Japanese buxus nursery stock. Root advice.

[phillicondor]

Hi all. Splurged yesterday on this box from a local nursery. Just doing what I do with all plants I buy and that's cutting off the top of the pot and scraping off the top portion of soil. I've attached a photo of the very dense roots around the trunk Base. Ivee been doing a fair bit of raking all ready but I've not reached the trunk Base proper. Starting to get into some larger roots that'll need cutting to continue but I was wondering if anyone had any tips for removing the fine roots near the trunk? I've heard the bark is soft and I don't want to end up ring barking the thing. I know it's not the best time of year for root work but I'm ok with it.

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[kcpoole]

The finer roots will die off naturally when you expose them to the air when you pot up with the nebari exposed.
When planted in the ground or grow pots they are usually covered and grow.

Just tease them out and repot

Ken