AusBonsai

Hi there,

Recently on slight impulse bought a cumquat that I hope to turn into a bonsai. However I don't have much experience with citrus at all.

I think it has low enough branches to work with down the road.

Because citrus are evergreen, I was thinking it would be okay to repot it within a months time. I dont like the tall pot it is in and want to put a tile under the roots to encourage nebari in a grow pot. I wont cut any branches until next spring, I guess, to make sure it stays healthy.

Are there any objections to my thinking here?

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Thanks.

For reference photo below, also the pot diameter is 160mm.

You are in Sydney so may be possible to repot and root trim citrus this time of year. Citrus are more like tropicals so don't seem to do well when pruned or root pruned before cold weather. I do mine at the end of spring so they have plenty of warm weather to recover.
If you plan to be gentle with the roots it probably won't matter what time of year you repot.

I'm not a fan of tiles under roots. I know lots of people try it but I get much better results just with judicious root pruning.

Citrus can be temperamental trees in pots. I've never done real well with them but wish you lots of luck with yours.

Thanks for that. Do you have any hunches why your citrus don't do well in pots? By pots do you mean bonsai scale or regular big pots?

Not sure of the reasons but I have trouble even in normal nursery pots. I know some people have cumquats and other citrus in large planters on the patio, etc and they seem to be OK. Even seem to thrive on neglect. Maybe I look after mine too well

Citrus are gross feeders and need lots of water, even more when fruiting, require perfect drainage or quickly succumb to root rot, frost sensitive growth, the roots even less cold tolerant.
If you can provide warm feet now is a great time to repot as it allows the tree to get its roots settled before the new season begins.

shibui wrote: ↑March 28th, 2023, 5:00 pm citrus in large planters on the patio, etc and they seem to be OK. Even seem to thrive on neglect.

Great thermal mass for winter warmth, limited water due to neglect and it's citrus heaven.

Ok thanks Elmer and Shibui.

Elmer, by 'gross feeder' do you mean that they need constant feeding? (that's what I read online). I'm not familiar with the term.

I guess it all means I shouldn't expect to have this in a small pot by any means.

Cumquat tree around 20 + years & grown only in large pot - always plenty of fruit which was the intention. Never meant for bonsai, however the issue you may face in years to come could be the expanding graft union. Root stock growing much quicker than the top. Not sure if this can be controlled in bonsai training? Hope these pics help.