Planted Too Deep!?

[BuckeyeOne]

I attended a workshop with the Cleveland Bonsai Club yesterday presented by Adam Shank.
It was about Alberta Spruce, which I decided on a 3 gallon tree.
This is what I found when I started to try and find the nebari. I never removed anything from the bottom of the root ball!
Picture is with the pot it came in.

 

[Shibui]

This is common in production stock.
Spare some thought for the underpaid staff who pot all these trees up - thousands each day, one after the other. Many will be paid piece rates so the more they do the more they earn.
Most know that it is better to have the roots at ground level but that requires part filling the larger pot then holding the small tree in place while filling the pot. It becomes easier and quicker to shove the small tree in the bigger pot and fill with new soil.

Many species simply grow new roots from the buried trunks but conifers have not learned that trick so the existing root tips just grow up through the new soil.

Another good example of why it is important for bonsai potential to check where the real nebari is when selecting trees for potential as bonsai

 

[BuckeyeOne]

Good thing that came of it is than root in the foreground! Definately will be a feature!
Thinking of calling her, "Nessy"!!

 

[Shibui]

Good thing you did not try to saw off the lower 1/3 of the root ball as many of us do with new nursery trees. I have been caught once before - ended up with the trunk in one hand and the roots in the other so won't do that again without checking how deep the roots are!!!