what is repotting?

every winter i take my trees out of their pots and in to their winter wood training boxes then come spring into their pots again is that considered repotting? some trees when putting them back into ur pots i loosen up the rootball without trimming the roots is that considered repotting? and i would think that trimming the roots while having them out of their pots then back into their pots is "repotting".

WHy do you take them in and out of the containers?

Repotting is generally a good bit more than this. It is the once a year opportunity for you to improve the tired or deteriorating soil mix in, under and around the rootball. All circling roots are removed, so that the tree has space to regenerate new feeder roots in fresh soil. Most importantly of all, you also get the chance to sort out errant roots and improve the future nebari (root spread) of your trees. Dominant roots can be shortened so that they thicken less and thinner ones encouraged to thicken by giving them space to develop and feeding.

Ricky Keaton wrote:every winter i take my trees out of their pots and in to their winter wood training boxes then come spring into their pots again is that considered repotting? some trees when putting them back into ur pots i loosen up the rootball without trimming the roots is that considered repotting? and i would think that trimming the roots while having them out of their pots then back into their pots is "repotting".

Hi Ricky, I use the term repotting to include putting trees in new containers, cleaning roots of nursery material to put into training pots, potting up collected material (usually involves bare rooting and trimming roots for initial style and placement of the nebari, cleaning out weeds, planting mosses, wiping off dirt and mulch from over Wintering, and mixing up soil for the trees. I try to make the everything presentable for setting on the benches. When I tell my friends that "...March is repotting season for me..." I'm very busy with these activities listed above. There may be some other chores that I forgot to mention. Repotting, potting up, potting down, changing pots, correcting tree placement in pots, planting in boxes, anything which involves planting the trees into containers (which is bonsai) is "potting or repotting". This is my favorite time of the year...after the long Winter! Regards, Todd

Joe Hatfield wrote:WHy do you take them in and out of the containers?

cos it will freeze and bust the tray.

This will not happen! i assure u!
Why would it, do you have an explanation to this matter
What is the process!

grtz m

littleart-fx wrote:This will not happen! i assure u!
Why would it, do you have an explanation to this matter
What is the process!

grtz m

yes cos i have had them freeze and flake the glaze from the pot, it gets 20F here in ohio a lot thru winter.

The only reasons I can see a pot breaking during the winter months is if the tree is completely root bound. Too many roots, fill all the air spaces in a once, free draining medium. The pot becomes waterlogged and then freezes solid, causing the pot to break. Another reason could be the quality of the pot. Some pots are not fired to a high enough temperature to withstand freezing.

That is quite correct. All "proper" bonsai pots are high fired. Unfortunately not all pots are proper bonsa pots. I was given a large and very attractive pot a couple of years ago. It did fine for the first winter, but this year it literally broke into many peices in the frosts. Inadequate firing had allowed water into the clay body and it expanded when it froze and fell apart as a weak and crumbly mass. All the other pots that are fired to correct temperatures are fine even in heavy frosts.

that may hav been my problem cheap pots. but even my inexpensive pots i would like to keep. so is it a bad thing to be taken them out of their pots for winter then? that is why i asked my question original question cos the way i read is that trees 3 or more years old dont need to be repotted every year.

Ricky Keaton wrote:that may hav been my problem cheap pots. but even my inexpensive pots i would like to keep. so is it a bad thing to be taken them out of their pots for winter then? that is why i asked my question original question cos the way i read is that trees 3 or more years old dont need to be repotted every year.

Yes, taking them out of the pots every fall and repotting them every spring is not a good idea.

The best thing to do with your cheap pots is to use them only for houseplants or for tropical or semitropical bonsai that must be kept above freezing year-round, and buy better pots for your trees that have to stay outside for the winter. If you can't afford good-quality clay bonsai pots, you can get mica (cheaper) or plastic (cheapest) bonsai pots from http://www.mecobonsai.com or http://www.bonsaimonk.com, or make your own wooden training boxes.

If you insist on using your cheap pots for bonsai that will stay outside over the winter, find cheap plastic pots or trays that will fit inside them. Pot the tree in the plastic pot, set it in the pretty pot, and add a layer of gravel to hide the plastic pot. When winter comes, take the pretty pot inside and leave the tree outside in its plastic pot.

thanx cliff thats the best ideas for sure thanx again for the info! and for the web sites.