Hey guys and gals,
I'm just curious about the tools you all use to repot your trees. Do you feel a root hook is necessary? I don't currently own one, and I'd pick one up from Kaneshin if necessary. That being said, would a root hook really only be beneficial when the roots are heavily rootbound? Could you get away with simply using your fingers to break up the rootball?
I'd like to do some repotting this weekend, but again I don't have a root hook so I don't know if I can successfully repot without one. In terms of scissors to prune the roots, I'm gonna guess you can use whatever scissors float your goat, yes?
Thanks guys!
My primary root work tools are a single-hooked root hook, a standard folding pruning saw, a wooden chopstick and I use my regular bonsai tools for more precise cutting.
I do a lot of work with nursery stock, and I'll often use the saw to cut off the bottom of the root ball, and the root hook to remove loose soil from around the perimeter of what's left. The chop stick is for getting into places with more precision, but also for working new soil into the pot and eliminating air pockets. The cheap disposable ones work, but you can usually get a full set of larger wooden ones in Chinatown or at a Chinese grocery store for a couple bucks that work better. One pack will probably last you your entire bonsai career unless you lose them.
There are times when I've wanted the multi-prong root hook and not had it, particularly when I wanted to do gently rake out the top of the soil. I keep meaning to get one, but only seem to think about it when I need it and don't have it. =)
If you want to really reduce the size of a root ball to get it in a smaller pot, it would be pretty challenging without
some kind of root hook. It's far less damaging to the plant to use the root hook to gently sort out the roots before pruning than to just blindly hack away until you get it to the size you want.
When I get completely raw stock, my plan is often something like this:
- First full Year owning the tree - light re-pot in spring, mostly a slip pot, but I'll reduce and clean up the root ball somewhat before putting it in its new home (often the same pot, or maybe even a slightly larger one).
- For the next few years, I may let it just grow or do the same level of re-pot, depending on my mood and the tree. This gets the tree used to growing healthily at this scale. It's not uncommon for me to skip a year between these re-pots, but I usually do at least every other year. Some things I'll pull up every year just to see how they're doing, and to do some light re-balancing. Because I'm only doing light root work during this cycle, I can take the opportunity to also do light pruning throughout the season and get the tree growing in balance.
- After 3-5 years of this, I usually have something much better than what I started with. At that point, I move to some sort of large, shallow training pot. You could arguably do this sooner if you really wanted to, especially if you already have the trunk you want - this is just how I happen to work my trees. The point of the initial time in the nursery pot is to get the tree VERY healthy and strong so it can handle the substantial reduction required to move to a flat.
- After growing in the training pot for a while you can start thinking about moving down a pot size, and eventually into bonsai pots. In between re-pots, you want it to grow enough to really fill up the pot with roots. You may even want to do at least one light re-pot back into the same container. This process will help develop your nebari if you let it grow long enough in the more constrained pot. Just don't go so long that you end up with a root nightmare to deal with. In the years when you're not re-potting, you can trim away obviously unwanted surface roots and pull them out.
Again, this is just how I do it. Lots of different strategies out there. My way is definitely not fast. =) But it keeps the tree growing vigorously while I'm working with things on top.