Repot Your Bonsai. A Practical Approach

There are a number of ways to re-invigorate your bonsai.

The simplest way is to remove a strip of soil from around the edge of the pot. About 1 cm is probably enough. You will notice that this removes the roots that have followed the wall of the pot. So in some instances it can be quite a tangle that you have to remove. If you are careful you can remove the bonsai from the pot and take a strip of soil off the bottom. A layer of soil on the bottom and the soil replaced around the edges will be OK for repotting of your bonsai.

Another way is take the bonsai out of the pot and cut a layer off the root ball all the way round. The new soil in the same pot or a new pot replaces the amount you have cut off. This is quite a good method if you feel that your bonsai is too delicate for the rigors of a complete or near complete soil removal.

A partial soil removal is where you untangle the roots and cut them to approximately ⅓ their length. You do this without disturbing the soil under the trunk and leaving as much of the soil as you can.

A complete soil removal is where you remove all the soil. You can do this by raking the soil out until there is virtually no soil around the roots. At this point, if you find that you have a lot of weed roots, you can wash the soil off, remove the weed roots and then replace the soil. If you have to do this, then do it quickly before the roots dry out.

In the new pot, put a mound of soil under the bonsai, spread the roots out so they straddle the mound of soil. Add more soil right up to the top of the pot. I have found that this is usually enough soil to have in the pot. Use chopsticks or a spatula to embed (firm) the soil in and around the roots.

Repotting is also about;

a. Selecting a pot the matches the gender of the bonsai.

b. Selecting a pot that matches the style of the bonsai.

c. Selecting a pot that is large enough to accommodate the spread of the branches.

d. Placement of the bonsai in the pot. Close to, but not on the center lines. Place the bonsai towards the back of the pot.

e. Secure the bonsai into the pot so it will be held without moving until the roots take hold.

f. Put across the top some sort of ground cover. This gives the soil surface some protection from the weather and allows watering without washing away the soil.

The next most important thing to remember is what to do after repotting. You need to give the bonsai a chance to survive. Put it in a cool place out of the sun for approximately 2 weeks. You can mist the leaves twice a day for two weeks or you can soak it in sugared water during the day and remove it at night time. All of these ways work very well. Your use of any or all of them will be dictated by how you feel you will get the best result for your bonsai form repotting.

Happy repotting.

Bonsaibevan