Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
Well, if it’s not after wine time you should be ok! 
btw you can shorten these guys and expect them to grow.
btw you can shorten these guys and expect them to grow.
Dawn Redwood Repot - May 2021
- Thread starter Jan JC
- Start date
Jan JC
Yamadori
I'll just do it.Well, if it’s not after wine time you should be ok!
btw you can shorten these guys and expect them to grow.
If I find any problem when separating/dividing the trees, may I just cut the roots?? Is it safe??
LittleDingus
Omono
Well @LittleDingus , first of all , thank you very much for your comments!
I also love Dawn Redwoods, specially because of their decideous foliage, "rare" in conifers.
About what you said of the bonsai itself:
•I'll try to correct those old chops marked in red, they're quite ugly, but as I don't have that tool it will be hard to do so ( I may have to look for one...... anyway.)
•Then, it's true that the organisation of the trees is quite poor.... actually , it's a 0 out of 10, but I was afraid of touching too much its roots. Nevertheless, seen It's such a hardy tree, in a future repot (maybe next year is Ok??) I'll just reorganise the trees, positioning the main one in the front and the others on the sides and so on, as well as I'll work more on the roots.
•Oh and another thing, I have a Kumade (actually it's an improvised one with a fork)...will it work in the same way as that hook you told me about?
•About temperatures...I don't care at all, as maximums here are 31°C in average and rarely exced 34°C, only in some Insane heat waves37°C are recorded (Barcelona's wheater is quite mild).
I'm quite regular with watering, and even in some hot and drydays in summer I let some of my most water demanding plants submerged in water, same I'll do with this one.
Well...I think I've answered most of your corrections, and I'll try to fix them in a (hope it's close)future.
Thanks again and
See you!
A proper (at least to my thinking) root hook should have a narrow tip but otherwise NOT be sharp. What it does is let you get the tool into the tangle then pull the whips through...sort of "de-threading" the root from the tangle. The hook lets you get some leverage into better positions and angles to pull the root...hopefully without breaking it. You start at the fringes and tease out what you can and as you detangle ends, you can get a little deeper and detangle more. Depending on how thick the down growing roots are, I find I can flatten the root ball considerably just be detangling it with a root hook. I have a coast redwood and a sequoia that I'm currently trying to downsize into a pot. They were both potted deep...maybe 16-20cm. I got them down to 10-12cm depth mostly by combing the bottom of the root ball to be more "out" than "down". I did trim roots too...but a tiny fraction of what I would have had to cut to just shorten the root ball without combing.
Don't sweat the special tools though! A short length of steal rod or even a sturdy wooden dowel can work as a root hook...though more cumbersome. A larger pair of scissors or pruning shears can work instead of an angle cutter. As with anything else, "special" tools make the work easier, but usually aren't necessary.
One thing I will warn about winter care (a bit early!) is that, while your climate is fine for the trees to live outside. Pots DO dry out much faster than the earth! Depending on how you manage wintering the trees, you may have to water them from time to time even in the dead of winter! Especially if it is above freezing and windy! My neighbors laugh at me watering my trees in the winter
Honestly, I wouldn't sweat the tree placement right now. Do some research first...figure out what you really want, then repot. Figuring out scale and what is/is not possible at that scale is harder than it seems. Better to do some research and plan some things out than to be constantly repotting
Will you kill them to repot them now? I doubt it. Will you place them exactly where you want them to be as they grow old together? I doubt it. My thoughts anyway...
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
Okey Dokey, you sound like you have an action plan.
As always in Bonsai, the answer is it depends..... on how many roots we are talking about the amount of roots on the individual tree, and..... if all is equal, no problem, but try to tease to the smallest root junctions before you cut. After awhile you will get a feel for each type of tree and the amount you can cut. That aside Dawns are pretty robust.
good luck!
DSD sends
Jan JC
Yamadori
@LittleDingus I'll definitely have to get some root hook (or craft my own...), as according to what you previously said, you can do some miraculous works on roots with it.... Maybe at a local bonsai store there is some
About those works on the sequoia and Redwood you did...could you share some photos please
? That pot reduction must be great to see !
