Root needs for crabapple?

[Mike Corazzi]

I am ....assuming.... this crabapple



Has filled that pot to capacity with roots this year. I say that because the draining has become slower and s l o w e r until at this point, it would rather start to puddle
rather than drain.
It DOES drain completely. But not very fast.

I'm planning on using that same pot for the repot spring 2022. It's heavy enough to counterbalance the tree. But I think it is FULL of roots.
This will only be my second year with this tree so I'm not sure what the roots look like yet.

Do crabs need a lot of space? And... do they take well to root reduction?

??

 

[Kanorin]

According to Brent's article, most crabapples produce roots very quickly and benefit from repotting about every year.

For my single crabapple repotting experience, I was going from a nursery can to a trainer pot and I removed about 40-50% of the roots. It didn't skip a beat. I also tossed one of the larger discarded roots in a separate pot with some soil and was able to propagate a new tree from the root cutting.

Yours is already established in a bonsai pot, so your rootwork plan might be a little different...hopefully someone else will chime in.

From what I have read, they tend to do well in slightly deeper pots (yours looks like it is a good depth). They are thirsty trees and I suspect this is mainly because in a shallow pot they might need 3-4 waterings per day in the heat of the summer.

 

[rockm]

Saw off the bottom half of the rootball. Comb out the rest. Replace in the pot with bonsai soil. Tree won't care. Apples are strong growers as the rooting activity of the past year has shown you. I had a great apple bonsai for a while. It was A LOT of work, primarily to keep the fungus and insects at bay. Strong rooting and new growth was never an issue.

 

[Shibui]

Crabapples are strong growers. They take almost any sort of root pruning in their stride at the start of spring. I regularly reduce roots by 3/4 - often more for the initial sorting out of roots to establish better nebari.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

They can be cut back hard, at the right time of year. They can also handle being pot- bound for a while too. Here is a before-after root pruning I did on a sargentii in March 2019. It has been in that pot for 3 years and is now blooming and had a couple fruits this year.

 

[tolz]

They can be cut back hard, at the right time of year. They can also handle being pot- bound for a while too. Here is a before-after root pruning I did on a sargentii in March 2019. It has been in that pot for 3 years and is now blooming and had a couple fruits this year.
View attachment 408476View attachment 408477

Very nice, Brian

 

[penumbra]

This is helpful info for me as I have only been into crabs for a few years. I normally do all my re-pots prior to bud break but I have one from Evergreen that is fulluy leafed out and starting to flower. What are thoughts on a post bloom re-pot?

 

[Shibui]

This is helpful info for me as I have only been into crabs for a few years. I normally do all my re-pots prior to bud break but I have one from Evergreen that is fulluy leafed out and starting to flower. What are thoughts on a post bloom re-pot?

I have not actually tried this but have a strong feeling it would be OK. I have done plenty of after leaf trident maple root pruning. Sometimes leaves turn brown and drop but 99% recover and grow again. Crabs are fully as hardy as trident maple so should be OK.
Of course there are many mitigating factors - age of tree, how much root removed, health of tree, care after, local conditions, etc that it is really hard to be absolutely certain.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I have not actually tried this but have a strong feeling it would be OK. I have done plenty of after leaf trident maple root pruning. Sometimes leaves turn brown and drop but 99% recover and grow again. Crabs are fully as hardy as trident maple so should be OK.
Of course there are many mitigating factors - age of tree, how much root removed, health of tree, care after, local conditions, etc that it is really hard to be absolutely certain.

I think it could ...already....use a larger pot. I removed about 2/3 of the roots and it's in very free draining soil.
Even at 80 F it's asking for water 3-4 times a day.
My indicator is new growth beginning to droop a bit and water straightens them right up.
Although I cut wedges in the top remaining old roots, it needed piercing to get drainage.
It filled in that quickly!
Month and a half appx.