My Bonsai Land Update – What is the Black Cloth for?

After reading my earlier post about my bonsai land, a friend, Irene, asked me why I covered up the soil with the black cloth again after all the plowing and pulverizing of the soil. I told her the black cloth is there to avoid weeds from growing. And here, with a few more photos, let me show you how the black cloth is used.

In a 10 ft x 10 ft space, I have planted five trees. At the top left, there is a Ficus Microcarpa “Tiger Bark” (虎皮榕 in Chinese). At the bottom left, there is a Eugenia uniflora. Linn., aka Surinam cherry, red Brazil cherry (紅果 in Chinese). In the center, I have a Murraya paniculata, aka Orange Jasmine (九里香 in Chinese). At the top right, there is a Carmona microphylla aka Fukien Tea (福建茶 in Chinese). And for the one at the bottom right, all I know is its Chinese name – 博楠 – but neither its botanical name nor common name… I did a Google search, yet found no luck. Does anyone know the botanical name or English common name of this tree?

And instead of planting the trees on the ground level, I have planted my trees a bit higher for easier viewing and pruning in the future.

In order to give the root systems of my bonsai trees as much space to grow and develop as possible, I have cut an opening on the black cloth underneath every one of my trees. While some openings fit perfectly with the bendable plastic sheets that I use as container (like the one on the left), there are some that are cut too big. To avoid weeds from growing, I covered up the exposed soil ground with some bricks.

LEFT: This is the tree that I have no idea of its botanical name, as well as its common name. It is called 博楠 in Chinese; RIGHT: Carmona microphylla aka Fukien Tea (福建茶 in Chinese)