Then, as for what you say to water in winter, It's true, specially if winters are dry and windy....watering bonsais and plants when it's cold outside isn't a wonderful weekend plan ( I can't even imagine how can it be far inland in the USA where temperatures dip way down below freezing point...
)
About those works on the sequoia and Redwood you did...could you share some photos please
? That pot reduction must be great to see !Then, as for what you say to water in winter, It's true, specially if winters are dry and windy....watering bonsais and plants when it's cold outside isn't a wonderful weekend plan ( I can't even imagine how can it be far inland in the USA where temperatures dip way down below freezing point...
)
Jan JC
Yamadori
Well, I finally repotted the metasequoia forest (again).
I know I could have waited, but I thought it could be better to do it now and let the forest grow in its "final distribution" , so I can keep pruning and wireing as they grow to shape them better, instead of just keeping it for one year with a bad distribution and only watering the trees.
I've chosen a location for each tree which I think is appropriate, giving a triangular shape to all the forest as a whole, and avoiding that "Olympic rings formation".
Tomorrow with the daylight I'll share some photos , as the ones taken with the flash look awful.
I think that the bonsai is way better now than it was before.
Let's see how it reacts to this double repot.
And one question....now that I've repotted it , eventhough any tree has leafs at all, should I place it at full sun/partial shade/shade..?
I know I could have waited, but I thought it could be better to do it now and let the forest grow in its "final distribution" , so I can keep pruning and wireing as they grow to shape them better, instead of just keeping it for one year with a bad distribution and only watering the trees.
I've chosen a location for each tree which I think is appropriate, giving a triangular shape to all the forest as a whole, and avoiding that "Olympic rings formation".
Tomorrow with the daylight I'll share some photos , as the ones taken with the flash look awful.
I think that the bonsai is way better now than it was before.
Let's see how it reacts to this double repot.
And one question....now that I've repotted it , eventhough any tree has leafs at all, should I place it at full sun/partial shade/shade..?
LittleDingus
Omono
@LittleDingus I'll definitely have to get some root hook (or craft my own...), as according to what you previously said, you can do some miraculous works on roots with it.... Maybe at a local bonsai store there is some
About those works on the sequoia and Redwood you did...could you share some photos please
Then, as for what you say to water in winter, It's true, specially if winters are dry and windy....watering bonsais and plants when it's cold outside isn't a wonderful weekend plan ( I can't even imagine how can it be far inland in the USA where temperatures dip way down below freezing point...
Root hooks aren't magic
they are one of those tools that looked like a useless gimmick to me until my wife got me a bonsai toolkit. Now, it's my favorite tool in the set! Also, it's a bent steal rod...it's likely the only tool in the set that I'll never need to replace!Much of my redwood work is in this thread:
Redwood family progression
This is my redwood family from almost exactly 1 year ago. August 15, 2019 by the timestamp on the photo. The far left is a dawn redwood I had planted from seed back in January of 2019. The middle is a coastal redwood and the far right is a giant sequioa. Both were bought as plugs when the...
I started that thread to track my "champions" but I no longer bother restricting that thread and discuss some of my other redwoods there as well. The repot I mentioned is in there but maybe not the kind of pictures you are looking for??
For fun, I started this thread to see how small I could push dawn redwoods in particular
[Dingus] Dawn Redwood (shohin) #1
Many of the veterans will find this progression ridiculous...that's fine. It kind of is :D But I'm also bored and am in the habit of starting much of my "from seed" in the fall anyway so I'm going for it! The last time I started a batch of metasequoia glyptostroboides seed was 2 years...
This was as much about covid boredom as anything else
But, it has helped my conceptualize visual scale a little better. Because of the range foliage, redwoods are difficult to scale properly!And since I had bunch of seed when the forest from seed competition started up, I started a mixed redwood from seed contest entry here:
From Seed Division: Dingus's Mixed Redwood Forest
I didn't learn about this contest until after I had already started some from seed forest projects :( One of them is already being documented here https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/dingus-dawn-redwood-shohin-1.46683/ in case anyone wants to follow along. That project will not be entered into...
