Bonsai, Root pruning and Re-potting

With spring coming to an end most of your re-potting should hopefully be done by now! If not I suggest getting organised this weekend and give your trees some much needed attention before it gets too hot and you risk the chance of complications!

Why do we re-pot and root prune?

With all of my collection I re-pot and root prune every year. Mostly because the majority of them are still being shaped therefore I need to encourage as much growth every year as possible, also as they reach the ideal size this gives me a chance to possibly choose a much better suiting pot as I learn and gain better understanding of how this can improve the overall appearance of the bonsai.

For the health of the tree it is important to root prune to avoid the tree becoming root bound and sick. As the tree grows more and more roots it depletes the soil of nutrients and compacts it to the point where it may begin to repel water rather than soak it up therefore putting the tree in danger of dieing from a lack of water .

Another reason to root prune is too encourage more fine feeder roots to grow therefore encouraging more fine foliage to grow. This over time reduces leaf size and helps create compact pads of foliage .

How to root prune and re-pot!

Before removing the tree from the pot give the foliage a good prune, cut branches back to 1 or 2 leaves and remove any growth that does not fit in with the style of bonsai you are trying to create. We prune the foliage so that the newly pruned roots don't have to try and supply nutrients to too much foliage which can cause die back etc.

Gently remove the tree from its existing pot, tease the roots out from the soil and remove around a third of the root ball. replace the tree in its current pot or a new one and place fresh soil around the roots, gently poke the soil around the roots with a chop stick to avoid any air pockets in the soil and don't pack the soil in too hard as this will damage the roots. cover the roots to the rim of the pot with soil and gently water tree in.

Place bonsai in a well lit, protected spot for around a week before placing it back to its original spot.

Where I live in Australia there is really only two months of the year that re-potting is not recommended, The hottest month of the year and the coldest month of the year, most other times with correct after care and proper watering you should be pretty safe.

CREATE YOUR VERY OWN JAPANESE STYLE BONSAI WITH MY STEP BY STEP BONSAI BEGINNERS COURSE

Or check out my WEBSITE www.balconybonsai.com.au HERE! for more bonsai tips and resources.

Do your self a huge favour and save yourself years of frustration by getting the secrets you need to know to create beautiful bonsai, I wish I had this book 20 years ago when I first started growing bonsai!

Bonsai Gardening Secrets

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BONSAI YET BUT WANT TO CREATE YOUR VERY OWN JAPANESE STYLE BONSAI YOU NOW CAN WITH MY STEP BY STEP BONSAI BEGINNERS COURSE