Bonsai - Working the Roots

[@cldavis33]

Just an observer and Bonsai admirer. I know we hear rules and things...I absolutely love that blue rectangular pot, and I see the tree magnificently. That is gorgeous.

[@Tieball]

I am amzed that all those roots, once combed out, actually fit in the first pt. Incredible.

[@Tieball]

Thanks for putting out all these videos! I appreciate every one of them. The fit in the new pot is amazing and the new image terrific. Much better than the blue pot.

[@RaidenTheAlmighty]

@OrlandoBonsaiTV That's awesome. I had one in my yard that I dug up yesterday. It's a pretty massive stump,at least 6 or 7 inches across at the base. The surface roots are really thick too, and radiate out from the tree really well. The weird thing is, I think it's actually two or three threes that have fused together. It has two big trunks and two sapling sized trunks, and I have no idea how that will work out lol.

[@DeadZone318]

I've been studying the art/science of bonsai for 2 years. I love your video's, very informative!

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

That's great that you got a tree to work with. There is so much to learn in the beginning. I was looking through all the ones I've done but there isn't just one that gets you all the info you need. Just take your time and start going through them and grab all the info you can

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

That tree is around 25 years or so. It is really hard to be certain though. It is really one of my favorites from my collection these days. Very easy to care for and always changing

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

You're right, it could be a real challenge especially if the tree is root bound. The tree I didn in teh video had been done about 4 years earlier so the hard part was done. However what you've done now will greatly help your tree develop much better in the future

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@Tieball The benefits of the bonsai mix is that it drains very well, promotes roots splitting, and holds water. Secondly once your trunk is as big as you want it that is the perfect time to get it into a bonsai pot. You can then develop branches

[@IrregularPineapples]

It's strangely satisfying watching you work on the bonsai trees and roots :V

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Good luck David. I'm glad youre trying bonsai. Its really a lot of fun and very rewarding

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I'm excited for you! There is a lot to learn in this hobby buts its all fun. You've got me there to help if you need

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@no2religions Actually the fired clay will break down over time and block the drain holes. The nice thing about the lava is it will never break down no matter how much rain you get

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I don't own one, but the Flowida convention is coming up this month so it gives me a great chance to get some new material. I see what I can find that would help you out

[@DirtyFastingLife]

Oooo no don't be sorry I do understand... U do great work.. love the rainforest plant I have one and your videos are great.. breaks and water are permitted ;)

[@davidmichael3137]

great video and I Learned a lot. I didn't know you could grow two trees from one...I am learning about bonsai now and I am very new at this. Thanks for the post.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I'm really glad to hear that! Good luck!!

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@GabrieleColonna Pretty much any tropical tree will do well for you. Brazillian rain rees airlayer very quickly. Just start in the early spring as the tree's leaves start to fill in.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

somewhere around 4 years. It was a 'mother tree' for a long time. It was just grown and air layers and cuttings were constantly taken to keep it small.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@no2religions Actually I've gotten away from the fired clay mixes such as kitty little and turface. I used the small sized lava rock and have had great success with it

[@ZLuis2009]

I would of not known how to straighten out the roots, Nice video.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

It is really hard to get the roots reduced on larger trees but when you actually look you will see that they are really a lot of wood and mass and not much feeder roots. So you can get in with cutters and grinders to clear out the mass and really reduce it down. I'm trying to find material to do a demo on really soon

[@yewsoonpow9429]

Hi your wrightia looks great, and very strong. i'm not sure if it is due to different climate there (i'm from Malaysia), but my practice is to defoliate the wrightia before repotting to reduce the stress to the tree. You could make a great Yamadori for the wrightia. great work.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

+YewSoon Pow Thank you for the suggestion to defoliate. I will do that from now on

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@xzyeee If you are getting a lot of rain your tree may be devloping a fungus which would cause teh leaves to yellow and even have irregular shapes. I would suggest aplying a systemic fungicide such as Halt which you can find at Home Depot or Lowes.

[@snoekhoek]

Man, I thought you were gonna snip of a finger or something! Raking roots is a top sport. :D

[@DirtyFastingLife]

Slow .. take your time.. breathe.. and enjoy the process. You do great work. Just relax through the process. You seem to always be in a rush??

