TIP FOR REPOTTING

Share your success stories about defoliation, bare rooting and anything else relating to maintaining healthy bonsai.
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senseijames
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TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by senseijames »

Hey peoples, I don't know if you like this idea, but every time I do a repot I get sick of fiddleing around with wire to hold the mesh in place over the holes, so now I stick the mesh in place with bluetack, make sure the pot inside bottom is clean and dry, put 4 or so very small balls of bluetack in each corner of the mesh and press into place over the holes, make sure the bluetack squeezes up thru the mesh, i usually push down hard on each ball of blutack with a 1/4 inch dowell, to make sure it is secure. This method also helps at repotting time,if you had used wire it gets caught up in the roots ( if you know what i mean) and I find the mesh comes out of the roots and soil a lot easier if there is no wire.
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by mashby »

Great idea, James. Fiddling with the wire to hold the mesh in place has always been a bit of a pain! I'lll certainly give it a go when I'm next repotting.
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by Amanda »

What a great idea, thanks James :)
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by Bretts »

I Kinda enjoy wiring the mesh in. I am trying to perfect the way Graham Potter does his :)
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by blkrota »

Bretts wrote:I Kinda enjoy wiring the mesh in. I am trying to perfect the way Graham Potter does his :)
Another way/style , do you have a pic or can explain please :) , i am not looking for an easyer way just wondering.
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by MattA »

My bad, I have to admit to the very old pot plant grower habit of crocking my drainage holes with broken pottery. Even in the shallowest bonsai trays I manage to fit a layer of coarse drainage material so i never bothered getting out of the habit.

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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by nealweb »

Don't know what it is called but you can also get a roll of mesh from the hardware store, same size holes as the plastic stuff. Possibly something to do with drywalling??? Anyhow you just peel a bit off and its sticky, push it down and you're done. Easy as :D
and very cheap too :D
Last edited by nealweb on May 22nd, 2010, 5:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by Bretts »

blkrota wrote:
Bretts wrote:I Kinda enjoy wiring the mesh in. I am trying to perfect the way Graham Potter does his :)
Another way/style , do you have a pic or can explain please :) , i am not looking for an easyer way just wondering.
I got it off his repotting video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTcdho7vSMI
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by Glenda »

Don't you people wire your trees in by the roots? All the beginners books and websites I have read say to wire them in because the pots are so shallow, and I mostly use diatomite and find the plants need the wire for stability. So there are going to be wires in there anyway. Am I doing it wrong? :shock: :?

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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by MattA »

Neil the stuff your after is plasterers tape, its good as long as the bottom of the pot is clean & dry.

Glenda, I am a naughty boy :o I dont tie my trees in there pots. I dont put wire on my trees or many of the other things recommended in books. Its all a matter of personal practice experience & what works. There have been a few trees in my collection that I would tie to there pots when first repotted, but once the roots had reestablished they got untied. If its that unstable that it needs to be tied down then maybe it needs to be reworked.

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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by kcpoole »

Glenda wrote:Don't you people wire your trees in by the roots? All the beginners books and websites I have read say to wire them in because the pots are so shallow, and I mostly use diatomite and find the plants need the wire for stability. So there are going to be wires in there anyway. Am I doing it wrong? :shock: :?

Glenda
Yes Glenda I have found that using Diatomite, I MUST wire everyting in to the pot

Wiring in a mesh is not that time consuming for me, in fact I usually just put back the mesh that was in there already

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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by Jarrod »

I always wire mesh and tree into bonsai pots. I also wire some that are still in training.

I don't see the point of not doing this. It takes about 1 - 2 minutes at the most to add the wire to the mesh. And it stops stuff getting out and also, stuff getting it!
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by Bretts »

I have found wiring a tree into a pot very benificial. I believe them when they say that it protects the fine root from damage from movement.
It's too bad your in such a hurry cause the stories I could tell you, Bushels and baskets of stories, hole crates full of stories. But if you can spare a moment I will tell you one story.
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by senseijames »

Hey guys / gals...I think we got a bit off track here....I wasn't talking about wiring the tree into the pot....only holding the mesh in place over the holes....I liked the idea of the plasterers tape ?? but is the glue toxic to plants??....anyway I guess each to his/her own. cheers, pleasant Bonsaing.
James
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Re: TIP FOR REPOTTING

Post by bodhidharma »

senseijames wrote:Hey guys / gals...I think we got a bit off track here....I wasn't talking about wiring the tree into the pot....only holding the mesh in place over the holes....I liked the idea of the plasterers tape ?? but is the glue toxic to plants??....anyway I guess each to his/her own. cheers, pleasant Bonsaing.
James
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