Sorry it took me so long to respond -- long weekend. . . .
I would recommend keeping the tree in a location where it will kept out of the sun entirely, but still able to receive strong indirect light for a week after repotting before placing back in its normal location. I have 2 BRT's and have always done this (with all my trees of a matter of fact) when repotting and had good results.
As for the Tile/wood plank etc.. what reasoning is it that you would see its useful? The roots, if fairly young and still pliable, should be able to be spread out in a radial pattern manually when repotting.
The roots are somewhat young, but they're pretty hard now, so I'm assuming they won't be terribly easy to bend.
The reason I was going to choose wood is because it's easy to drill holes into...but now that a much better alternative has been suggested (see a bit further down in this response), I'm giving up on the wood idea.
+1
If you are repotting it into a fairly shallow container, there is no need to put a tile underneath. This technique is used mainly for planting in the ground, to keep big roots from growing downward. If the rootball is currently extremely tall or if there are a lot of large roots growing downward, then you can use a tile in a deepish container. Otherwise, just put it in a shallow container.
I'm going to repot the tree into a fairly large fabric pot, so the use of a tile or something to fix the roots will be necessary.
I use plexiglass for my roots. It's cheap can be cut with a saw easy to drill water proof and can be found at your home stores.
Kevster, thank you so much for this idea! That helps me out so much...and it's such a logical idea. You're the man
I am certainly no expert on BRT, but mine seems to take to repotting much better in the dead middle of summer. It is as if nothing even happened. Mine also seems to like the shade all the time.
Dave
Really? I always thought repotting in the summer was a death warrant.
I agree middle summer does seem to help it bounce back the quickest. I assume its due to a period of good growth in the early to mid summer, as well as it having the second half to recover. Since its a tropical, it likes any major work being done when its good and hot n humid..... who would have guessed.
I know, it seems to counter intuitive. I never would've thought of summer being a good time to repot for any species.
Thank you all for your insight. Good thread.