AusBonsai

As it was a little cold tonight and I have a few trees to work on that were donated to the school, I fired up the Brazier and with Beer in hand, go to work

This is one of the trees donated to the School of Bonsai and before I sell it on or Raffle, i figured I will get stuck in and finish the root grafts and tidy up the rest of the roots if they needed and cut back the top.
I had no idea what the roots were like but Spingyclub had put on a couple of root grafts so figured that maybe it been pruned hard.

Once out of the big pot it was in, Cut back hard and hosed off, I could get a good look.
Nope the main trees roots had not been touched

Note to all, When you get a new tree ( expecially stock ones) sort the roots out FIRST. then you can concentrate ont he top of the tree and fix any issues it may have. No point doing all that and then finding out the roots are crap and need lots work to fix ( if possible).

Ken

Once out of the original 12 inch pot, I cut back the outside 2 inches all around the chopped off the bottom 1/2 of the root column.
then hosed as much as I could to see what we had.

found a top collar of roots and under that the large taproot still on

Out with the Saw and cut off about 30 mm under the base and then cleaned it back with Round cutters to make it concaved under the fine roots. this means that when we put into a Bonsai pot, it will sit down nicely and i will not have to trim again.

The fine roots around the trunk ( including those on the grafts) were trimmed to get rid of ones crossing and too high up the trunks
do the root work NOW and then you will be set for the future

I like to use cable ties to hold the grafts in place as it pushes them into the original trunk to make sure the graft in neatly. I find the pin do not hold tight enough (not that I have done that many )
2 of these had started to join up, but one was still loose.

Ken

Another beer and time to repot.

the tree went into a 200mm plastic Orchid pot with my Diatomite, Zeolite, Pumice and Akadama mix.
Dunked into a tub of water several times and allowed to drain until the water runs clear.

back on the bench in a nice sunny spot to recover up to spring

Keen eyes might note that.
1/ I left the grafts long so that they will not be set back through the next growing season.
2/ the main tree was cut back hard. it has nice movement and taper and wil be about 250 - 300mm tall eventually I think.
3/ The main trunk leaves the pot at an angle rather than vertically. this gives movement from the soil level rather than standing up straight (it is not a Formal Upright or Broom)
4/ I apply cut paste to all my tree wounds. I use the green tube paste type as i like the way it dries clear and looks very unobtrusive.

I will have some more to upload soon from the same source.
As they have been donated to the school I will use them as Educational tools for us all to learn from hopefully.

Any suggestions or ideas then please ask so we can all gain
Ken

The set of upper roots could be the result of planting the original tree deep. Tridents just love to grow surface roots so whenever I plant just a little too deep in the ground or grow pot I tend to get new roots growing just under the surface. For a while I used this as a technique to create better nebari - Plant the tree so that the desired new root area was just under the surface with the trunk at the desired angle then leave it for 2-3 years then dig and cut off the old trunk to leave just the surface roots as new nebari.
I guess what I'm trying to point out (not that it matters much) is that probably isn't a 'tap root', just the old trunk that has been buried too deep.

I too have had trouble getting map pins long enough to hold grafts properly. I usually use nails but the cable ties are a good idea. If the graft is in a hollow where the tie won't apply pressure just add some polystyrene between the graft and the cable tie.

Nice one ken.

Maybe sprinkle a combination of ratsack and confidor around the roots. That should ensure you keep the bark on this one.

Squizzy

squizzy wrote:Nice one ken.

Maybe sprinkle a combination of ratsack and confidor around the roots. That should ensure you keep the bark on this one.

Squizzy

I have Ratsack out already. Do rats not like confidor?

Ken

Great stuff mate,

I love the outdoor heater. These short days aren't long enough to take care of both family duties and bonsai.

Priorities first.......

Were you allowed inside when it cooled down and you had run out of "off-cuts"?

Regards
Steve

sreeve wrote:
Were you allowed inside when it cooled down and you had run out of "off-cuts"?

Regards
Steve

Yeah but how to have a shower before bedtime though