Root bound! Is it bad?

bonhe

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We always are told that if the tree has root bound, it is bad!
But, I don’t think so. This is an example.
This Kishu shimpaku has been residing in this pot for over 20 years. It has severe root bound. After half an hour, the water is still floating on the soil surface !
474255C0-A7AF-4F46-B360-882A0651B3A1.jpeg

But the tree is looked happy!
BB53FA92-211A-4F3A-BBED-17A6C258E5F8.jpeg

I styled it a few weeks ago.
7FA45A40-C9D8-46B7-908A-7D5ADD907943.jpeg

I will transplant it into the clay pot in this winter. I expect it is very difficult to be transplanted, but I can do that 😇

Discussion: the sooner or the more we transplant the tree, the slower growth the tree may get? If I delay transplanting, the tree will be OK as long as it looks fine. I only transplant the tree when its health start going downhill. It works for me at least, because I have quite a few large bonsai which I feel lazy to transplant them if I don’t have to. 😊
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Vance Wood

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Something is going on here. Normally lack of drainage is the kiss of doom, but it seems this is not the case here. I am wondering how often the tree is actually watered?
 

0soyoung

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Lots of mico, I think.

Somehow, mico does the magic --> oxygen, water, minerals. It may even be that with enough, that the (coniferous) tree doesn't need to grow roots to survive or even thrive (as it would otherwise).

I've got pines in pond baskets of MVP choked with mico and Douglas firs in pots of MVP that are similarly choked. All are 'happy' and indistinguishable from ones in faster draining conditions.

I guess the question is, does mico also work as a snorkle?
 

Clicio

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Lots of mico, I think.
Somehow, mico does the magic --> oxygen, water, minerals. It may even be that with enough...

Two weeks ago I was repotting a JBP whose soil was not draining at all.
But the tree was happy.
To my big surprise it was not rootbound, but michorryzea bound!! I was amazed, a web of mico, like a white net.
 

bonhe

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Something is going on here. Normally lack of drainage is the kiss of doom, but it seems this is not the case here. I am wondering how often the tree is actually watered?
it has been watered daily.

Lots of mico, I think.

Somehow, mico does the magic --> oxygen, water, minerals. It may even be that with enough, that the (coniferous) tree doesn't need to grow roots to survive or even thrive (as it would otherwise).

I've got pines in pond baskets of MVP choked with mico and Douglas firs in pots of MVP that are similarly choked. All are 'happy' and indistinguishable from ones in faster draining conditions.

I guess the question is, does mico also work as a snorkle?
Mico = mycorrhiza ?
It could be due to mycorrhizae. Another fact is that juniper can absorb the water through their needles and transport this water down to the roots and into the soil. But my area is dry, so this needle water absorption is not the case.
I guess, mycorrhiza can happily live in wet environment, too. It is amazing !
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bonhe

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Two weeks ago I was repotting a JBP whose soil was not draining at all.
But the tree was happy.
To my big surprise it was not rootbound, but michorryzea bound!! I was amazed, a web of mico, like a white net.
It is fantastic! The poor water drainage is due to mycorrhiza network, isn’t it?
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Shibui

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Discussion: the sooner or the more we transplant the tree, the slower growth the tree may get?
I usually get the opposite result, especially with deciduous species, Newly root pruned and repotted trees explode with vigorous new growth in the following season. Growth rates gradually slow as the roots fill the pot. I would contend that regular root pruning actually results in more growth.
 

Clicio

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I usually get the opposite result, especially with deciduous species, Newly root pruned and repotted trees explode with vigorous new growth in the following season. Growth rates gradually slow as the roots fill the pot. I would contend that regular root pruning actually results in more growth.
This has been my experience with tropicals also.
 

