Bought this Hinoki from the nursery....

[Miyagi]

Hey Bonsai Nut community,

I bought this Hinoki yesterday and hacked away at it (and angered the gods).

This is probably a dumb question but does this have potential? I was going to repot it as well but the roots have taken over the pot. I wanted to repot it in a smaller pot, but since I shouldn't remove more than a quarter of the root system, I'm potentially looking at a very big pot?

Any harm in re-potting after I just pruned it a bit? Don't want to any more damage than I already have.

 

[M. Frary]

does this have potential?

It would have been better to ask this question before you went at it.
We need a better picture of it anyway to form opinions of it has potential.
I would report it in the spring when you see active growth.

 

[coltranem]

Are there two or three trees there?

These are pretty thin trunked from what I can see and I dont see growth down low. I am not an expert but I have heard Hinoki don't back bud well. You will need some lower branches. If you want to make a small tree.

 

[Cable]

I would report it in the spring when you see active growth.

NARC!

 

[Mike Hennigan]

I would have not chopped off any foliage and then repotted in the spring. They are weaker now, so repotting in the spring will probably be more demanding of them and they will certainly take a longer time to recover after the repot.

I find that repotting conifers first when they still have lots of foliage, and then pruning and styling later on, a year later, is usually the most time efficient and safest option. Though they look young so could probably deal with being repotted in the spring. Also, it looks like you have 2 or 3 trees in that pot. Untangling these trees from each other will make repotting a much more invasive operation than it would be otherwise.

But if you’re going to repot, wait til next spring when you see new growth as was stated above.

 

[BrianBay9]

With regard to your first question - yes, these trees have potential. Hinoki can make wonderful bonsai. But there are some other things for you to consider:

1. Is the trunk the size (diameter) that you want? If not your first goal is to grow out the trunk, in the ground or a larger, well draining pot/box. Ground growing will be faster.

2. Hinoki are not the easiest species for a beginner to style. Read up on how to handle them while you're growing out the trunk. In the meantime get some easier species to play with. Junipers and elms are good choices.

 

[Vance Wood]

A lot of what you can do will depend on the nature of the soil ball as it is. If you remove it from the nursery container and a lot of the original soil seems to fall off without you digging at it the same way you butchered the top then you could put it into as small or large a pot as could contain the soil mass as it falls apart. The problem is: Do you know how to do this in the first place. Potting up a tree is a lot more than just shoving it into a pot and a lot less than cutting off a bunch of roots you think you don't need. You need to educate yourself further before you proceed.

 

[Miyagi]

@Vance While I consider myself nothing more than an amateur I have repotted trees before and I am on these very boards to educate myself.

@BrianBay, Yes the trunk is not the size I was hoping to work with, I will take your advice and try to grow it out a bit.

@Coltrane, I believe you are correct on there being mulitiple trees. If i can't figure out a way to seperate them, I will just repot them as one when the time comes.

This is a learning experience for me so thanks to those who are staying positive and for the good advice

 

[coltranem]

@Miyagi perhaps grow it out but keep the 3 tree grouping.

 

[Miyagi]

@coltranem that's what I was thinking too! I think it could look good

 

[Vance Wood]

@Vance While I consider myself nothing more than an amateur I have repotted trees before and I am on these very boards to educate myself.

@BrianBay, Yes the trunk is not the size I was hoping to work with, I will take your advice and try to grow it out a bit.

@Coltrane, I believe you are correct on there being mulitiple trees. If i can't figure out a way to seperate them, I will just repot them as one when the time comes.

This is a learning experience for me so thanks to those who are staying positive and for the good advice

I was not suggesting that you were ignorant, I just had no idea of how much knowledge and experience you have amassed. No snark intended. I have seen however, people who claimed they knew what they were doing wind up butchering a root ball ruthlessly and killing a good tree.

 

[Saddler]

It might be worth while come spring to gently scrape the surface dirt off down to the roots and find out if you have one tree or three. It might be possible to separate them if they are three using a chopstick, patience, scissors and a spray bottle. If you ever did want to separate them, the earlier you do it, the easier it is in my experience.

If you have just one tree with roots down low in the dirt, you will want to know that.

For now I would be trying to get it as vigorous as possible.

 

[Lorax7]

When you do eventually get around to repotting, don’t bare-root the whole thing all at once. Hinokis don’t like having their roots messed with. Gradual replacement of the original nursery soil with a free-draining bonsai soil mix is the goal. Root pruning also needs to be done in a gradual, incremental manner. If you try to do too much too fast, you’ll have a dead tree.

 

[Vance Wood]

It might be worth while come spring to gently scrape the surface dirt off down to the roots and find out if you have one tree or three. It might be possible to separate them if they are three using a chopstick, patience, scissors and a spray bottle. If you ever did want to separate them, the earlier you do it, the easier it is in my experience.

If you have just one tree with roots down low in the dirt, you will want to know that.

For now I would be trying to get it as vigorous as possible.

A saw or a sharp knife would work better and more efficiently, and creat less damage on the tree.