There is a sweet spit where all 3 redwoods can be grown together. It's a true compromise where everyone is a little unhappy! The hope is to keep any one unhappy enough the other 2 can survive without being so unhappy it cannot!
I think that's pretty much all my threads on redwoods.
There are tons of other threads though...redwoods are pretty popular
if you scroll to the bottom of the page, there should be a list of "similar threads". Sometimes it's fun to walk that web and see where it goes!Do keep us updated on what you decide to do here!
Jan JC
Yamadori
I'll take a look at those threads for sure! I'm in love with conifers, specially with firs (which grow poorly hereRoot hooks aren't magic
Much of my redwood work is in this thread:
Redwood family progression
This is my redwood family from almost exactly 1 year ago. August 15, 2019 by the timestamp on the photo. The far left is a dawn redwood I had planted from seed back in January of 2019. The middle is a coastal redwood and the far right is a giant sequioa. Both were bought as plugs when the...www.bonsainut.com
I started that thread to track my "champions" but I no longer bother restricting that thread and discuss some of my other redwoods there as well. The repot I mentioned is in there but maybe not the kind of pictures you are looking for??
For fun, I started this thread to see how small I could push dawn redwoods in particular
[Dingus] Dawn Redwood (shohin) #1
Many of the veterans will find this progression ridiculous...that's fine. It kind of is :D But I'm also bored and am in the habit of starting much of my "from seed" in the fall anyway so I'm going for it! The last time I started a batch of metasequoia glyptostroboides seed was 2 years...
This was as much about covid boredom as anything else
And since I had bunch of seed when the forest from seed competition started up, I started a mixed redwood from seed contest entry here:
From Seed Division: Dingus's Mixed Redwood Forest
I didn't learn about this contest until after I had already started some from seed forest projects :( One of them is already being documented here https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/dingus-dawn-redwood-shohin-1.46683/ in case anyone wants to follow along. That project will not be entered into...
There is a sweet spit where all 3 redwoods can be grown together. It's a true compromise where everyone is a little unhappy! The hope is to keep any one unhappy enough the other 2 can survive without being so unhappy it cannot!
I think that's pretty much all my threads on redwoods.
There are tons of other threads though...redwoods are pretty popular
Do keep us updated on what you decide to do here!
) and redwoods, so that info will be great for me.Thanks,
LittleDingus
Omono
Well, I finally repotted the metasequoia forest (again).
I know I could have waited, but I thought it could be better to do it now and let the forest grow in its "final distribution" , so I can keep pruning and wireing as they grow to shape them better, instead of just keeping it for one year with a bad distribution and only watering the trees.
I've chosen a location for each tree which I think is appropriate, giving a triangular shape to all the forest as a whole, and avoiding that "Olympic rings formation".
Tomorrow with the daylight I'll share some photos , as the ones taken with the flash look awful.
I think that the bonsai is way better now than it was before.
Let's see how it reacts to this double repot.
And one question....now that I've repotted it , eventhough any tree has leafs at all, should I place it at full sun/partial shade/shade..?
?Finally? This thread is only a couple of hours old!!!
You need to learn that bonsai is done in years...even decades!
I'm just being a jerk and teasing you a bit
If your temps are cool...say <30C...I'd put it back into full sun and keep it watered. Much higher than that, bright shade should do.
Jan JC
Yamadori
Temperatures are below 30 for sure (even still far below 20).
I don't know what's going on this spring, but it doesn't look like a Mediterranean one.
Days are "cold", cloudy, rainy, windy....it should be hot and sunny outside!
Hope next week sun starts to shine and makes temperatures rise a bit
, at least over 20°C.
Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
That’s a really good starting temperature for the trees! Should be good to grow well. Plan a full month before the forest is at a point where it is stable enough to not keep a sharp eye on it. For me, if the temps are above 32C my redwoods go in morning sun, afternoon partial shade. But I’m a little conservative with sunlight issues!
cheers
DSD sends
cheers
DSD sends
Jan JC
Yamadori
I only have sun from very early in the morning (7:30 a.m.) to past noon (12:00 to 12:30), so I never get that strong afternoon sun which lets leafs scorched (Strong dry wind does
).
