newbie question

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Semi new to the art, I've been bending small Xmas trees most if my life and I've been reading up here to step up my game...
I'm want to start a new project and was wondering with a new tree, is it best to leave it in its nusury pot, and prune the top first and let it recover before pruning roots and repotting,
Or,
Is it better to do the roots first and let it recover from that before starting on sculpting and training?
 

Tidal Bonsai

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For me it’s case by case...

If the tree is heavily root bound and has issues with water penetration/percolation do the roots first (as hard as it may be. If it can handle another year without a repot, go for the styling with the full rootball intact.

This is mostly in reference to conifers, since you mentioned “Christmas Trees.” I got this one from HD, and it had good drainage and a sandy mix, so I opted for styling first.
 

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Tidal Bonsai

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Whereas this nursery pitch pine had a very tight spiraling root system with some drainage issues (there were literally peanut shells in nursery can as a soil medium o_O). Maybe the nurseryman was friends with someone that owned a Texas Roadhouse!!!

I did some root work in the early spring, let it grow, and set the primary branching in the fall/winter.
 

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Wires_Guy_wires

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Ah, a new tree. I have a lot of those! I keep them in nursery pots. And I repot them. Some are in grow boxes made from wood, some are in pots made from clay.
What is the best tactic for a new tree?
1. Find out what kind of tree it is. A pine is not a spruce. A spruce is not a juniper. A beech is not a birch. They all have different requirements. - It depends.
1.5 Find out what needs priority. If the soil is perfect, then repotting isn't needed right away. If there are branches forming bulges on the trunk that will ruin the tree, then cut those branches first and leave the soil for next year. With some trees, you can do all at once. If the tree is in a bad shape, then it's better to prioritize getting it back to health. - It depends.
2. Find out what the right season for a technique is, for that particular plant. If you repot a pine when it's freezing outdoors, it might not survive. If you do it in the middle of summer, it could die as well. And so on.. - It depends.
3. Think before you act. Does a tree really need a top pruning? Is there another way to achieve the same visual goal without damaging anything? - It depends.

If you can get behind that logic, then you can find out on your own about what to do and when to do it. There are no absolute rules; some people love repotting in mid summer, some people love the spring. If you know what you're doing and why you're doing it and you have a solid reason to do something, then you can't fail. I, and a lot of other newbies tend to overlook (at least) one of those tree points. We fail, we learn, we don't make the same mistake. Or we learn something new about how to hide mistakes, or to regrow a branch. Get your mind set on spending a few years looking at trees in development.

The hardest part is knowing when to do nothing, and actually doing nothing.
That's hypocritical, coming from me. But just a few more broken branches and I'll get my own message too.
 
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Haha I know how hard the doing nothing part is!

Thanks for all the advise. Ill probably leave it in the pot for the time being before messing with the roots.

Those Xmas pine pics are great!
 

sorce

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Pics!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 
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I'm definitely shopping around taking the opportunity to explore some of the nursureys around here.
 
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