Rosemary pre-bonsai is dying

[GrimLore]

Are you sure it's just not going to sleep for the winter?

My mother's ( she had for years 5 or 6 )
Would loss it's leaves and look dead all winter then she would bring it back out side in the spring and BAM!

It would come back to life.

Pretty certain it depends on the variety too I had them in the past that did just fine for years treated like tropicals indoors here but only watered monthly. Since then I have tried a few varieties and found one that acts as you say - https://bonsainut.com/threads/rosemary-pre-bonsai-is-dying.30549/#post-511654. Currently being brought inside a couple months back it looks dead - same as it did last year. Point is it will come back this Spring as it did last. It certainly makes it a plant of little interest in my opinion anyways

Grimmy

 

[Vin]

has anyone here successfully repoted a rosemary into a training pot, or even a bonsai pot?

Yes:

 

[petegreg]

Yes if two of four surviving is success.

 

[GSCarlson]

has anyone here successfully repoted a rosemary into a training pot, or even a bonsai pot?

I have repotted mine 4 times in the last year because the roots were getting so long they were lifting it up. I cut off most of the foliage when I brought it inside in September. It's growing back quickly.

 

[Dane Kofoed]

Pretty certain it depends on the variety too I had them in the past that did just fine for years treated like tropicals indoors here but only watered monthly. Since then I have tried a few varieties and found one that acts as you say .... Point is it will come back this Spring as it did last.
Grimmy

Did your variety have relatively long or short leaves? The foliage of this plant is generall short and thin, wondering if it's the same as yours

 

[aframe]

Yes:

View attachment 168753

Vin, can you tell us a bit about the root work that you did? Any signs of stress from the work that you did?

Thanks

 

[Vin]

Vin, can you tell us a bit about the root work that you did? Any signs of stress from the work that you did?

Thanks

Sure. I used a chopstick and gently removed some of the soil in a straight line from the base of the plant downward about the width of the chopstick in areas the didn't look to have much roots. Probably made about five separate passes around the root ball. I trimmed only the bottom of the roots about an inch. Then I compacted everything back together with my hands and put it in this pot. Any voids were filled with bonsai soil. There were no signs of stress. That was three years ago and I plan on repotting it again this Spring. All in all, I'd say I was very gentle with the root work.

 

[aframe]

Sure. I used a chopstick and gently removed some of the soil in a straight line from the base of the plant downward about the width of the chopstick in areas the didn't look to have much roots. Probably made about five separate passes around the root ball. I trimmed only the bottom of the roots about an inch. Then I compacted everything back together with my hands and put it in this pot. Any voids were filled with bonsai soil. There were no signs of stress. That was three years ago and I plan on repotting it again this Spring. All in all, I'd say I was very gentle with the root work.

Thanks.
I've heard that removing large roots can cause die back or death. Do you understand this to be true? Do you have any info on root reduction? I'm looking to get a rosemary out of a 5 gal nursery pot and into a training pot. It sounds like I should start changing the soil over the next few years, then start down sizing the root ball after that.

 

[Vin]

Thanks.
I've heard that removing large roots can cause die back or death. Do you understand this to be true? Do you have any info on root reduction? I'm looking to get a rosemary out of a 5 gal nursery pot and into a training pot. It sounds like I should start changing the soil over the next few years, then start down sizing the root ball after that.

I do understand that to be true. In many cases a training pot is just not needed. I would keep it in the same pot and remove an inch off the bottom every year for the next five years reducing the pot height by the same. Then, go for a training pot.