JBP...uppot or not?

[Mike Corazzi]

I have a quandary. This is a JBP bunjin that I've had for 12 years or so. It was a volunteer from a large one in the yard in my last house.

In this non-bonsai pot, it was pretty nice green.



Not liking the pot much, I put it in this one ...THINKING.... that more bottom venting would be something it would really like.

Plastic but nice bottom venting. ?????



It is more faded now. This year it is putting out a lot of candles that I am leaving alone....but I wonder if the larger surface area of that 1st pot is better for the tree.
So thinking of going back to it. Not a hard repot but a possible up-pot with no root work.
It would slip out of the plastic pot pretty easily. Fill in sides with mix and leave it alone.


?????????


Edit to say the fading could have been from some bad candle work a year ago.
Not sure.
This year's candles are being left alone.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I think that for the amount of growth there actually is on the plant (about 16 branches), it's a good sized pot already.
If it's rebounding from something, something you're not sure of you say, then I'd just leave it be.

I also believe that bottom venting works only if there's a couple feet under a pot, if the feet are a closed circle, it's essentially closed off by the board it's standing on.

 

[Russ1]

If the tree is recovering from something I would leave it alone for a year since I think the pot is large enough.
If it is purely for aesthetics, I think the pot in the first image is too deep and would go for something shallower.
The angle on the 2nd image is hard to see how deep it is.

 

[bwaynef]

I suspect MC is going to up-pot it if he hasn’t already. That’s usually how these threads go.

 

[Shibui]

I'd be leaving it too. Not because potting on would be detrimental but because I don't think that's likely to be the problem and, to be honest, it doesn't look too bad anyway.

Given no other care info I'd recommend:
Look at watering #1. The open base may be allowing it to dry out more than the previous pot and you are not keeping up. Adjusting water amount and/or frequency may fix the problem.
Consider fertiliser #2. Nutrient availability can have a big impact on tree vigour and growth. The new pot doesn't seem much smaller in the photo but if reduced soil volume there may be a higher need for added nutrition. My black pines turn quite yellow when they are short of Nitrogen. A return to better fert program fixes that in a few weeks.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I suspect MC is going to up-pot it if he hasn’t already. That’s usually how these threads go.

Well you're wrong. I took it out of the pot and am keeping it in the bathroom where it can recover.
Dried off the roots and cut most off. I'm sure it's okay as an uncle told me that's what you do
with a sick dog.