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@no2religions Thanks for the comment. Hopefully my videos are a step up from the other ones youve mentioned

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

That was an extremely hot day, and I had a lot to do. If I don't work that fast the video would have been so much longer and I wanted to keep it to a rather short video. Also it's really the pace I keep when I do my trees.

[@lizfisher8218]

I wished you show how you wired the roots down. Looks awesome. Love your videos.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

check out my other video on wiring in at kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2aqf6unr51_p6s

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@SahanTheMighty Thats so funny!!! I had to go back and watch it again. What can I say, bonsai I. Florida can be brutal. I was freaking dying that day! Thanks for watching :)

[@CXENTE713]

I just ordered, a Juniper bonsai tree..I think its 6" tall.. I have no idea, what I'm getting into.... but seems very exciting :-)

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Keep them in the mix you currently have until early spring before the tree leafs out. At that point you can repot it into whatever you choose

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

To develop nebary you need to let the roots grow longer so you can either keep it in the ground or an over potted nursery pot for a long time. Once you put it into a bonsai pot in bonsai soil youre not really going to gain nebari

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Thanks, the water and breaks would be a good idea. I'll work on taking it down a notch :)

[@Tieball]

1. What is it about the bonsai soil mix that makes it that much better? 2. Once the trunk is right is it okay to go to a bonsai pot for branch development for most trees? Specifically American Elm and Hornbeam.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

If you are just trying to get a larger trunk then let them grow in what they are now. If you are happy with the trunk size and are ready ti start developing branches and structure then repot

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

It did fit but actually visually the pot was too small in weight so I actually replanted into a larger pot just for composition purposes

[@xzyeee]

Thanks for your advice Orlando, will try

[@spencer5082]

Id love to know what you ended up doing with that Ficus? That was extremely interesting

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@jaybirrd84 This was done mid summer. It was very hot and these tropical trees love that time of year. They are very active so that is why I can root prune like I did.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@RaidenTheAlmighty Hackberry make great bonsai. Really great trunks and good to work with

[@engelwyre]

That ficus is a beast!

[@sp4zzj4zz]

I should also clarify that I'm not complaining about just some random words or whatever, it's usually key things that I'm unfamiliar with in the first place because I'm so new to this, which makes it really difficult to try and google them. For instance, whatever the type of root you are talking about so much in the first half of the video - feeta, feta, fetal?

[@randyschmidt5081]

Sorry. I meant videos, and have been reading a lot I was introduced to bonsai as a kid but just now getting started. I have to trees jap. Red cedars and got them from a general merchandise store. Should I repot them so their wired in with better soil or wait a year or two.

[@no2religions]

@OrlandoBonsaiTV I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise. WOB is pretty interesting, but lacks practical information. I haven't gone through all your movies, but do you ever use cat litter as soil. That's all I use.

[@RaidenTheAlmighty]

This isn't really related to the subject of your video, but it was something I was wondering about, since you are also from Florida. I'm sort of starting out with bonsai, and I've been collecting a lot of wild material. Something I have seen a ton of in my areas are the Sugar hackberry trees. I like their twigginess and the way their leaves change color. Have you ever seen, or created a hackberry bonsai?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@dkoefoed New roots will be white in color an will have a blunt end. Feed roots are extremely fine and will grow from the root main lines. They are hairlike roots.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@cura0006 Geat stroke started setting. I wasn't sure I was going to make it through that video. It was over 100 degrees and no shade

[@coolyoureyes]

Great videos! I am just a beginner. I live in Hawaii and have a question about making a bonsai from a Kukui tree. I suspect the question can apply in general to other trees. The kukui tree produces a walnut-like nut. Is there a way to prevent the tree from producing fruit?

[@juliebrady24]

Great video! If the long roots you trimmed off are not for absorbing nutrients and watering, what are they for? Are they just anchors?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Glad to hear that! Keep watching

[@duhoky100]

Hi Paul, What is the best time (season) to CUT the roots?and what kind of the soild did you used for your Bonsai TREES ?!! ThAnK YoU So MUCH.

