A Detailed Guide to Bonsai Repotting Practice Methods
Bonsai repottingis a skill that every bonsai enthusiast must master. Many beginners may not know how to get started and practice, so today let's learn about repotting.
1. Preparation work before repotting
Step one: For the tree bonsai that has been confirmed for repotting, the potting soil should be allowed to dry out completely to facilitate the repotting work.
Step two: Each person should prepare a pair of scissors, a garden trowel, a bamboo strip, and the necessary watering tools.
Step three: Prepare the cultivation soil, pot, drainage screens and other materials needed for repotting.
Step four: Do a good job of grouping the students.
2. Specific operational practice before repotting
Demonstration of the entire repotting process
Step one:Removing from the pot. When removing from the pot, you can pat the sides of the pot with your palm, then hold the tree stump pot with your hand, and use the fingers of the other hand to push it out from the drainage hole. If the pot has an inward-curling rim, you need to hollow out the soil around the rim. For tree stumps that are difficult to remove, you can also turn the pot upside down and suspend it, then gently tap along the rim edge. As shown in Figure 1.
Step two:Removing old soil. After removing from the pot, whether you are switching to a pot one size larger or still using the original pot, a portion of the old soil should be removed. As for how much soil to remove, generally speaking, when switching from a small pot to a large pot, remove less; when there are few roots, remove less; when reusing the original pot with fresh soil, remove more, but it should not exceed 12 of the original potting soil. As shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1 - Removing from the pot
Figure 2 - Removing old soil
Step three:Root pruning. After removing the old soil, the roots can be shortened or thinned according to their development condition. For example, the downward-extending taproots of Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), Japanese serissa (Serissa japonica), and golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) produce a ring of roots at the bottom of the pot each year, and this ring of roots should be cut away. For boxwood (Buxus) and Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus), whose taproots extend downward more prominently, it is sufficient to cut away a portion of the old roots around the sides. When pruning roots, the root system should also be inspected once, and dead roots, diseased roots, overly dense roots, and overly long roots should all be trimmed and dealt with. Figure 3 shows the general position of the cutting line.
Step four:Potting. After selecting an appropriate pot, first place broken pot pieces or plastic mesh at the bottom of the pot to facilitate drainage and water permeability. For large pots and deep pots, more broken pot pieces should be placed; for miniature pots and shallow pots, a single piece of plastic mesh can be laid down. Then add a layer of coarse-grained soil, plant the tree stump in, and add new cultivation soil around it, gently pressing the potting soil with your hand as you go (Figure 4), or use a wooden stick to firm the soil in place. The purpose is to ensure the new soil and old soil are tightly combined, and absolutely avoid leaving gaps. Add potting soil up to 2-3 cm below the pot rim, commonly known as leaving a "water rim."
Figure 3 - The general position of the cutting line when pruning roots
Figure 4 - The method of filling soil when potting
Step five:Watering. The first watering after potting must be thorough; afterward, do not water until the soil is dry. During watering, the potting soil may sometimes sink, and it should be filled level in time, but do not press or stir the potting soil with your hands, otherwise the potting soil will harden after drying. For small pots and shallow pots, the immersion method can be used. After watering thoroughly, it is best to place the bonsai in a shaded shed for more than ten days, and once the bonsai's growth vigor has recovered, place it in a sunny spot.
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