AusBonsai

Hey all
i took a drive down to Australian bonsai grower this weekend and picked up a few stock trees (its hard to find places that even sell good species where i live )

anyway i came home with eight plants ( 2 tridents, 1 Japanese maple, 2 elms, a willow leaf fig, a swamp cypress and a japenese black pine)

I know none of these trees have any potential to be good bonsai any time soon(see photos) but my goal was to get some good species and grow them out and slowly style them rather than just whacking something in a bonsai pot

So what i would like to know is when should i re pot all of these species into large grow containers ? and if anyone could give me some care and maintenance tips on the less bulletproof trees (pine and Japanese maple ?) that would be a huge help

Hi there.

Nice trees.

I'm no expert, but I see potential in most of your trees -

Your pine shouldn't be repotted for some time. The pine gets its strength from the roots so to disturb them now will be counter productive to your end goal which I assume is to fatten the sacrifice trunk and build your tree with the low growth? Feed heavily and don't touch. Build the trunk over a few seasons then come back and ask how to build branches.

The elm can be repotted now. They grow like weeds. During your repot, cut the thick roots and leave the fine hairy ones. The fine hairy ones give the tree the nutrients from the soil. The thick ones do little for bonsai. Try and spread your roots at the base laterally (make them horizontal). Thick roots that are cutoff can be planted and should leaf out and grow in a few weeks.


M

I think I'd just slip pot all of these into larger pots if you want them to grow. You can slip pot at any time of year because there is minimal root disturbance. Just lift the plant out of the pot it is in - usually the root ball will hold together while you do that - and put the whole root ball into your grow container then fill in around the root ball with fresh mix. Even if the tree has recently been repotted and the potting mix falls off the roots just plant it into the new container. You haven't removed any roots so it will just go on growing.

You'll find plenty of care tips for both pines and maples in the wiki and by searching ausbonsai but don't get too bogged down on detail yet. Both of these just need to be watered and fed for the summer.
Next winter I would bare root the maples and prune the roots to give a good radial root system. At the same time prune the trunk and branches to start your tree shape then allow it to grow again next summer if it needs to get bigger again.
At that stage I would also bare root the pine and see if the roots need any work to improve the nebari. In either winter or spring I'd also prune all the branches and trunk back to the lowest needles to force back budding so it does not get too leggy.

Thanks guys, So as long as i dont disturb the roots i can slip pot whenever ?
That way i can get them into bigger pots and start thickening,developing and keep them healthy until its the right time to do any major root work ?

i quite like the smaller elm, its a corky bark and im not too sure if the bigger one is or not

Agree with Shibui, in your area I would slip pot all except for the Willow fig. You can work on that now. Figs like to be worked in hot weather. All the others in late winter. You can however start to wire any movement into the trunks just watch the wire at this time of year, plants grow quick and the wire can cut in quickly if left unchecked.
Cheers
Kirky

Hey kirky, thanks for the the tip about wiring

im not too worried about killing the fig haha just the others as they're almost all new species to me

so major root work in winter (dormant period/slower growth ?)
slip pot whenever just leave the roots alone
wire and start shaping/styling whenever (preferably not after major root work?)

have i got that right haha

The last bit of your post is for Pines. Don't do major root work on Pines and wire at the same time. Generally with Pines major root work one year wire work next year. Also with pines never bare root. (wash all the soil from roots)
They have benifical mycorrhizae that must be kept from one repot to the next so make sure you read up on Pines before doing any work. But for now slip pot is fine. Deciduious trees can be root worked and wired at the same time.
Cheers
Kirky

Thanks for clearing that up kirky

I just need to find some big containers to get these into now !

check out the Wiki
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... hould_I%3F
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... h_month%3F

Re Kirky's post, I am happy to work pines both above and below the ground in the same calendar year as we get far better growth in Oz then the traditional locations of Japan and northern Europe / USA.
There they only get 1 growing season a year so they have to wait a full year after doing root work before they do any serious top work. Here (in sydney at least) I am happy to do one end in spring and the other in Autumn.

With you in QLD i woud Check what other locals do, but suspect you will find similar stories there

Ken

Sip potted the smaller trident maple today into a foam grow box, i lightly raked out the top layer of soil and surface roots but let the rootball otherwwise untouched

hopefully get some good growth now its got room to grow !