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You can use an organic/aggregate based mix. That will hold the most water, but you still want it open and draining. If you squeeze the soil when wet, it shouldn't clump together. You may not be able to go a week without watering in the summer, but setting up a portable sprinkler on a timer...

Try testing the pH of the water draining out of the hole after watering. Turface is usually acidic therefore it might not be a pH problem. I think it may be related to the fertilizer. Did it happen after switching to 15-30-15? I'd try using osmocote plus slow release which is sold at...

What fertilizer are you using for the tree?

Nursery trees use a good amount of pine bark with peat, and sand mostly. Drainage is important with most trees, and evergreens. Nursery mixes drain well when fresh but after a couple years they'll break down and stay too wet. By that time though the tree roots usually fill up the pot. General...

I had the same problem last year. Almost all the leafs were burnt on my maples. A book said not to get the leafs wet when you water. After following this they are much better. My deck gets up to 90+ degrees some days too. Try to avoid getting them wet during sunny days.

Looking forward to seeing how this comes out. It has a good trunk with a nice bend.

Yes this is helpful. I'm going to stop pinching this year. I did want to get some light into the branches which is why I pinched and pruned some of the unwanted growth such as under growth and growth growing up. I have been looking at points to cut back the lower branches. If available would...

Alright. I did think about that. I pictured something like this. The only thing is I have a jin, and if I did cut that top, there would be a hole at the top until it filled in. My plan is to let the top round off by pinching and shaping through time. I like the height it is. I thought about...

Yes I think I know what part you mean. If you could circle it in paint that would help. I would like to have a nice round top, but I do not think there is enough foliage coming out width wise to shape it yet. I think I would end up with a loly pop/pom pom top. The top still needs to be styled...

Thanks rob!

Update Summer 2014 Here is how the tree is shaping up. I only did some pinching and maintenance on the branch wiring this year. Check first post for when I first got the hinoki. That's Leo my sisters Yorkie staying with us for the summer. He doesn't like photos.

Wow. This tree really transformed into a more elegant shape. I have to check your older picture but I remember it was more strict with the left right left right foliage, now it's got some nice movement.

Impressive progress. Really shows the importance of getting good material with an interesting trunk.

Air layers removed. At the end of last summer I removed the air layer and hard pruned it. Here is the parent tree (in bonsai training pot) and air layer (clay flower pot) in the spring.

I don't have much experience with this but there is an article on bonsai4me that says you can repot them during the humid days in august. I did it with one of my junipers and it's still alive. The top looks very healthy still. When did you add the dead wood?

It looks great! It's a nice feeling to see a tree come out underneath all that foliage.

It may be in shock. Make sure the soil level isn't too high on the trunk. That can kill a maple or any tree even in the ground. Just another thing to troubleshoot, but it's probably not doing well from the transplant.

Yes. I remember you saying that and I do sometimes water it twice a day. It seems to suck the water out of the soil. Rob, also how many times a year do you prune your hinoki to maintain shape?

Walmart. Terrapinflyer, another question did you shift out the fines? Or the big pieces were breaking down too? I will have to keep an eye on my stuff because I did notice the new bags had lighter color clay. The older bags had redish and brown color clay pieces and they have been in my soil...

I use oil dri as well and It's never turned to mush. Did you use the premium absorbent one? The most I use is 50% in a mix.

Hi. I didn't have to remove that many roots. I just combed them so it would fit the shape of this pot. I probably removed less than 1/3rd if that. The root ball is still pretty big. The hinoki hadn't filled the nursery pot yet and I figure the roots would be more manageable in the future in this...

Looks a little more mature now. Nice job.

It's kind of like playing scratch off lotto tickets when getting trees from Home depot. You don't really know what have till you get some of the unwanted growth out. Thanks Rob! I just kind of been maintaining it pruning it conservatively. Anything that starts getting leggy I pinch back, and...

Wanted to share my Hinoki. I only had this Hinoki for 1 year (purchased from home depot) and it's starting to get a nice silhouette. October gave me advice in the beginning. The top portion is still bushy and I have to figure out how to define the foliage pads, but the bottom section is looking...

The problem with this hobby is not only the time it takes to learn, but the space in your yard. You'll soon have 20+ trees/bonsai projects. The only way to get better though is to work hands on and to look at a lot of pictures. When you see more styles and trees it gives you more ideas when you...