Quick help for (hopefully) saved Katsura please :)

[Clorgan]

JM katsura from Morisons (supermarket) - looking very sorry for itself! But worth trying to save for £4.50.

Guessing repot is wise because of the roots being wrapped (burlap if that's what you call it?) I have eracenous soil, akadama and a kaizen bonsai mix on hand. Not able to go out to get supplies right now, hoping one or a mix of these will do the job?

Other general care advice to nurse it back to health appreciated! Leaves quite droopy generally but some completely dried up. I've given it a good drink as it was pretty dry. Roots coming out the bottom of the pot.

Cheers!

 

[HorseloverFat]

Awesome!!!

Don’t worry yourself...

It’s just the effects of “supermarket life” (La Vida Supermercado)

If your GONNA repot.. Bag it.. in bright shade....For 5-10

But I’d probably wait for signs of real strength before futzing with the roots..

 

[Clorgan]

Awesome!!!

Don’t worry yourself...

It’s just the effects of “supermarket life” (La Vida Supermercado)

If your GONNA repot.. Bag it.. in bright shade....For 5-10

But I’d probably wait for signs of real strength before futzing with the roots..

Hahaa! Thanks for the advise - appreciate it I'll post a proper photo when I've got it sorted, it's possibly got potential... Doesn't look like my other Katsura but we'll see. Initially I just wanted to save the poor bugger haha. Thoughts on the burlap though?

Other concern - even after a really really good top soaking, no water coming from middle drainage holes? So I've give it a good bottom drink in a bowl.

Guessing this may change things?

 

[TomB]

It's a bit late for repotting once it's in leaf like that, though for £4.50 who cares if it dies However:
As it's probably grafted, maybe consider ground layering just above the graft (I'd use the 'pot of soil' method, not sphagnum).
Poke some holes in the existing root ball to allow water penetration.
It doesn't look like it's wrapped in burlap - what is visible at the base is the porous plug it was originally planted in before being potted on.
Watch the temperatures over the next few days - this will have been kept in the warm. You know what the weather is like this week. Keep it sheltered until there's no more frost in the forecast, then do the layer. About a week from now might be about right. A 50/50 mix of Akadama and Kaizen soil in the pot you use for layering would be suitable.

 

[Clorgan]

It's a bit late for repotting once it's in leaf like that, though for £4.50 who cares if it dies However:
As it's probably grafted, maybe consider ground layering just above the graft (I'd use the 'pot of soil' method, not sphagnum).
Poke some holes in the existing root ball to allow water penetration.
It doesn't look like it's wrapped in burlap - what is visible at the base is the porous plug it was originally planted in before being potted on.
Watch the temperatures over the next few days - this will have been kept in the warm. You know what the weather is like this week. Keep it sheltered until there's no more frost in the forecast, then do the layer. About a week from now might be about right. A 50/50 mix of Akadama and Kaizen soil in the pot you use for layering would be suitable.

Cheers for this, super helpful!

I'm guessing this is the graft, right at the base? I still find it hard to tell to be honest.

 

[TomB]

Hard to tell actually, down at the soil line is the most likely location but there's also something going on at the point where the trunk splits into branches. That white stick may just be a central leader that's died off, rather than remnants of the top of the root stock. Looking at what's going on there though, it might be better to layer off both those large branches and forget about the lower trunk - it looks a bit of a mess to me. You could layer both at the same time using the same pot.

 

[Clorgan]

Hard to tell actually, down at the soil line is the most likely location but there's also something going on at the point where the trunk splits into branches. That white stick may just be a central leader that's died off, rather than remnants of the top of the root stock. Looking at what's going on there though, it might be better to layer off both those large branches and forget about the lower trunk - it looks a bit of a mess to me. You could layer both at the same time using the same pot.

Good thinking. OK I'll mull it over over the next week

 

[AlainK]

As it's probably grafted

I don't think so.

First, I can't see where the graft point could be, then here (in France), it's one of the dozen or more that are widely available in garden centres as small potted plants, and they're from cuttings.

I personally have 'Orange Dream', 'Phoenix', 'Little Princess', and there are more that can easily be propagated by cutting. And when they grew, I took more cuttings or air-layers.

To me, it's not grafted, 100% sure.

PS : I bought my 'Ryusen' at Morrison's too, in 2015, and it was not grafted either.
£10, a real bargain for a cultivar I had never seen in garden centres in my area, let alone supermarkets

 

[Clorgan]

I don't think so.

First, I can't see where the graft point could be, then here (in France), it's one of the dozen or more that are widely available in garden centres as small potted plants, and they're from cuttings.

I personally have 'Orange Dream', 'Phoenix', 'Little Princess', and there are more that can easily be propagated by cutting. And when they grew, I took more cuttings or air-layers.

To me, it's not grafted, 100% sure.

PS : I bought my 'Ryusen' at Morrison's too, in 2015, and it was not grafted either.
£10, a real bargain for a cultivar I had never seen in garden centres in my area, let alone supermarkets

View attachment 367824 View attachment 367825

Cheers for the thoughts and cracking bargain that Alain, what a beauty. Looks like very good growth for only 6 years!

 

[AlainK]

Looks like very good growth for only 6 years!

... And I should have repotted it this year, but because of this freaky weather we've had (very hot, then freezing), I didn't do it.

But it's surviving :



Back to the point :

It's a bit late for repotting

I'd say it's too early. It needs to recover first, from a greenhouse, then a supermarket storage place where it pulled out weak leaves.

When it's putting out new leaves, slip-potting it this year as D. suggested also on the MS forum is the right thing to do.

I would even repot it in late June/early July personally, but that's a personal opinion, and it depends on how it grows until mid-summer...

 

[Clorgan]

... And I should have repotted it this year, but because of this freaky weather we've had (very hot, then freezing), I didn't do it.

But it's surviving :

View attachment 367843

Back to the point :


I'd say it's too early. It needs to recover first, from a greenhouse, then a supermarket storage place where it pulled out weak leaves.

When it's putting out new leaves, slip-potting it this year as D. suggested also on the MS forum is the right thing to do.

I would even repot it in late June/early July personally, but that's a personal opinion, and it depends on how it grows until mid-summer...

Surviving is one word for it

 

[Clorgan]

Got this one out of the pot yesterday. Been very undecided on what to do with over the last few seasons.

Similar root situation to (although not quite as good as) one by @BobbyLane

His thread - https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/acer-katsura-project-1.37785/

So I decided to do as he did and plant at an angle to avoid cutting high roots. Put it above a small board (all I have - need to get some bigger ones!) and planted in the grow bed. Also gave a bit of a prune. Waiting on cut paste to be delivered, should arrive tomorrow so will seal cuts then.

Still unsure whether this one will amount to anything, but worth a shot. If not, I'll consider air layering or just enjoy as a garden tree.