Bonsai Repotting - Subalpine Fir + Two Larch Bonsai

I repotted 10 ish trees this spring + made two forest plantings. It’s amazing when you have a lot of trees how much work they need each year to keep them in bonsai shape and not growth into a big tree or bush. It’s defiantly going to be a year where I get rid of 20 ish trees to focus my attention on my best ones. I got a little over zealous collecting and so hopefully I can find some people to give them away too. I don’t have a local club. Anyways, great to be working on the trees and get them placed in nice locations around the yard. I’m a couple of weeks I’ll do a spring bonsai garden tour. Go Bonsai Canada.
Oh, ya and I’m having some fun with ai generated art.

[@BennyTheJoint]

Another great video!!

[@kootenaybonsaicanada]

Thanks Benny 👍😀

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

What can i say that I already haven't? Your larches look like something out of a book. Keep it up bro.

[@BODHISATTVA108]

3:50 Beautiful

[@ParadoxicalShamanX]

Really good larch material there, I love what you did with it (I have a few I'm letting grow out this year, but I feel like I kinda want to take some inspiration from what you've done with them)... great work!

[@kootenaybonsaicanada]

Thanks for the compliments. I have an older video of me styling the larch and another if I remember correctly but it’s easy to see what I’ve done from this video. The next thing for all my larch is figuring out how to develop secondary branch that are good. Like it want them to fork early, as natural larch have short branches but also just for design. Thanks again for the comment

[@leszekrybak5067]

When in doubt - cut it out... this is the saying of Hong - old friend of mine from KW Bonsai Society... half jokingly he would always say this whenever we were not too sure what to do with a challenging issue on the tree. In my opinion you did the right thing cutting the root on Larch... time would have been your enemy have you kept it, it would have made the bulge grotesque. Now with time you will most likely see the bulge disappear especially once your surface roots start "pulling" the bottom og the trunk out and making it thicker... nice trees, good to see green on them...

[@kootenaybonsaicanada]

Thanks Leszek, yup I’m happy now with the decision. Always hard to make in the moment 😀👍

[@thelazybonsai]

Wowser! Everything has character and movement! i have trouble keeping things moist/cool when i do the cracked/half pot. I had a boxwood planted like that. Probably wrong plant choice as the winter killed it…

[@kootenaybonsaicanada]

Thanks, ya a very unique but young clump style. I was holding back from pruning or styling and again I continue to learn in my practice of patience.

[@hmhmhm998]

💪👍🌲

[@GlacialRidgeHomestead]

How come trees can do well in such small containers? I know nothing about bonsai. Just planting sub alpine firs outside and your video popped up so I was curious what they look like in a bonsai

[@kootenaybonsaicanada]

Great question. The soil has tons of air to soil mix (example lots of perlite) and so you can water it lots and fertilize. The key to a good bonsai is healthy roots even if there aren’t what you’d expect. Most bonsai pots are full of roots. And the magic of nature to be able to grow in such small pots. Restricting roots = small leaves/needles thus the tree become more proportional and old looking. Hope this helps a bit.