Demo Shimpaku: Repot advice needed.

Maveri9720

Hi all. April 9th I attended a Marco Invernizzi Demo. The club presented him a nice shimpaku. He styled it and I bought it afterwards. I like it alot.

Anyways, it was bought from a nursery going out of business and it has been pretty neglected soil wise. It wasn't even fastened down to the pot. It easily rocked back and forth and probably could have been just lifted right out of the container.

The soil looks like normal nursery soil, but the rootball is pretty thick with roots and compacted. I also noticed some ants in the rootball too when I was wiring the tree to the pot.

Just looking for some advice as to whether or not I should try to repot this shimpaku.

If I do, I was thinking of hosing off all of the old soil and either doing very minimal root trimming or none at all and putting it back into it's container, but planted into bonsai soil.

I'm not sure if this shimpaku can take being restyled and repotted all in the same month, but I REALLY dislike the soil it is in and the condition of the soil.

Should it just wait until next year? Or should I lift the rootball out and dump out all of the old soil and put the rootball back and fill in the rest with bonsai soil?

Advice and info is most appreciated.

Thanks.

Attached Images

	Shimpaku_Before.jpg (43.1 KB, 93 views)
	Shimpaku_After.jpg (41.7 KB, 70 views)
	Shimpaku_After_2.jpg (37.3 KB, 105 views)
	Shimpaku_Soil.jpg (38.9 KB, 61 views)

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Neild

I cannot by any stretch consider myself an expert. But, I would repot.
1) Looks like alot of foliage came off
2) The soil probably drains poorly
........and you will likely want to feed it heavily to help it fill out, well draining soil will help with this. (do not begin fertilizing immediately after a repot though, wait for new growth)

This is not a good combination. If that is the state the soil/roots are in then a repot could likely invigorate the tree and also prevent the chance of root rot.

I don't think I would bare root it though. Just comb the roots out, shake them off and trim them. I would try to pick any old compacted soil out from the center of the roots directly under the trunk.

Good Luck.
We had a good workshop with Marco in Indy over the Easter weekend.

palmbanks

Personally i wouldnt put this back into a pot, as the foliage has been recuced considerably during the styling.

I would be inclined to lift it from its current pot, and to plant it in an oversized grow box, where it can remain and recover (at least 3 years imo). I also, wouldnt reduce the root mass during the repot, I would scrape the underside of the roots near where they meet the main trunk and then work root hormone into the scrapes.

This will allow new roots to form near to the base of the trunk, without having to remove the existing roots until the tree has recovered from its recent neglect and styling.

Regards

David Palmer

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Vonsgardens

Hi,
does the soil drain? I personally don't repot and root prune shimpakus this late- too great a chance for temps in the 80s or 90s. If you do repot, be more conservative on root treatment. Clear out the root ball with a chopstick or curved tweezers on one half at a time- do 1/2 of the root ball one year and the other half the next repotting in a couple of years. Foliage should recover quickly- in a year or so. Best of luck. John

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"Wiring is simple; However, it is not easy to do it right" Boon

OKbonsai

I would go with John's suggestion, there has been a lot of work done on the tree already. You don't want to lose such a nice tree.
Got to love that T-shirt.
Frank

Vance Wood

I will relate my experiences with this species of tree and you can make up your own mind. I find they respond the best to being repotted durning the growing season. I have removed as much as 70% of the old roots during this time, I have wired them at the same time, I have drastically pruned them at the same time. The only caveat is that once your do this it will take three years for it to develop a good root system and must be left alone except for basic pinching. In the spring they like a lot of sun,they produce the most compact growth in full sun. Latter in the year they tend to yellow up in the sun so I move them into partial shade before I display them, then they turn a nice blue green color.

You asked if you should hose off the roots. I have not hosed off a Shimpaku, but in view of my other experiences with them I don't see how this would particularly harm it. Though if you want to be cautious you might want to wait till the next repot before removing all of the rest of the old soil.

In the soil mix make sure you have some activated charcoal included, the kind of stuff you buy for aquarium filters.

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The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa