Repotting Chinese elm for first time, advice needed.

[Lawrencek]

Hello all, someone might recognize me about a year ago I bought my friend a Chinese elm bonsai and I posted a thread on this website about if everything looked ok because the trunk had a odd bend to it (advertised as broom style) and the soil looked dislodged.

I got some good feedback on here, though she didn't repot in the end because by that time it was may/June and we both didn't really have a clue on what to do. So long story short, it ended up growing really well & healthy, surviving the winter & now the buds are starting to swell again; so we figure now is the time to repot. She is very adamant about doing it like this week, and not waiting another year. We've read through a lot of help guides but we still have some questions about the repotting process if someone on here could be so kind to answer. I will also post pics of before and after.

1) is single hole bonsai pot ok? She ordered one off eBay the other day off a seller with good ratings but I've never seen a bonsai pot with just one large hole in the middle, usually it's 4.

2) how do you wire a pot with a single hole? I'm just a bit confused about this seeing 4 wires need to come through it. I've seen on videos people use a 'bar' as a anchor; we don't have that, is it possible to make a bar out of the wire?

3) she doesn't have any fancy equipment. She has the pruning scissors, tweezers. I'm sure we could find a chopstick or something similar, and something to cut the wire. But she doesn't have a bonsai tool kit. Do you think pruning scissors will be good enough to cut back the roots? And can she use a fork to substitute a root rake? She's a bit low on cash right now so she doesn't want to spend lots of money on expensive tools.

4) Spahagnum moss, how important is this to sprinkle it on top of the soil & is that the same moss that grew on her bonsai naturally ?

Thank you for your time

 

[SeanS]

@Lawrencek heres a great guide on wiring trees into pots. The article explains how to do it with a single hole pot.

Does the tree stay inside? It looks like there’s an outside patio/area in your photos. Can the tree go outside in this area?

 

[caffeinated]

You're doing great with the research! A single hole is totally fine and you can use a thick wire as an anchor. The point of tying it down is that you won't break new growing root tips if the tree is immobilized. With younger trees, you should still tie them down but they are plenty resilient, especially Chinese elms. Basic scissors are totally fine and you don't need moss on top of the soil at all.

 

[Shibui]

Single hole pots are quite common, usually smaller sizes and cheaper manufacture.
Use thicker wire as the 'bar' under the pot to tie onto. If no thick wire try folding thinner wire several times to make a thicker piece. A nail can substitute or a hair pin or paper clip. Anything that is strong but thin so it fits under the pot legs.
I'm sure some will consider this bonsai heresy but not all bonsai need to be tied into the pot. If there's a good spread of roots the tree is often stable enough without a tie down. I only wire trees that don't have good roots and are in danger of moving in the pot after potting.

Pruning scissors will still cut roots but I'd avoid using good pruning scissors on roots. Any grit in the soil will ruin the cutting edges and you need them sharp for pruning later in the year. Almost any cutting tool will also cut roots. Ordinary pruning secateurs, sharp scissors. Floral snips will probably only cost a couple of bucks at the hardware/ plant shop and will do the job.
A dining fork will still rake out roots. I've seen a few growers with a dining fork with the tines all bent as a root rake. I find a single tine easier to use but even a chop stick or just a plain straight stick will help comb out the tangled roots.

Sphagnum moss is an added extra. Not needed and in some cases may even keep the soil too wet. Sphagnum is NOT the same as the green moss used to cover the soil.

Rest assured that Chinese elm is strong and resilient. It will almost certainly survive even rough repotting by beginners.