This impressive Trident maple’s (Acer buergeranum) massive nebari is a dead giveaway that it was field grown. The original article is in Bonsai Today issue 64. I once read a report from Cornell University (I can’t find it; anybody?) about the advantages of planting trees directly into the native soil, rather than the common practice of digging in soil amendments, a practice that may be good for the garden center’s bottom line, but not so good for your plants. If you think about it, it makes sense; if you create a pocket of richer soil, then the roots tend to … Continue reading Field Growing 2: Native soil