[@bornnraisedhawkeye]

I have some silver maple trees that I would like to start to bonsai. I pulled them out of the bottom of one of the downspouts where they had sprouted, this spring. I'm wondering if I should keep them in potting soil or if I should switch to a bonsai mix. And if I'm to keep them in the potting soil, how much longer should I keep them in the potting soil?

[@largesatsuma]

How do you tell the difference between roots that are unnecessary and ones that are crucial? How do you make sure not to kill the tree when trimming the roots?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I need to do a video on root selection. However I treat the bottom of the tree the same as teh top. Try to taper the roots down like you would when you design a tree. You want as many branches off the main root as possible. If it is a very long root with very few branches/splits than that would be the kind of root I would reduce or eleimiate. You want the finer roots

[@MHarenArt]

I had NO idea you could be that aggressive with re-potting a bonsai!!!!. I've got a bald cypress in a 10' deep terracotta pot that I want to repot into a 3-4' deep pot. I'll do more homework before I start surgery! Thanks for all the great information!!

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Only work on Bald Cypress during their dormant periods in the winter. They would not survive repotting or root pruning while in their growing season.

[@MHarenArt]

@@OrlandoBonsaiTV Thank you, yes! I did know that! I can't wait o get started though! I've watched a couple more videos since I last commented here, and again. learned soooo much. I had no idea you could just wack off those thicker roots, but of course your explanation made perfect sense! Thanks again. I'm gong to subscribe to your channel. Have a great day! Cheers!

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

YOu're right I do tend to mumble a bit at times and of course I talk fast too. As tbreen09ify pointed out I was saying feeder roots. They ar ethe very fine roots and are the ones that actually take up the nutrients. If there is anything else you had a question about let me know, and I'll work on talking a little clearer in the new videos :)

[@dabid1337]

how does one go about developing good nebari? is it just a process of slowly removing soil from the base of the trunk until you reach the roots?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

You can but they don't heal very well. They tend to leave pretty bad scars on larger brancges or trunck removal

[@xzyeee]

I am trying my hand at Bonsai and I am totally loving it. However, my candidates look a bit sick and I don't know what to do. They are sending out new shoots but I think they may be getting a bit too much water because we have been getting a lot of rain lately. There is one in particular that I don't want to die because I've grown so attcahed to it. What should I do?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I did a technique called an Air Layer. You'll see in my earlier videos I show how I got the roots to grow in that area.

[@natava1]

Hello, I really enjoyed this video. The tree is very beautiful and I liked it in the blue pot. It looks more traditional and nice now. I live in Tampa & have been interested in Bonsai, but only purchased a couple of books, i.e. 101 & encyclopedia. I like the blue pot. Do you want to sell it? Also, looking to purchase my first bonsai to keep inside my apt or at work. I don't find that you sell bonsai and found that interesting. Cat litter, my Persian would truly wonder about me then. ( :

[@tarunchaudhary4505]

good work. keep posting good things!!

[@kamz123456789]

Great informative video. It really is a work of art caring for a Bonsai tree. Is it possible to email you a picture of my tree? We purchased it about 2 years ago, and he hasn't been happy since we acquired him. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@HouseholdStudios If you look along the roots of a plant the roots come from the plant very big and get much finer near the ends. However it take a long time for that taper to occur. So but reducing the length of the roots the finer roots will occur where you cut so that you get the feeder roots closer to the tree. I hop ethat make sense

[@Iggynawcio]

Great videos! Thanks for your advice.

[@franksb4u]

You place a little bit of soil in the pot before you put the tree in right?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@MrWthisthis100 Absolutely, now is the time to repot!

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@pandabear102409 A thin layer to get the base up off the pot

[@CXENTE713]

@OrlandoBonsaiTV thanks.. i cant wait too get started

[@no2religions]

@OrlandoBonsaiTV why the change? Does is work better? I think we have opposite needs. Here we have 8 month of rain and no sun.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@kenaniahmwh Nothing special, just a basic mixture of pine bark, pearlite (if its available) and some sort of potting mix. Most of the time I just save what the nursery puts in my trees before I repot them

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Well its Florida in August and the humidity is nearly 100% and I'm working with a tree that weighs over 100lbs. I just wanted to get through the video without having heat stroke. sorry

[@DirtyFastingLife]

Good bc.. I love ur videos and we need you around.. to make them no strokes!! :) looking fwd to the next video and a follow up on the Rainforest tree ... Also question have you and will you do a video with a Bonsai Ginseng Ficus??

