bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Repotting an Established Bonsai (5 parts)

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Use a light stroke; you only want to loosen up the first half inch or so. Once you have done this evenly across the entire root ball, use your root shears to cut them off as tightly to the flat surface as you can (Figure 13). Make your surface as flat as possible! Then repeat the process until you have trimmed the roots as thinly as you need to. This process can take a while, so work quickly but carefully.

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As your root pad develops over the years, you will find that less and less drastic root work will be necessary. Figure 14 shows a well established Japanese maple being worked.

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As you encounter large roots, when you have determined that they are no longer necessary, remove them flush with the soil using a pair of root cutters (Figure 15). Don’t worry about getting the entire root out at once; expose it a bit at a time so that you are working all the way across the root ball at the same depth.

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How much should you take off of the roots? It all depends on the tree and the condition of the roots as you go along. Some species or even individual trees will require more than others. Figure 16 is an example of a large trident maple properly prepared for repotting. Only one thing remains to be pruned: the large nut holding the tree! Notice the grey areas. This is putty-type cut paste used to cover the stubs of large roots that have been reduced in this repotting.

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When you have your roots arranged well at the bottom, it is time to work the top and sides of the roots. Until this time, these portions have been untouched to keep the root ball firm and make working on it much easier. The tree in Figure 17 is resting on a turntable, making it difficult to see just how thin the root ball is. It has been reduced to little more than one inch in depth. In future repottings, it may be reduced even more.

Many people use root hooks or chopsticks on this portion of the tree, but both of those items can cause a lot of damage to roots. Much easier to control and give a very light touch are the angled tweezers that came with your initial bonsai tool kit (Figure 18 )

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Drag these lightly toward you, directly away from the trunk. You will find it much easier to arrange the roots as you like. Don’t be in a hurry to do this. If you are out of the wind and sun, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about the roots drying out. If they seem to be doing so, drape a wet towel over the half of the root ball you are not working on, and move it when needed. You certainly don’t want to get the root ball too wet, as this makes a muddy mess and causes more problems than it might solve!