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I am wondering how much this is species-dependant. I find that junipers are a little sulky the first year after tansplant, second grow normal and third take off. For my eonymous I get pretty much the opposite.
 

bonhe

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I usually get the opposite result, especially with deciduous species, Newly root pruned and repotted trees explode with vigorous new growth in the following season. Growth rates gradually slow as the roots fill the pot. I would contend that regular root pruning actually results in more growth.
Yes, with deciduous species, they will not do well with root bound. I think because their lead area is too big and they don’t have good compensated mechanism as conifers.
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bonhe

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I am wondering how much this is species-dependant. I find that junipers are a little sulky the first year after tansplant, second grow normal and third take off. For my eonymous I get pretty much the opposite.
I have some large black pine that I did not transplant them for more than 5 years, and they are doing just fine.
After 16 days of pruning and heavy working on the tree in this topic, it has a lot of new buds now.
DA0FC8B3-93B4-42F4-854F-49B76F17BE29.jpeg E82C6EF4-28BD-47FF-9879-7B468C092460.jpeg
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leatherback

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I have some large black pine that I did not transplant them for more than 5 years, and they are doing just fine.
After 16 days of pruning and heavy working on the tree in this topic, it has a lot of new buds now.
remains an interesting question .. which species prefer rootbound.
It could also have to do with being "in control" of the substrate. Too big a pot volume to rootmass can slow trees down in my experience (This, seedlings in a 2 gallon tub of organic substrate)
 

Shibui

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I'm not sure any species prefers to be root bound. There are, however, some species that tolerate it better than others.
I agree that ficus don't seem to care. I've seen some that have been in the same pot, never repotted or fresh soil and rarely fed for nearly 20 years. Not exactly thriving under those conditions but far from dead. Remember that some ficus can grow in no soil at all when they germinate in the trees. They are also masters at growing on rocks and cliffs. No wonder it can manage in a small pot rarely repotted but I would not use ficus as an analogy for all bonsai species.

My oldest cedrus deodar went a long time without repot because I was worried about timing and how much to root prune after hearing they are touchy. It was root bound, stressed and deteriorating. After a light root prune and repot it has bounced back really well and looks far more healthy.
 

Vance Wood

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I'm not sure any species prefers to be root bound. There are, however, some species that tolerate it better than others.
I agree that ficus don't seem to care. I've seen some that have been in the same pot, never repotted or fresh soil and rarely fed for nearly 20 years. Not exactly thriving under those conditions but far from dead. Remember that some ficus can grow in no soil at all when they germinate in the trees. They are also masters at growing on rocks and cliffs. No wonder it can manage in a small pot rarely repotted but I would not use ficus as an analogy for all bonsai species.

My oldest cedrus deodar went a long time without repot because I was worried about timing and how much to root prune after hearing they are touchy. It was root bound, stressed and deteriorating. After a light root prune and repot it has bounced back really well and looks far more healthy.
The problem is that we try to look for the "one-size-fits-all" solution to this issue not really understanding anything. A tree will survive in extreme conditions until it doesn't---then it dies. Then we start making conclusions, and proclaiming our opinions quickly condemning those who do it differently.
 

bonhe

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I'm not sure any species prefers to be root bound. There are, however, some species that tolerate it better than others.
I agree that ficus don't seem to care. I've seen some that have been in the same pot, never repotted or fresh soil and rarely fed for nearly 20 years. Not exactly thriving under those conditions but far from dead. Remember that some ficus can grow in no soil at all when they germinate in the trees. They are also masters at growing on rocks and cliffs. No wonder it can manage in a small pot rarely repotted but I would not use ficus as an analogy for all bonsai species.

My oldest cedrus deodar went a long time without repot because I was worried about timing and how much to root prune after hearing they are touchy. It was root bound, stressed and deteriorating. After a light root prune and repot it has bounced back really well and looks far more healthy.
Agree

[QUOTE="leatherback, post: 781746, ]
It could also have to do with being "in control" of the substrate. Too big a pot volume to rootmass can slow trees down in my experience (This, seedlings in a 2 gallon tub of organic substrate)
[/QUOTE]
It could be.
I don’t think any tree like to be rootbound , but we may see some tree adapt well with rootbound and we could use that to train surface root of that tree. I have one JBP respond to its limited growing area very interesting. I will take a picture later on
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leatherback

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I'm not sure any species prefers to be root bound.
Hm.. dificult. Maybe junipers in general do not like rootwork and therefor only really look happy after a year or two? Which coincides with them filling up the pot with new roots? More a recovery thing than a rootbaal thing.
 
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