. To make small clumps with bare root 1 year old's, Eric takes a piece of #1 aluminum wire and wraps it around the trunks to position them relative to each other, and then pots them.
00:05:29 You don't need to use wire if you follow the approach Eric demonstrates - firming soil around placed clump in container. The trees then grow together.
00:06:36 If you later want to make larger forests, you can do so from a few clumps, arranging them into a larger container.
00:07:23 Third, wiring Zelkova. Wire tends to relatively quickly leave an impression (scar) in the bark, so watch them "like a hawk". Since Zelkova don't develop any rough bark, a wiring scar will really stay visible. As soon as you get 4-5 leaves on a few shoots in the spring, remove the wire.
00:08:49 Eric wires a bare root tree into a semi-cascade style, which he thinks can look pretty great.
Have you wired Zelkova before? How did they turn out? Let us know in the comments below. How do you plan to style your bare root plants? We can't wait to find out! Please like and share this video, comment, and subscribe to our channel!