"Informal" broom? Something else?

silvertab

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I was at the hardware store yesterday for something non-bonsai related so obviously I had to stop by their greenhouse/gardening section and look at what discounted plants/trees they had available... Spotted this super cheap potentilla and loved the really straight/broom-ish silhouette, however, the trunk does divide into 2 main branches rather low, so not sure if it actually qualifies for traditional "broom" style... Still not quite sure what I will make of it! Any advice/opinion appreciated (even if it's just "throw it away there's nothing to do with it" :p )

IMG_2451.jpg
 

silvertab

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The are fun plants, but the trunks thicken very s l o w l y ...

Good to know! Not easy to find info about Cinquefoils/potentillas as bonsai so, taking in every little bit that I can find! Not quite sure where I should start with it... (either an initial, not-too-severe pruning to try and improve the shape and get rid of a bunch of branches I'm not going to use in the design, or perhaps a repotting I guess... the "hardware centre soil" it came in doesn't drain well at all)...
 

0soyoung

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Keep it going and I'm sure you can get rid of that worn out nursery dirt and pot it in whatever Bonsai substrate you are using (or will have chosen to use). If it isn't extending new growth, you can probably do it now, but just about everything will recover from the root damage of repotting better after the summer solstice.
 

silvertab

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Keep it going and I'm sure you can get rid of that worn out nursery dirt and pot it in whatever Bonsai substrate you are using (or will have chosen to use). If it isn't extending new growth, you can probably do it now, but just about everything will recover from the root damage of repotting better after the summer solstice.

I hear you... Every time I buy a nursery tree that is in horrible soil I'm pondering the question as to whether the damage of repotting at a not-so-optimal time is going to be lesser than the damage done by leaving it in its terrible soil... I guess the rule of thumb is something along the lines of; "If the tree is not literally dying, it might be better to wait and repot at a better time"?
 

0soyoung

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I hear you... Every time I buy a nursery tree that is in horrible soil I'm pondering the question as to whether the damage of repotting at a not-so-optimal time is going to be lesser than the damage done by leaving it in its terrible soil... I guess the rule of thumb is something along the lines of; "If the tree is not literally dying, it might be better to wait and repot at a better time"?
I often buy stuff just to find out. However, this is still prime time for the garden center nurseries near me - I don't find stuff like this for cheap this time of year (maybe I'm not looking hard enough), so I don't know. I suspect actively extending growth = not a good time. I'm not confident about the converse.

I'm only sure that early spring 'as buds swell' and between the summer solstice and fall equinox are okay. @jkl used to say he figured any tree could be repotted most any time IF you know what you are doing.

It's just a question of which most interests you: keeping this specific plant or finding out if it can can be repotted now. Of course it could croak delaying. I assume that it looks healthy now or you wouldn't have bought it, so I don't think it is going to croak in the next 6 weeks or so. Playing the odds, I would wait, but this would change the instant I saw it beginning to decline.
 

silvertab

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Makes sense! There's already a lot more growth/foliage right now than on the picture I posted in the first post of this thread so clearly the plant is not suffering or anything! I'll leave it be for now and will look into repotting later this summer ?
 
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Too early here also for nursery stock to go on sale, but when the time comes I'll be ready.

Have fun with this little tree!
 
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