).
LittleDingus
Omono
Temperatures are below 30 for sure (even still far below 20).
I don't know what's going on this spring, but it doesn't look like a Mediterranean one.
Days are "cold", cloudy, rainy, windy....it should be hot and sunny outside!
Hope next week sun starts to shine and makes temperatures rise a bit
One thing that's come up in a couple of threads recently...one from the UK I think...is that some of the tender new growth may turn brown/purplish if temps drop much below something like 10c. Mine have done this pretty badly this year due to the odd timing of some of our cold as well.
Basically, it's the same thing as what happens in the fall...cold temps kill the chlorophyll structures and the leaves "turn" to their fall colors. The chlorophyll dies out and you can see some of the lesser carotinoids...reds, yellows, etc...
If your temps turn much cooler, you may see that effect. Don't panic...it'll recover
Jan JC
Yamadori
Thanks for the advise!One thing that's come up in a couple of threads recently...one from the UK I think...is that some of the tender new growth may turn brown/purplish if temps drop much below something like 10c. Mine have done this pretty badly this year due to the odd timing of some of our cold as well.
Basically, it's the same thing as what happens in the fall...cold temps kill the chlorophyll structures and the leaves "turn" to their fall colors. The chlorophyll dies out and you can see some of the lesser carotinoids...reds, yellows, etc...
If your temps turn much cooler, you may see that effect. Don't panic...it'll recover
I hope temp doesn't fall as much
By now...coolest minimum I've recorded since metasequoia started shooting has been 10°C aprox. (This last night was between 13 and 14, and today's maximum not even 17C).
LittleDingus
Omono
Mine see full sun dawn until 3-4PMish. Temps as high as 38c at times. At those extremes, fresh growth does dry and burn crispy if I miss a watering. Often my trees will take a little late summer siesta and stop growing at all during the few hottest weeks.
Jan JC
Yamadori
Wow , that's a strong insolation!
Oh yes, that plant 'siesta' is common in summer, everything stops growing, and suddenly starts again in September.
Oh yes, that plant 'siesta' is common in summer, everything stops growing, and suddenly starts again in September.
LittleDingus
Omono
To be clear: our average summer temps are closer to 30C. There are usually only a few weeks in late July/early August where we get up to above 35C.
Jan JC
Yamadori
Same as I do!
Which is your USDA and Heat Zone ??
I guess you'll get some VERY cold temperatures in winter .
LittleDingus
Omono
USDA 6a here. Koppen-Geiger climate zone info link in my signature.
We do get snow here. But except for the coldest few weeks, we're generally above freezing. We did have a freak cold spell in early February this year where we saw -25c one night! That's pretty unusual here.
I used to live in zone 5. It was below freezing much of the winter there. -20c nights were not uncommon in early January. That's where I started growing dawn redwoods. When we sold our house, one of my bonsai trees that was growing out was over 4m tall...only in the ground a few years but wasn't planted there. Timing was bad and I couldn't dig it up
I did warn the new owners though! The tree was in ground, but in a little 2m landscape plot surrounded by driveway and side walk. I'm sure they had issues if they didn't remember to remove it soon enough
Jan JC
Yamadori
Omg, -25°C!USDA 6a here. Koppen-Geiger climate zone info link in my signature.
We do get snow here. But except for the coldest few weeks, we're generally above freezing. We did have a freak cold spell in early February this year where we saw -25c one night! That's pretty unusual here.
I used to live in zone 5. It was below freezing much of the winter there. -20c nights were not uncommon in early January. That's where I started growing dawn redwoods. When we sold our house, one of my bonsai trees that was growing out was over 4m tall...only in the ground a few years but wasn't planted there. Timing was bad and I couldn't dig it up
How do you manage that cold with your bonsai?
Heated greenhouse, indoor?
What a pity losing that tree when you moved.
I wish I cold live a little bit inland from Barcelona, where winters are cold as -15°C sometimes...not as cold as near high mountain, but cold enough to have regular snow
