AusBonsai

I will be digging up bougainvillea today...it's been in the ground for roughly 10-12 years and is approximately the thickness of an arm (don't know if it's a thin or fat arm - haven't seen it yet)!! Anyway, Glenda kindly sent me up 3 bags of diatomite which arrived this morning and I need some help. How should I pot up. Should I use a mix of potting mix and diatomite or should I just use straight diatomite???? Can I please have some answers by late this arvo as I would like to get it in asap. I've read some of you guys have left your yamadoori in a seasol bath for days...should I maybe do this first???
Open to all good advise.
Loretta

hey loretta

when i get dug trees i put them in a seasol/superthrive bath, seasol by itself will be fine, let it soak from anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of weeks, depends on how long you want to wait.

being that it is a collected tree i would go with straight diatomite for now, it is great stuff for collected trees, then when you go to pot up into a bonsai pot later down the track mix it with some pottting mix

jamie

Jamie wrote:hey loretta

when i get dug trees i put them in a seasol/superthrive bath, seasol by itself will be fine, let it soak from anywhere between a couple of hours to a couple of weeks, depends on how long you want to wait.

being that it is a collected tree i would go with straight diatomite for now, it is great stuff for collected trees, then when you go to pot up into a bonsai pot later down the track mix it with some pottting mix

jamie

Thanks so much Jamie, I've been gardening for years and am very confident with plants...but since reading all the info on this forum has made me realise there's a more scientific approach and I don't want to do the wrong thing.
Loretta

Loretta wrote: there's a more scientific approach and I don't want to do the wrong thing.
Loretta

Lawls?

i dunno bout more scientific :Shock:

its just been tried and tested is all, i have found trees respond with less shock when they have had a good bath with some vitamins and the likes

Loretta, I got a biggish boug a few months back that had been in a pot, but the roots had grown straight through the bottom of the pot and into the ground. Had to cut the roots to take away the pot. The trunk was as thick as my wrist. I soaked it in seasol for about 2 hours, then into straight diatomite. It has not looked back, and is covered in new growth, and the new roots are starting to stick out of the soil, too.

Glenda

How did the digging of the boug go, Loretta?

Glenda

Glenda wrote:How did the digging of the boug go, Loretta?

Glenda

Hi Glenda
Raced home after work at 2pm, changed into old clothes,threw all sorts of tools in the boot as I don't think Bill was contemplating any digging straight away...but I was determined to go home with at least one plant
They were all about 5ft tall and straggley, hadn't been watered since the last rain and looked so sorry and neglected
Bill got a crow bar, gave each one a few prods and we virtually pulled them out by hand. All roots were on the surface and no sign of tap roots. Very very poor state of affairs. They all had some leaves and some even had flowers, beautiful colours...one even was bi-coloured...deep purple and orange!!! So it was all very easy. The hard part now is ensuring they survive...I know bougs are really tough but they were all in pretty bad shape. They are in a seasol bath at the moment and when I knock off today I'm going straight home to pot them up in my new Diatomite There's no real big ones amongst them but they are heaps bigger than the ones I've had for years!!!
Loretta