Over the last few weeks I have noticed that when watering, the water often pools on the surface and runs off the edge of the pot rather than penetrating deep into the pot, and wetting the entire rootball.
In light of this, today I decided it was time to perform Autumn Soji on the tree. 'Soji' is 'to clean' in Japanese. I use the term in reference to the top 2-3cm of the soil in the pot.
Before Soji: First thing we do is get out the bent nose tweezers and rake the top of the root ball outwards. That it from the centre of the pot to the rim. (I just realised i didn't capture pictures of this
the reason that we rake outwards, is that it only damages the crossing and unattractive roots. It should also be note that if there are any small roots crossing or growing upward etc this is a great opportunity to cut them off. Large roots are cut at repotting. Post Soji:
