Roots Through Drainage Holes

Floorcorn

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Hey everybody, I've had my bonsais a bit under a year (started from seeds) and am seeing my Ficus and Jacaranda growing roots through their drainage holes. Originally, I was under the impression that water that drains should be left in these trays to help with humidity, especially since they are indoor year round. However, I have noticed a few leaves (one a week over the past month) lower on the trunk of my Ficus begin to turn yellow, indicating overwatering.

I water my trees once a day while the pot is still in the tray and notice some drainage, though the remainder is always gone by the next morning.

I have a few thoughts on the matter and hoped a more knowledgable individual would be able to confirm what steps I should take to keep my trees healthy.
  1. My trees are maturing, meaning more water is moving through the trunk. This might indicate the leaves lower on the trunk are absorbing more water than necessary. If this is the case, I should simply trim these leaves as they begin to yellow and leave the roots/drained water in the tray.
  2. There is too much water left in the tray after draining and should be emptied to keep the roots from absorbing too much. This will reduce humidity, but is the healthy choice in the long run. Alternatively, I could water my bonsais over a sink and allow the majority of the drainage to be expelled, leaving the remains to collect in the tray.
  3. I should trim these longer roots and continue watering as normal. (I plan to repot in the spring and perform a more aggressive root trimming, but don't want my bonsais to die while waiting)
If anybody has any thoughts, I would love to hear them!

Ficus.jpgJacaranda.jpg
 

DonovanC

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How long have you had the ficus?
Where do you keep it?
It’s not weird to see leaves drop, especially lower leaves. The roots are fine, I wouldn’t bother with them. Also, congratulations on the Ficus religiosa, I’ve been looking for one for quite a while that doesn’t cost a fortune.
In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with your ficus, it looks perfectly healthy.
I have no experience with the Jacaranda so I can’t speak to that one - but it looks equally healthy.
 

Floorcorn

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I just checked the dates and it turns out I misspoke. It turns out I planted them on July 5th, 2019.
I keep them under 2 sets of lights I purchased from amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JLJFWNY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Thank you! It is definitely my more favorite of the two (but don't tell them). I've really enjoyed shaping it as it grows.
I will not worry too much then and wait till spring to trim roots when I repot.

If you have the time I would recommend starting from seeds as it is quite an easy/rewarding process, though it does take a lot of patience. If you want to know my experience with this, let me know and I would be glad to share.

Thanks again for all the feedback! It helps a lot
 

sorce

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Somehow, me and these guys I work with every now and then got hooked on using corn as an adjective for everything. Like the Swedish Chef, Curn Furker.

Anyway, at the end of one of these jobs, we're waiting for $ outside the check cashing place, and this dude stops, bends down, picks up an ear of corn out of nowhere, looks at it, stuffs it in his bag and walks away as if it was the best thing to ever happen to him.

It was Floorcorn, in the middle of the City.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 

DonovanC

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Somehow, me and these guys I work with every now and then got hooked on using corn as an adjective for everything. Like the Swedish Chef, Curn Furker.

Anyway, at the end of one of these jobs, we're waiting for $ outside the check cashing place, and this dude stops, bends down, picks up an ear of corn out of nowhere, looks at it, stuffs it in his bag and walks away as if it was the best thing to ever happen to him.

It was Floorcorn, in the middle of the City.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
Well done.
 

Shibui

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First up, roots cannot absorb too much water. Roots take up what is needed when it is needed provided there is water to take up.
The problem with over watering is that the roots sit in soggy soil all the time and never get any air which leads to fungal attack and rotted roots. These roots have access to both water and air every day so all is good. If there is a problem it will be inside the pot if that stays very wet between watering.
There are many other causes for yellow leaves.
Evergreen leaves only have a 2 or 3 year lifespan before they are too old to work well and then the tree kills them but more new ones have grown at the tips so all continues as normal. If the yellow leaf is right at the bottom it may just be old age that is happening.
Nutrient deficiency can affect leaves but if you are feeding this one well that should not be the cause.
Lack of light can also cause leaves to yellow and die.

Pruning the roots will not hurt either tree if you want to do that. New ones will grow to replace the ones you cut off.

At some stage you will need to prune your trees. Left alone they will just keep growing from the ends and no amount of wiring and bending can stop that. Each time you cut the trunk the tree will respond with several new shoots from below the cut. That's how we can make our trees branch and get bushy.
 

roberthu

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How long have you had the ficus?
Where do you keep it?
It’s not weird to see leaves drop, especially lower leaves. The roots are fine, I wouldn’t bother with them. Also, congratulations on the Ficus religiosa, I’ve been looking for one for quite a while that doesn’t cost a fortune.
In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with your ficus, it looks perfectly healthy.
I have no experience with the Jacaranda so I can’t speak to that one - but it looks equally healthy.
I bought one off eBay about a month ago from a guy in Texas for $25 or so. It was 3” tall.
 

DonovanC

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I bought one off eBay about a month ago from a guy in Texas for $25 or so. It was 3” tall.
Right, I’ve seen a number of them around that price and size. I’ve found some decent ones for around $15, but I’m not fond of the idea of ordering a live tree online. I know people do it all the time, but it’s just out of my comfort zone.
 

roberthu

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Hey everybody, I've had my bonsais a bit under a year (started from seeds) and am seeing my Ficus and Jacaranda growing roots through their drainage holes. Originally, I was under the impression that water that drains should be left in these trays to help with humidity, especially since they are indoor year round. However, I have noticed a few leaves (one a week over the past month) lower on the trunk of my Ficus begin to turn yellow, indicating overwatering.

I water my trees once a day while the pot is still in the tray and notice some drainage, though the remainder is always gone by the next morning.

I have a few thoughts on the matter and hoped a more knowledgable individual would be able to confirm what steps I should take to keep my trees healthy.
  1. My trees are maturing, meaning more water is moving through the trunk. This might indicate the leaves lower on the trunk are absorbing more water than necessary. If this is the case, I should simply trim these leaves as they begin to yellow and leave the roots/drained water in the tray.
  2. There is too much water left in the tray after draining and should be emptied to keep the roots from absorbing too much. This will reduce humidity, but is the healthy choice in the long run. Alternatively, I could water my bonsais over a sink and allow the majority of the drainage to be expelled, leaving the remains to collect in the tray.
  3. I should trim these longer roots and continue watering as normal. (I plan to repot in the spring and perform a more aggressive root trimming, but don't want my bonsais to die while waiting)
If anybody has any thoughts, I would love to hear them!

View attachment 325146View attachment 325147
How old is this Jacaranda? The trunks look a bit thin.
 

Floorcorn

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How old is this Jacaranda? The trunks look a bit thin.

Just over a year and a month at this point. This is my first time with bonsais and I made the mistake of being too aggressive with wiring and the original trunk was not doing so well. What you're seeing are the sprouts that appeared a few months after the first bout of wiring. The original trunk died shortly thereafter (lost all branches over the span of a month and refused to sprout new ones) and I removed it to allow the others to flourish. I hope I made the right call there.

I have been trimming the new sprouts up top for a few months now to prevent them from becoming even taller. Do you have any recommendations for increasing trunk size?
 

Floorcorn

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Right, I’ve seen a number of them around that price and size. I’ve found some decent ones for around $15, but I’m not fond of the idea of ordering a live tree online. I know people do it all the time, but it’s just out of my comfort zone.
I have purchased seeds from rarexoticseeds.com they have a great assortment and are quite cheap.
 

Floorcorn

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Yo
Somehow, me and these guys I work with every now and then got hooked on using corn as an adjective for everything. Like the Swedish Chef, Curn Furker.

Anyway, at the end of one of these jobs, we're waiting for $ outside the check cashing place, and this dude stops, bends down, picks up an ear of corn out of nowhere, looks at it, stuffs it in his bag and walks away as if it was the best thing to ever happen to him.

It was Floorcorn, in the middle of the City.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
You would be amazed by how many other background stories people have told me when they see my username. Sadly all are much more interesting than my own hahaha. Gotta say this one takes the cake
 

roberthu

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Just over a year and a month at this point. This is my first time with bonsais and I made the mistake of being too aggressive with wiring and the original trunk was not doing so well. What you're seeing are the sprouts that appeared a few months after the first bout of wiring. The original trunk died shortly thereafter (lost all branches over the span of a month and refused to sprout new ones) and I removed it to allow the others to flourish. I hope I made the right call there.

I have been trimming the new sprouts up top for a few months now to prevent them from becoming even taller. Do you have any recommendations for increasing trunk size?
I'd let it run free for a year or so. That's the best way to thicken a trunk. I just bought 2 online and they should be here tomorrow. It's my first go on Jacaranda too so we shall see how they fair. They are in 5G nursery pots are around 2' tall so they should be a little older than yours. I will share photos this weekend.
 

sorce

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takes the cake

Nice!

How about the Ice Cream Bucket? What's it fer? I have been eating more ice cream than I should lately just because I need that damn bucket!

Love ice cream buckets.

If you're into bonsai and not collecting ice cream buckets you're definitely doing something wrong!

If you're a Potter without ice cream buckets....quit!
Lol!

Cheers!

Sorce
 

sorce

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Sorry for my Sidesteps!

Roots out the drainhole are a double edged sword.
They can provide, but the cost is that root getting thicker than others, possibly ruining design.

That's the Bonsai Truth of the Matter.

Hort Plus Design Always!

Sorce
 

Floorcorn

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Nice!

How about the Ice Cream Bucket? What's it fer? I have been eating more ice cream than I should lately just because I need that damn bucket!

Love ice cream buckets.

If you're into bonsai and not collecting ice cream buckets you're definitely doing something wrong!

If you're a Potter without ice cream buckets....quit!
Lol!

Cheers!

Sorce
We used it to store scone dough <3 sooooooo good
 

Floorcorn

Seedling
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Sorry for my Sidesteps!

Roots out the drainhole are a double edged sword.
They can provide, but the cost is that root getting thicker than others, possibly ruining design.

That's the Bonsai Truth of the Matter.

Hort Plus Design Always!

Sorce
Ya I've done a bit more research on trunk thickening. I'm considering trimming a couple of these roots to encourage more lateral growth as I understand that will help thicken trunks. I think this along with repotting in spring will really help both these beautiful plants.
 

sorce

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Lateral roots help the flare. They drag out the base.
Your under pot roots may be lateral up where it matters.

All roots or "traffic" between them and the top will thicken the trunk.

Scones huh! Completely unexpected! Nice!

Sorce
 
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