*crossposted from
http://bonsaisite.com at the advice of a member there*
Okay, so I decided to go to look at plants today. Hadn't planned to buy anything except potting ingredients for now, I just thought it would be good to get used to looking at young growing things to determine their bonsaiability.
That was before I had met the Mugo Pine.
See? Isn't that just an awesome specimen? I wanted him for my yard as much as for a pot. I couldn't get the angle with it in the pot, but the trunk has a nice lean to it. I figured I'd plant him in my future plantation, and use him for propagation for a while (Mugo looks like a good erosion fighter, and i've got a stream bank that needs help).
But then I took off the cheap plastic dirt cup...
As can obviously be seen, he was in for trouble soon. The mold was just on the potting mix, and though badly root-bound, they seemed to be healthy from the outside. I decided that I had better at least clean him up a bit, before I put him in the ground. I filled a bucket with water, to wash out the moldy soil...
It wouldn't even get wet. So I went and bent up a fork to make a root rake, and started unravelling the mess, alternating with pencil-thin blasts from the water hose. After about an hour, I had the roots mostly untangled, and the mold was all but gone. Then I learned something else. It had been slip-potted, badly, out of a square pot. So I spent another two hours massaging and blasting and combing the inner spaghetti into a healthier, outward-pointing direction.
Then I tried my hand at mixing potting mix. Don't know what was wrong with it, but it was most definitely wrong. The water pooled, and eventually managed to filter through the tub (was using a rubbermaid shoebox). Maybe the grit I used was too heavy? I know I didn't pack the soil down any.
Anyway... I'm kinda stuck. Should I finish potting him up, keep him in the garage, and plant him in the ground in a couple months, or should I just go ahead and start the plantation with him now? Should I treat (whatever he ends up in) with anything?