Cleaning up nursery bought Hinoki

[Matt3839]

Hi all,

I just bought a Hinoki cypress from nursery stock and wanted to clean up the bottom area and do some wiring but the pot it came in is rather tall and hard to work with.

I’ve read it’s a bit late in the year to repot Hinoki so I’m wondering if anyone has any advice? I don’t want to shock the tree too much and I’ve heard a lot of arguments against slip potting. A little confused at where to go from here.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you!

 

[brentwood]

The first thing to keep in mind with these is they do not* backbud - don’t cut interior growth and expect it to ever comeback. I’ve seen a lot of hinoki poodles.
Good luck, looks like a nice start
Brent
* your mileage may vary

 

[Matt3839]

The first thing to keep in mind with these is they do not* backbud - don’t cut interior growth and expect it to ever comeback. I’ve seen a lot of hinoki poodles.
Good luck, looks like a nice start
Brent
* your mileage may vary

Thanks, yeah I’ve been watching a lot of videos on it. I’m going to try to avoid chopping too much initially. But just want to see the branching down low. It’s very hard to work with in this tall pot.

 

[brentwood]

it’s not unusual to take the plant out of the pot and work the soil up top, expose the nebari a bit. You can then cut some of the pot away, near the level of the soil when you put it back, rootball intact (but a little shorter). That will help you see that lowest part better.

 

[yashu]

You can cut down the top of the nursery can if you want to get a better view and clean up the base. Just don’t dig into the roots too much until potting season comes around again.

Yeah, what @brentwood said!!!

 

[brentwood]

You can cut down the top of the nursery can if you want to get a better view and clean up the base. Just don’t dig into the roots too much until potting season comes around again.

Yeah, what @brentwood said!!!

Great minds!

 

[Matt3839]

it’s not unusual to take the plant out of the pot and work the soil up top, expose the nebari a bit. You can then cut some of the pot away, near the level of the soil when you put it back, rootball intact (but a little shorter). That will help you see that lowest part better.Thank you

 

[Matt3839]

Ok thank you so much everyone. I poked around the top root ball with my finger earlier and it felt pretty hard so I’m hoping the soil isn’t too compacted.

Do you all think I should tease the roots out at all if it’s pot bound while I examine it or just leave it totally alone and drop it right back in when I’m done?

 

[Bonsai Forest]

Ok thank you so much everyone. I poked around the top root ball with my finger earlier and it felt pretty hard so I’m hoping the soil isn’t too compacted.

Do you all think I should tease the roots out at all if it’s pot bound while I examine it or just leave it totally alone and drop it right back in when I’m done?

Leave the roots until following Spring. Watch and learn the tree Think about design

 

[Matt3839]

So I cut down the top of the pot to clean out the dead foliage and prepare for pruning today. I also poked a finger around the top of the soil. The soil is veey hard so I might use a chopstick to aerate a little bit. I understand these trees like water and like to be misted. A lot of people are watering theirs 2-3 times a day even but they are using bonsai soil and pots. However, I’m keeping mine in its potting soil till spring. .

I’ve had a history of overwatering my trees so I’m trying to be better about it. If the top inch or so is dry does that seem to be a good time to water a Hinoki?

Sorry for the newb questions but all the info I can find seems to be for bonsai specific trees or for in ground trees…

 

[pandacular]

With trees in nursery cans, I’ve found hefting them to be the best method of determining if it needs water.

 

[Matt3839]

With trees in nursery cans, I’ve found hefting them to be the best method of determining if it needs water.

Hefting them?

 

[pandacular]

Lift it up, feel its weight. If it’s lighter, it needs water. Usually, I go by a somewhat intuitive approach: there’s a subtle surprise in the feeling of lifting a pot that needs water.

A ceramic container and large trees make this much more challenging.

 

[Paradox]

You can also stick a chop stick deep in the pot and leave it there. Take it out once a day and look at it. Water the tree when it is almost dry a inch or so down

 

[Bonsai Forest]

Lift it up, feel its weight. If it’s lighter, it needs water. Usually, I go by a somewhat intuitive approach: there’s a subtle surprise in the feeling of lifting a pot that needs water.

A ceramic container and large trees make this much more challenging.

if it falls over, it needs water

 

[Matt3839]

Hi guys. I wanted to do a little update. I took my Hinoki out of its pot just to take a look at the roots before putting it back. I think the roots look good but it seems very pot bound. (Planning to do partial root work next year)

My question is about exposing some of the nebari. I tried to scrape away at the dirt on the surface but there are so many small surface roots it’s nearly impossible to expose any nebari without cutting away at them. What do you guys advise? would cutting away at the small surface roots hurt the tree right now? I can’t seem to find much info on this scenario. Thank you as always!

 

[Paradox]

Those surface roots are probably your nebari. Generally, unless there is a high root on the trunk that is out of place, we try not to cut the surface roots.

When we repot a nursery tree like this, we tend to cut the bottom of that rootball off in favor of keeping the roots around the trunk so it will eventually fit in a shallower pot

 

[pandacular]

I think the roots look good but it seems very pot bound. (Planning to do partial root work next year)

I only disagree with the part in bold. Roots look robust, but it is FAR from root bound. Root bound means that the growth is the tree is limited (bounded) by the pot being over-filled with roots. This level of roots is just what I would hope to see to know a prior year’s repot was successful.

I bolded the partial root work part because I see no reason to not do a full repot(1) for this tree next winter/spring

(1) The reader understands that the term “full repot” is taken in the wholeness of context of the tree. This is not legal advice.

 

[Matt3839]

Those surface roots are probably your nebari. Generally, unless there is a high root on the trunk that is out of place, we try not to cut the surface roots.

When we repot a nursery tree like this, we tend to cut the bottom of that rootball off in favor of keeping the roots around the trunk so it will eventually fit in a shallower pot

Those surface roots are probably your nebari. Generally, unless there is a high root on the trunk that is out of place, we try not to cut the surface roots.

When we repot a nursery tree like this, we tend to cut the bottom of that rootball off in favor of keeping the roots around the trunk so it will eventually fit in a shallower pot

I was thinking this possibly as well. There are shoots that are coming from the main trunk that are not exposed and deeper in the soil however. And I’ve yet to see any roots actually coming from the trunk, only branches.. maybe I’m a little confused? Sorry

 

[Matt3839]

I only disagree with the part in bold. Roots look robust, but it is FAR from root bound. Root bound means that the growth is the tree is limited (bounded) by the pot being over-filled with roots. This level of roots is just what I would hope to see to know a prior year’s repot was successful.

I bolded the partial root work part because I see no reason to not do a full repot(1) for this tree next winter/spring

(1) The reader understands that the term “full repot” is taken in the wholeness of context of the tree. This is not legal advice.

Really? Wow that’s nice to hear. I would love to move the tree into a training pot at least and changing the soil.

On another note, in your opinion, do you think there are possibly thicker roots below where the trunk splits into three in the second photo?