[@khammanyvong1]

Can you reduce the roots on all trees? Some of my bonsais have such large root balls that I cannot fit it in less than 3 inch pots. It will kill the tree if I cut alot of the root ball off to fit in a shallow pot?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Actually I eventually did put it into a bigger pot. It was just too small even though the potter made the pot for that tree.

[@zoemclelland3502]

just got a three year old ligustrum bonsai indoor tree, root straigtening was easier looking than i thought.

[@kenaniahmwh]

Paul, what do you use for your nursery mix? do you mix something up yourself or do you buy it somewhere?

[@andrushek11]

How long to those potting wires stay in? Tree looks amazing by the way!

[@sanjaydabhale5258]

awesome bonsai and very informative video mr Orlando . please tell me how do you improve the trunk diameter . Is there any special technique to widen the trunk.

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

The only way to really thicken the truck is to let the tree grow out for a while. You can place the tree into a larger pot or into the ground for a year or two to get it thickened. Once you put the tree into a bonsai pot it will not get very much bigger

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@JoS2748 No, it was all camera magic. As hard as I try I'll never be that fast

[@kissiebooashes]

@franksb4u Yes, you should put a thin layer of soil in the pot before you put your tree in it.

[@Emtbtoday]

Hi Paul was watching through some videos for a wee refresh n caught sight of your yew podocarpus in the back ground, is that when you were creating a new apex?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Scottish Bonsai Thats the one! Ive had that tree for a pretty long time. Certainly about time I put a top on it

[@Emtbtoday]

Hi Paul I'm in a happy mood iv just got in from college and ups turned up with my new larch it's beautiful I thought from pics it was shohin but lol its not its huge just perfect are you on my Facebook page? Scottishbonsaidougie

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I am now!!

[@no2religions]

Hey, nice videos. When I first started bonsai, the only videos were World of Bonsai and Expert Village :/

[@MrWthisthis100]

i bought a microcarpa 2 months ago. i didnt wanna repot it because its middle of the spring. Do i still repot?

[@Idiocracynotjustamovie]

doesn't the wire rust? what is the wire for again?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

Are you trying to tell me something? Should I be at Halloween Horror nights?

[@ethangill5213]

What if I have a tree with a thick and very deep root and small roots as wide as the canapé

[@cespedesandrew4212]

so at what time should i do this if i have an elm

[@huessos13]

Did you add any soil. Since you cut off most of the roots, how is the tree now?

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I did wind up using a bigger pot. Once the foliage filled in the small pot was visually too small. The tree is doing great and was shown this year at the Epcot flower and garden festival There is a video that shows the trees including this one Epcot Bonsai Display - Flower and Garden Festival 2014

[@DirtyFastingLife]

Sounds great.. !!

[@Liam2173]

Awesome, thanks for the information.

[@Idiocracynotjustamovie]

do you have anything on bonsai'ing jades?

[@fredymaldonado6422]

Q materiales usas para tu sustrato

[@TheOne-jo5mn]

When is the Orlando convention

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

@EnassiClothing I appreciate the advise

[@CarvingBonsai]

parabéns...

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

I appreciate the comment. I'm still trying to find time to do more videos. I've got a list of topics, just very busy right now

[@sanjaydabhale5258]

thank you for the tip ,but do tying a wire at the base can help improve the trunk dia . i got this information from the net only .

[@OrlandoBonsaiTV]

That could work but it will scar. If you're not worried about that then give it a go. Sounds like a fun project to try

[@reyes1310]

Hey Paul. Is there an email at which I could contact you? I know you've shared it before on videos, but I don't remember which video. The explanationyou provide on your videos is very detailed, so I believe that you are the perfect person to answer my questions on bonsai.