Half bare root repotting pines?

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Hello folks, as we are swiftly progressing through my first winter trying to keep little trees alive, I've recently begun to think and plan about repotting. In particular, I have a few pines which were just slip potted into terra cotta pots with potting soil when I bought them, as it wasn't a good time of year to do an actual repot then. I plan to get them into proper substrate in more useful containers this spring, either cut down nursery pots or pond baskets. Now, I understand that with pines older than a few years, they can be quite sensitive to root work and so people recommend not to bare rot the whole thing at once and just go by halves, half now, half once the tree has recovered in a year or two. How do you know which half to do first? Top, bottom, left, right, front, back? Does it matter? Can I repot the front quarter and the back quarter for the sake of symmetry?

 

[Gabler]

Most people pick the left or right, because it seems to be easiest. I've also seen people repot the top half of the root ball and then cut off the bottom half in a few years when the top gets established.

 

[bwaynef]

Boon came up with the half bareroot repot technique. He mentioned recently that he came up with the idea even before his apprenticeship. (Makes sense as most of the trees he was likely to have worked on in Japan likely were already in good soil.)

Anyway, as to which side to be repotted first its largely inconsequential ...unless there is a section of the tree that is weaker. In that case, repot the half that feeds that section. Otherwise, he recommends starting with the front half as a way of remembering which was half-barerooted already.

 

[Shibui]

I only recently heard of HBR for pines so for the last 40 years I've been repotting pines pretty much as for other species. When they need a full repot they get it. If they need total replacement of the media they get that. If the roots need to be sorted and adjusted they get that too.
I guess my pines have never heard of HBR either so there's been no problems - so far.
I guess I should keep the pines away from B'nut in case they find out.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

I only recently heard of HBR for pines so for the last 40 years I've been repotting pines pretty much as for other species. When they need a full repot they get it. If they need total replacement of the media they get that. If the roots need to be sorted and adjusted they get that too.
I guess my pines have never heard of HBR either so there's been no problems - so far.
I guess I should keep the pines away from B'nut in case they find out.

Can't risk teaching them how to read

 

[Shibui]

Can't risk teaching them how to read

Absolutely. No telling what they'd want next. Designer fertiliser, proper bonsai tools, proper bonsai soil.......
Or maybe they'd just be confused by all the options - like many of the newbies here.

 

[Gabler]

I was under the impression that the half-bare-root method is for ancient, stunted, mountain-collected trees, whereas vigorous field-grown trees can ditch their field soil at collection. I've had no trouble bare-rooting pines growing in the field, although I've only done it a few times.

 

[penumbra]

I have never done a full bare root on a pine. I also don't do a typical half bare root. I tease out pie shaped sections over a period of 2 to 4 years generally. The idea of doing the front half first, so that you will remember it, makes no sense to me. First, it should be plainly obvious where work has been done before, and secondly, you can't just assume that one half needs it more than the other half without inspecting the roots.

 

[Notsureaboutplantnames]

Sorry this is not related to JBP but for some reason I have not been able to make a new thread in this forum.
I have to admit, this blows all my 50 yrs of horticultural and landscape planting out of the water.
I transplanted a tree yesterday (Carpinus coreana) that I have had for 25 years in nursery media and a large pot. I did what I usually do, removed half the root ball off the bottom and cleaned up the sides and a little off the top.

I was wondering to myself how the heck I was going to remove the other half next year! Bingo! Thank you for that lesson.

 

[Dav4]

I was under the impression that the half-bare-root method is for ancient, stunted, mountain-collected trees, whereas vigorous field-grown trees can ditch their field soil at collection. I've had no trouble bare-rooting pines growing in the field, although I've only done it a few times.

I've done many more hbr re-pots on pines that have spent their entire life in pots than I've ever done on collected trees. Akadama based soils slowly break down and if re-pots aren't done frequently or thoroughly enough, the soil will collapse and have significant negative impacts on overall vigor and health. That's when the hbr can really turn things around for trees that need it.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

I've done many more hbr re-pots on pines that have spent their entire life in pots than I've ever done on collected trees. Akadama based soils slowly break down and if re-pots aren't done frequently or thoroughly enough, the soil will collapse and have significant negative impacts on overall vigor and health. That's when the hbr can really turn things around for trees that need it.

So it may not be necessary to do in stages if the soil is not quite broken down? I mean most of my pines are quite young yet anyways, only 2 are older than 5 years right now

 

[JudyB]

Sorry this is not related to JBP but for some reason I have not been able to make a new thread in this forum.
I have to admit, this blows all my 50 yrs of horticultural and landscape planting out of the water.
I transplanted a tree yesterday (Carpinus coreana) that I have had for 25 years in nursery media and a large pot. I did what I usually do, removed half the root ball off the bottom and cleaned up the sides and a little off the top.

I was wondering to myself how the heck I was going to remove the other half next year! Bingo! Thank you for that lesson.

normally there is no reason to HBR deciduous trees. I have never had any problems with a vigorous D tree in any soil condition completely bare rooting it. The only exception to this is Satsuki Azaleas.

 

[Notsureaboutplantnames]

normally there is no reason to HBR deciduous trees. I have never had any problems with a vigorous D tree in any soil condition completely bare rooting it. The only exception to this is Satsuki Azaleas.

Okay, thanks

 

[Brain Treez]

Hello folks, as we are swiftly progressing through my first winter trying to keep little trees alive, I've recently begun to think and plan about repotting. In particular, I have a few pines which were just slip potted into terra cotta pots with potting soil when I bought them, as it wasn't a good time of year to do an actual repot then. I plan to get them into proper substrate in more useful containers this spring, either cut down nursery pots or pond baskets. Now, I understand that with pines older than a few years, they can be quite sensitive to root work and so people recommend not to bare rot the whole thing at once and just go by halves, half now, half once the tree has recovered in a year or two. How do you know which half to do first? Top, bottom, left, right, front, back? Does it matter? Can I repot the front quarter and the back quarter for the sake of symmetry?

If you're around the Eugene area, go to a Eugene Bonsai Society meeting and/or reach out to Tom Fincel. He's an advocate of the top-down half repot for field grown pines. I have not used the technique myself, but he has some nice trees.

 

[Gabler]

I've done many more hbr re-pots on pines that have spent their entire life in pots than I've ever done on collected trees. Akadama based soils slowly break down and if re-pots aren't done frequently or thoroughly enough, the soil will collapse and have significant negative impacts on overall vigor and health. That's when the hbr can really turn things around for trees that need it.

Now I'm confused. I thought you were never supposed to touch the interior of a rootball on a pine after it's been put into akadama.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

If you're around the Eugene area, go to a Eugene Bonsai Society meeting and/or reach out to Tom Fincel. He's an advocate of the top-down half repot for field grown pines. I have not used the technique myself, but he has some nice trees.

Up near Salem, actually, but I'll check him out, thx!

 

[Dav4]

Now I'm confused. I thought you were never supposed to touch the interior of a rootball on a pine after it's been put into akadama.

Never say ‘never’. While healthy trees with great, well developed root balls don’t need the interior refreshed regularly, I believe that, eventually, the interior soil will need replacing, though that determination depends on multiple things including overall health, vigor, and previous re-pots.