Collecting in the wild

skrandle

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Although it’s in the wild, in this case, it’s my back yard.
I’d like to know how to cut down the root ball to fit a bonsai pot.
In more detail the knowledge of the percentage of what to cut and time frame, the time between cutting more to complete it.
 

leatherback

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This is soo very much dependent on the species, the climate and the age of the tree. Impossible to answer generically..

In general the initial rootball will be large. For deciduous species main roots can be cut back to stumps. For pines you need to get plenty of growing tips. Normally you do not put it in a bonsai container but in a grow box. The grow box is as small as it can be with the collected rootball. And you collect with as many roots as you can. Only when the tree has fully recovered -age species climate dependent this can be after a few weeks to half a decade) and has created loads of roots can you look at reducing a rootball to fit a bonsai pot. (That being said, the bonsai pot is normally something you do last in the development of bonsai. Only when the basic work is done would I move a tree to a bonsai pot, giving it extra power to grow new branches, set existing ones and build basicbranch structure.

Welcome to the nuthouse.
 

Shibui

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Welcome skrandle. Much depend on the ID of the tree in question. Along with the points raised by Leatherback some trees just don't seem to handle transplant while others just laugh and keep growing no matter how much root you cut off.
You will get much better targeted advice if you fill in your profile so we can see the area you live. Then people can give advice based on the appropriate seasons and climate.
 

Tieball

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What tree, or trees, are you planning to uproot and root prune? .....It matters.
 

0soyoung

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Percentage of roots is not meaningful for a tree in the ground. All the work is done by individual cells a few millimeters behind the tip of the root. These are usually far away from the trunk at the "drip line" corresponding to the edge of the canopy, The reason is simply that the ground closer to the trunk is dry and will not sustain root growth. So, if you have a leaning tree, say, roots away from the lean of the trunk will be the ones closest to the trunk. One might be able to remove one-third to one-half of the root tips of a health tree, keeping the others undisturbed to keep the tree alive, I think.

This still could be a colossal sized root ball, unless the tree is growing in a relatively small humus that filled a rock basin or is a special species like rhododendron/azalea that naturally maintains a compact root pad, so one must root prune and irrigate for at least one season to grow roots close to the trunk by cutting alternate slices around the tree with a sharp spade. Those cut ends will make new root tips as long as the ground is kept damp. Then maybe in the following spring you lift it cutting those log roots that remain and pot it up in a grow box full of a good substrate. Then you leave it until it is growing vigorously and then you begin the process of root pruning and repotting to generate a pad of fine roots right up against the trunk. Then it goes into a bonsai pot.

This is likely more than three years since it was lifted. I would guess about 5 typically, atop the 2 or 3 years of in-situ root pruning that may be necessary.

I realize it is overly simplistic, but the basic truth is that one must prune roots to make this happen. Most inorganic substrates will also induce some root branching without pruning, but it is not enough of itself, it is just far better than any organic soil in this respect. One can also use containers like colanders, pond baskets, air pots, and some loose fabric grow bags to affect air pruning of roots, saving one from the labor of taking the tree out of the grow box of substrate to do it as well as eliminating much of the temporary impairment of all the roots that comes with it.


Success totally depends upon the specie's capacity for root recovery. Spring 'as buds swell' is okay for pretty much every species, though the timing window can be quite narrow (e.g., one week) for some. After that, when new growth is extending, nearly every species has an extremely low capacity and is a very risky time to attempt lifting/repotting. Most every species, however, again has a high capacity for root recovery beginning shortly after the summer solstice that gradually ends as temperatures drop near 40F. This is a good time for almost every species of conifer and for waxy broad-leaf species.
 
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Shibui

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Success totally depends upon the specie's capacity for root recovery. Spring 'as buds swell' is okay for pretty much every species, though the timing window can be quite narrow (e.g., one week) for some. After that, when new growth is extending, nearly every species has an extremely low capacity and is a very risky time to attempt lifting/repotting. Most every species, however, again has a high capacity for root recovery beginning shortly after the summer solstice that gradually ends as temperatures drop near 40F. This is a good time for almost every species of conifer and for waxy broad-leaf species.
This does not seem to tally with our experience with Aussie natives. I routinely root prune my native trees in late spring and early summer. Initially we were led to believe one needed to wait for one of the frequent, short 'dormant' periods to be successful. the problem was that when our trees are watered and cared for they don't seem to have these short rest periods. They just continue to grow. I've been root pruning and repotting my Aussie native trees when they are in full growing mode and they just power on. In contrast many I've done the same to in the cooler months just died.

There are many temperate species that can have huge root reduction - absolutely every root tip removed and still recover and grow well. I routinely reduce the roots of field grown trident maples to stubs when they are dug. No problem. There is no need to trench and reduce roots over years with tridents and a number of other species so the idea of only being able to remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the root tips may only apply to some species.
I agree that
Success totally depends upon the specie's capacity for root recovery.
but that's about the only generalisation above that I do agree with.
 

rockm

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Many temperate zone deciduous trees can be collected with little roots. in some cases--no roots at all. We have to have specifics and details to help you though...
 

BrianBay9

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@skrandle there is a wealth of information here already. You should spend some time searching and reading this forum for topics specific to your location and the species of trees you might dig. Adding your general location to your profile will help people give you better advice.
 

0soyoung

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There are many temperate species that can have huge root reduction - absolutely every root tip removed and still recover and grow well. I routinely reduce the roots of field grown trident maples to stubs when they are dug. No problem. There is no need to trench and reduce roots over years with tridents and a number of other species so the idea of only being able to remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the root tips may only apply to some species.
I agree, but I was trying to state a generalization that would apply to all species AFAIK. I did not interpret it to ask if there are species with which all the roots can be removed and the tree will still survive, for example. Treating everything as though it were an olive or trident maple wouldn't work out very well, IMHO, but one should be successful treating them as I described.
 

sorce

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Welcome to Crazy!

I hope you stick around, we can use a skrandle!

Sorce
 
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