Do you ever poke holes in your soil?

[Mike Corazzi]

I have a juniper that has been repotted a couple years ago but I can tell there's still some very dense and packed soil around the trunk. It was really potbound when I did the repot back then.
Just for beans, I poked around in the soil a bit on ALL my trees that have given me ...some... concern about drainage.
Most not serious but still.
Didn't do a LOT of holes but just wiggled a spike around in the soil in a few places just to give the roots something to work on during the winter.

Drainage was noticeably better for the ones I did.

 

[parhamr]

Yes, I do this sometimes. I’ve heard it’s a best practice and haven’t specifically heard any warnings against it. (Everything in moderation and within the correct season, of course.)

 

[Carol 83]

I was specifically told to do just that by @Mellow Mullet and Grimmy R.I.P. for a new tree that was extremely hard to water, because the soil was so dense and compacted. If they recommend it, it's the right thing to do, in my opinion.

 

[n8]

Yup. If the water isn't percolating and it's a bad time to repot, poking holes is a decent stop-gap. Soaking, too, if we get any more hot days in the valley.

 

[Atom#28]

The ChanMan doin' his thang:
(disclaimer: I don't know if this is a good practice)

 

[penumbra]

This is definitely the best procedure. You can even dribble some coarse lava or pumice in the holes (gravel will work). Believe me, it is beneficial if you mix is compacted. It is very similar to a method I and other arborists have employed called vertical mulching.

Also, mixing a little hydrogen peroxide to your water will help. I have heard 10% but I am using a lower concentration than that and I am generally liking the results I am seeing, particularly on seedlings and cuttings.

Its all about getting oxygen to the roots.

 

[Cable]

The ChanMan doin' his thang:

I'd be worried the drill would rip the bejeesus out of the roots.

 

[sorce]

I like to use toothpicks, pointy enough to miss roots, not so wide as to make things dry, enough to allow water.

Nothing like a dunkin tho. A setting dunkin.

Let's not get into that stupid ass drilling shit again.
If you need to use a drill. Fucking repot.

Sorce

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I'd be worried the drill would rip the bejeesus out of the roots.

You don't use a drill, just a chopstick. Shove it in until you hit bottom and work it in a circular multilingual you get a hole the size of a nickel. Backfill the hole with bonsai soil. Do this all over the surface.

 

[Warpig]

You don't use a drill, just a chopstick. Shove it in until you hit bottom and work it in a circular multilingual you get a hole the size of a nickel. Backfill the hole with bonsai soil. Do this all over the surface.

He was poking fun at the pervious posted video of Chen using a drill.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

A Phillips screwdriver worked fine.

 

[Cable]

You don't use a drill, just a chopstick. Shove it in until you hit bottom and work it in a circular multilingual you get a hole the size of a nickel. Backfill the hole with bonsai soil. Do this all over the surface.

@Warpig got it

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I go to the fishing shop, get a pound of worms, then release them in the soil.
I'm not going to damage my roots if I don't have to. Worm castings wash out easily.

I just have to keep the birds at bay. But I have to do that any way, worms or not.

 

[leatherback]

Just ordered me a drill for allowing oxygen to cirulate to the roots of my bonsai.
Hope I got the right one?

 

[Anthony]

The Lecca, with 1 to 3 parts compost does not lose it's qualities with
time, nor our normal mix.
Worm castings are nutritious.
Good Day
Anthony

* Instead of big trees and light soil, how about plants that have
finer branchlets at any size.