Re-Pot / Bare root Advice

[bouquet]

Hi All

I have purchased some Oz Native tube stock (see pic below) and I am wondering if I can bare root these seedlings to remove the current soil and tease out the roots before placing them into their grow beds.

I was thinking of doing the bare root in a container of water with some seasol, rhiazotonic or some other kind of root tonic mixed to ratio. Once all the soil has been removed then re-pot the seedlings into an open bonsai mix or maybe 2/3 Diatomite 1/3 Pine bark.

Thoughts

[shibui]

I would bare root small seedlings like these and have done so lots of times.
I notice that one is Lepto scoparium. I'm pretty sure that's the species that a few members have noted it does not like repotting. Working with roots in water was recommended in those threads??

[bouquet]

I notice that one is Lepto scoparium.

Thanks Neil

I purchased these from ERA over in Victoria. I wasn't aware at the time of ordering issues that the NZ tea tree. If I had read just a few more post before placing the order I probably would have chosen a different variety i.e Nitidum or Petersonii

[Rory]

Yeah, most tube stock, you can happily bare root... to a certain extent. I find, I tend to leave about a few cm of top soil still untouched though, but this is my personal preference. I do it in a bucket of water with nothing else other than just water. Make sure when you repot them up though, that you apply dry soil and water it slowly in, so you minimize the air pockets. Give the whole thing a lot of watering, like from a can, so that it naturally fills the air pockets too. And remember, if you trim the roots, you need to trim the foliage too, as cutting off too much root, will kill the seedling if it still has to supply a stack of nutrients to keep the foliage alive. It may die-back, or die altogether. A good newbie rule is, say... 50/50. If you cut off 50% of roots, cut off 50% of the foliage. Though, generally I personally find, at this stage it is more about getting the roots to start spreading out, instead of going straight down. Eucalypts you will find have a significant tap root that you should cut immediately, to promote radial root growth, but make sure you get a whole picture of what you are dealing with, because sometimes if the seedling has a tap root, you cut this off, and on further inspection, the tap root is the only root, and grows back up the sides and tricks you into thinking the other roots come off above where you have cut. When I was new I made this mistake a few times, and this will produce a 100% death ratio every time. And thinking outside the square.... I have never had problems with repotting on hot days, or upcoming hot days, provided you keep the roots moist and do it all within about 10 minutes. I would however, probably wait till at least late next month to re pot them though, if you can. Patience and research is the key to bonsai.

[GavinG]

Most of the advice seems to be that natives prefer repotting in warmer months - Sept, Oct, Nov, rather than the traditional bonsai spring. If you're a bit uncertain, that might be safest. Or you could just go for broke, it's all part of the fun.

Gavin

[Jason]

Yeah, I've barerooted most of my native seedlings, simply because I didn't know otherwise at the time... but they all pulled through so far. Most are Mels, but a few Eucs and Callistemons as well. I just went for broke, as gavin said figure they only cost me a few bucks, so had nothing to lose, and only knowledge to gain

I did a few at the start of winter, and they're still kicking along... but then we had a slow start to winter, and a very warm autumn, which probably played a part

Don't be afraid of the scoparium either, they make stunning bonsai and I think they'd be worth the effort I'll definately be trying a few when I get some more space