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Now that I can see the root base, I think you will probably want to do something there to redevelop it. If you were to nick these large roots with a knife and apply some rooting hormone and raise the soil level, there is a good chance you can get some surface rooting back.

The soil line should be up where the roots branch apart unless you want that "frog's legs" appearance, which is not in my opinion the way to go. The soil line needs to come up to this point so that the tree will appear to be stable and not a victim of flood erosion.

Then the fine canopy you have will serve it really well. Please keep it broad and open shaped like this and don't go hacking it into a pine tree shape!!!

If this were my tree, I would not bother repotting it, but would ground layer it instead by building up a wall inside the container rim, raising the soil level about 4-6 inches after wounding the bark and applying rooting hormone in several spots. I would also apply a few well-placed wire tourniquets on those root-branches to force the tree to issue roots above the existing root system and keep the soil level very high until that had taken place. It's a 2 year project, realistically, but you would have a wonderful tree at that point. All the roots below the existing soil line will be discarded.

Regards,

Matt

11-Jan-2002	#6
TreeBay Tips:5¢ Advice:Free *MODERATOR GROUP* Join Date: Aug-2001 Location: Silicon Valley Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 4 Posts: 9,745	Re: Blue Moss Cypress Now that I can see the root base, I think you will probably want to do something there to redevelop it. If you were to nick these large roots with a knife and apply some rooting hormone and raise the soil level, there is a good chance you can get some surface rooting back. The soil line should be up where the roots branch apart unless you want that "frog's legs" appearance, which is not in my opinion the way to go. The soil line needs to come up to this point so that the tree will appear to be stable and not a victim of flood erosion. Then the fine canopy you have will serve it really well. Please keep it broad and open shaped like this and don't go hacking it into a pine tree shape!!! If this were my tree, I would not bother repotting it, but would ground layer it instead by building up a wall inside the container rim, raising the soil level about 4-6 inches after wounding the bark and applying rooting hormone in several spots. I would also apply a few well-placed wire tourniquets on those root-branches to force the tree to issue roots above the existing root system and keep the soil level very high until that had taken place. It's a 2 year project, realistically, but you would have a wonderful tree at that point. All the roots below the existing soil line will be discarded. Regards, Matt __________________ Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today! bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!