maverickheath
Mame
When I repot my trees if I'm putting them in a bigger pot do I still need to tree the roots
triming roots
- Thread starter maverickheath
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Cypress187
Masterpiece
Tree the roots? You mean trim? treat? In my understanding you should always work the roots when u repot because it's the only possibility to do it, if you don't you have to wait for a few years (next repot).
edit: You should only trim too long / too thick roots btw (and or crossing roots / comb the roots)
edit: You should only trim too long / too thick roots btw (and or crossing roots / comb the roots)
Last edited:
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
If you got your new soil.....
I'd be washing out the old soil completely.
Chances are you're going to have to remove some black slimy dead roots.
I wouldn't remove to much more.
Set the flare roots out nice.....
And fold the rest under if you have to.
When you get in there....you'll be more comfortable.
Just keep as much as you can, especially white New feeders.
Sorce
I'd be washing out the old soil completely.
Chances are you're going to have to remove some black slimy dead roots.
I wouldn't remove to much more.
Set the flare roots out nice.....
And fold the rest under if you have to.
When you get in there....you'll be more comfortable.
Just keep as much as you can, especially white New feeders.
Sorce
No folding under roots! That is perhaps the worst advice I've ever seen posted on this site. Sorry, Sorce, that's just 100 percent wrong!
I posted a video a couple weeks ago in the "General" category titled something like "Excellent video on repotting deciduous".
That's how it should be done for deciduous trees.
For conifer, very similiar, except don't bare root the whole rootball. Only do one side or the other. Next time do the other half.
maverickheath
Mame
Offcouse I mean trim lol
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Wow.
You reckon Boon would agree if he was going to keep the tree inside.....?
How bout if the tree had a rough last few months inside?
@maverickheath
The way I see it, you're not so much "repotting a bonsai", as you are trying to keep, or get, these things thriving.
If you get your flare roots set out nice now, you will have plenty of years in the future to cut off the folded under ones.
When you put a tree on a board, the roots find the edge, and fold themselves under.
And I had one take a 3 story fall last year....I had to jam it in a smaller basket, so I folded the roots under to keep em....
And it lived....
That's what roots do.....they help your tree live.......
Walter Pall said somewhere....
Something like....
"People take off too many roots too fast, you can usually leave a lot more"
Sorce
Sorce,
Wow, indeed!
I don't mean to be rude, but folding roots under is just not the way it should be done. It doesn't matter if it's a tropical tree or not.
On collected trees that don't have many feeder roots close to the trunk, what do we do? Do we fold the roots over so the tree will fit in a typical deep nursery can? No, a special box is built so that the roots can lay out flat. Over the next couple years, each time the tree is repotted, the long roots are shortened as new feeder roots are developed.
The whole point of what we try to do with nebari is to build a healthy shallow root system.
Maverick, I have no idea what kind of tree you're wanting to up pot. But here's what you ought to do:
As Cypress187 said, whenever you repot, use that opportunity to improve the root system. Sorce is correct in that "good roots make a healthy tree". I'm not advocating cutting all the roots off, but "up potting" implies that the tree is potbound. In which case there will be a lot of circling roots running around the outside of the rootball.
Those should be removed.
Cut the bottom of the rootball flat with scissors. Make it as smooth and flat as possible.
Tease out 1/4 to 1/2 inch of small roots all along the sides of the rootball. So that the sides look fuzzy. Smooth bottom, fuzzy sides. Then pot it into the new larger pot. Take care to carefully chopstick new soil so that the fuzzy roots are in contact with the new soil. Don't chopstick too much or else you'll damage the fuzzy roots. Back fill and water. Of course, it should be wired in place.
Do not tease the long circling roots out and tuck them under.
Wow, indeed!
I don't mean to be rude, but folding roots under is just not the way it should be done. It doesn't matter if it's a tropical tree or not.
On collected trees that don't have many feeder roots close to the trunk, what do we do? Do we fold the roots over so the tree will fit in a typical deep nursery can? No, a special box is built so that the roots can lay out flat. Over the next couple years, each time the tree is repotted, the long roots are shortened as new feeder roots are developed.
The whole point of what we try to do with nebari is to build a healthy shallow root system.
Maverick, I have no idea what kind of tree you're wanting to up pot. But here's what you ought to do:
As Cypress187 said, whenever you repot, use that opportunity to improve the root system. Sorce is correct in that "good roots make a healthy tree". I'm not advocating cutting all the roots off, but "up potting" implies that the tree is potbound. In which case there will be a lot of circling roots running around the outside of the rootball.
Those should be removed.
Cut the bottom of the rootball flat with scissors. Make it as smooth and flat as possible.
Tease out 1/4 to 1/2 inch of small roots all along the sides of the rootball. So that the sides look fuzzy. Smooth bottom, fuzzy sides. Then pot it into the new larger pot. Take care to carefully chopstick new soil so that the fuzzy roots are in contact with the new soil. Don't chopstick too much or else you'll damage the fuzzy roots. Back fill and water. Of course, it should be wired in place.
Do not tease the long circling roots out and tuck them under.
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