Do roots like it *rough*? (raking that is)

kompik

I've read about how the delicate feeder roots and their fragile root hairs are the most crucial part of the root system and most directly impact the health of a tree (which is why you want your tree firmly anchored in it's pot, so it doesn't move around in the soil after you've planted it), yet time and again I see demos of people repotting bonsai and raking the living daylights out of the root system to loosen it up, get it untangled, and get the soil out of it. Doesn't going at it with such vigor utterly demolish the feeder roots and their root hairs?

I read somewhere that using a strong jet from a garden hose sprayer to blast the soil out of the roots was preferable because it was far gentler on the roots than a root hook or fork. Since I'm no horticulturalist, but I'm interested in learning all I can about how trees work, I'd like to know why rough treatment of the roots, though counter-intuitive, is the conventional practice? How do those poor, tender roots recover from such brutality?

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gregb

You ask a good question, especially for this time of year. I think I have seen some of what you are talking about and my answer would be it depends. It depends on the species, the time of year, the age of the tree, how established as a bonsai it is, etc.

Trees chosen for re-potting demos usually are well established bonsai that have been potted in a proper soil and cared for in such a manner that yields a dense fibrous root system. The roots at the bottom of the pot have begun to coil and it looks like a mess of spaghetti when taken out of the pot. One starts at the bottom to disentangle these roots then works the sides, then the bottom some more. It may seem rough at some point in the process, but where we want to be very careful is with those little feeder roots that are close to the base of the trunk, which are almost always raked carefully towards the end of the process. I have washed roots in the past but find that they still need to be disentangled and trimmed. Washing them makes a muddy mess and a step I feel unnecessary. Others will disagree. One spring I washed practically everything with the exception of my pines. I lost some nice junipers this way.

Repotter

You will hear conflicting stories on this mainly because it is hard to "tell" someone rather than show them how to do it.
I remember when I first joined a club and saw one of the people who was new to bonsai raking the life out of the roots.
While I watched him do this he finally made the statement that he had never had good luck and that every tree he tried always died.
Well maybe what he was doing was the reason, hard to say.
Dissentangling the roots is important also knowing which ones to take out and which to leave is even more important without being species specific.

I would suggest taking some instruction with an experienced person to "see" how to do it.

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bonsaikc

Here's a comprehensive article on repotting an established tree.

If you are potting nursery stock for the first time, go here.

If all we did was gently pick at the roots, we would never achieve anything. The key is getting feeder roots close to the nebari through successive repottings. Once that is achieved, your job becomes much easier.

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