Improve bonsai root base, nebari, rooting hormone

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"Nebari" is the Japanese word used to describe the root flare of a bonsai.

Pictured below is a maple with very good root development that was achieved by growing the tree in a growing box for three years, and preparing the tree during its initial transplant by removing field soil and arranging roots properly. The root system has just been trimmed prior to transplanting, and you can see that the roots radiate in all directions from the trunk, and the root system has been developed to be very flat by undercutting any tap root or downward pointing roots.

It's very important to do this as early in the tree's development as practical, and the importance of this can't be stressed enough. Most bonsai are handicapped by mediocre root flare.

This article will discuss some of the steps that can be taken to improve the nebari of a bonsai

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Even a tree with roots as good as the one above can stand some improvement. Bare rooting the tree (which is fine for deciduous plants) and washing all the field soil away from the tree's base is very important because the fine structure of the field soil inhibits root development.

Roots will instead grow in the optimal conditions of the bonsai soil rather than the thick clay structure of the field soil.

Inspecting the tree above closely we can see an area where roots have not been developed quite as fully. Let's discuss how to deal with an area like this:

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Using the more extreme example of one-sided rootage below, we have another maple with a functional root system, but there are no roots growing on one side.

The reason for this is that the root that originally formed on this side of the tree turned back and went straight down into the soil. When the tree was pruned for bonsai, the downward pointing root was removed. The root callused over, but did not issue any new roots on that side

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Roots can be encouraged to develop on this side of the tree by wounding the area where we'd like roots with a grafting knife and then treating the area with a rooting hormone.

Here we've made a shallow cut in the desired area

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The next step is to treat the wound area with rooting hormone. The Dip n Grow hormone is diluted according to the manufacturer's directions for hardwood cuttings. A Q-tip cotton swab makes a convenient, disposable applicator.

When repotting this tree, we'll need to be sure that the wound area is at least 2" below the surface of the soil.

Pinning a bit of long fiber sphagnum moss against the trunk at this spot would also help to keep the humidity up in this area of the trunk and promote root growth.

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windblownhermit

As a beginner I posted a question about this in the beginner's forum.

I am wondering how well this would work for a mugo pine, and what kind of hormone to use?