Creating a Nebari and removing the Taproot of a young Bonsai

In this lecture Bjorn introduces the second section of this online course, which is the first developmental stage for Bonsai: setting trees up with radially dispersed surface roots (called the Nebari). The standard technique most bonsai experts apply to create these surface roots, is to prune any vertically growing roots when repotting a Bonsai.
Two years after planting a seed (though depending on the tree species) it is time to bare root and cut the tap root off, but make sure to leave enough fine fibrous roots alive. For cuttings, after about a year you can bare root and trim the lower roots, and place it in a separate pot. This is what Bjorn demonstrates in this first lecture.
After about one year you can bare root air layers and investigate the roots, trimming downward growth as well as overly large roots, balancing the radial growth of roots. After this lecture, your teachers will also discuss various other techniques to improve the Nebari of a Bonsai, like using a washer. Lastly, you might also consider grafting roots as a technique to improve the Nebari of your Bonsai. This video is a free preview lecture from our Developing Bonsai from Seed course.
About the "Developing Bonsai from Seed course"
Learn how to develop a Bonsai from scratch - from seeds, cuttings or air layers. We explain the developmental stages all the way from Propagation to Nebari, Trunk, and Branch development. Your teachers are Michael Hagedorn and Bjorn Bjorholm.
To watch free previews or enroll, please go to:
www.bonsaiempire.com/courses/...

[@robertobreglia9224]

Bjorn thank you for sharing this very interesting lesson!👍👍👍👍

[@naturesounds...12]

If you deal with a problem one at a time, they will all sort themselves out”. Sage advice for bonsai

[@raymondplodzien7459]

Thanks for the valuable information.

[@bobbymeyerti9300]

All this information is even useful to people that have been doing it for many years🍏... I like watching the videos because there’s always something that I might have missed along the way in my 50 years😳 it’s good to watch other people and their techniques🌎 plus you get to see their plants💐💐💐

[@bonsaiempire]

Absolutely right Bobby! Thanks for your comment.

[@HoundStuff]

Nice video, looking forward to getting the entire course!

[@bonsaiempire]

Awesome, thank you! Bjorn and Michael are great teachers!

[@yitnoBC]

Thank you for sharing information and tips, very useful for me as a beginner

[@bonsaiempire]

Glad to hear so!

[@awchannel4351]

Terimakasih Sharingnya Membentuk bonsai dari bahan yang masih remaja 👍

[@iPheek]

😲 might have to sign up for the class!

[@bonsaiempire]

There are some free previews, if you're in doubt, at: www.bonsaiempire.com/courses/developing-from-seed

[@hijaudaunbonsai51]

Terima kasih telah berbagi pelajaran yang sangat menarik ini

[@JB-iz8tf]

These pot suggestions just do not work in Oklahoma. I have to use larger pots or they dry out in just a few hours. Good advice for moderate and moist climates but man... 95-110 degree summers do not like the smaller pots. Lost quite a few attempting it. Great video though. Hope to move to a better state one of these days.

[@bonsaiempire]

Thanks for the tips!

[@JB-iz8tf]

@@bonsaiempire Sure! Oklahoma doesnt have much for bonsai - a small club in the OKC area. But keeping them in bonsai pots is near impossible without constant watering and potentially covering the soil. Also have to use a mix with LOTS of miracle grow to retain that moisture... Good luck everyone!

[@kylepurvis6231]

Hey JB, I have similar issues with heat in my area of South Carolina. I’ve found that if I want to do smaller trees or seedlings that I have to place them in a growing bed that I can set the small pots in and allow the roots to escape into the grow bed,providing much more stability in the hot weather, and less frequent watering. You can use sand or mulch in the bed, I’ve found that I like perlite as my medium for the roots it produces and the ease of removing the seedlings in the fall. Good luck with a challenging climate!

[@JB-iz8tf]

@@kylepurvis6231 I kind of wondered about that. I am worried about insects with putting them directly on the ground. Currently I have them on pallets of some sort to raise them - but they also dry out faster. I will give that a go. Thanks!

[@lucassimmons9112]

Also trying to grow bonsai in Oklahoma. It can be challenging to keep up with the watering but I’ve found that using a top dressing of shredded and sifted sphagnum moss really helps retain moisture. I also try to keep my pots on the ground and out of the wind and that seems to help. The heat last summer was nuts

[@AlexandreGil3166]

Hello thank you so much for making all those steps so clear 😊. If we are working on a cascading style tree do we follow all these the same way or is there some tweaking since the pots are usually deeper ?

[@bonsaiempire]

Most welcome. If you want a nebari, the steps are the same :)

[@AlexandreGil3166]

@@bonsaiempire ok perfect thank you so much :)

[@Phatsgarden]

he is very handsome 😄😄😄😄. Thank you for sharing information

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌👌🙂🙂

[@tomasferreirarubial1455]

👋👋👋

[@dodygandhi8893]

Sorry, I am a really newbie in bonsai, can you tell me what is Nebari?

[@bonsaiempire]

Great question. It's the surface roots, or root flare!

[@dodygandhi8893]

Thank's for the reply....

[@VinnyChirayil]

i am surprised that the 2 year old seedlings were not grown in net pots to begin with. Bjorn mentions only aeration as its benefit but the biggest benefit of that pot is air pruning ! so, in the same 2 year period, the tap root would have died on its own within months and created lot of side roots in next 1 year. by year 2, that seedling could have gone to a bigger pot or even ground. even a deep pot is not a problem, as long as there is horizontal tile/plastic base below the roots to force them to go sideways & then down. manual root pruning of seedlings is inferior to air pruning, using good air pruning pots (better than net pots). another alternative is root escape method where they are allowed to escape and then cut off. this manual pruning is still better than the one shown in video. i encourage people to compare the 3 methods and see the results after 1 or 2 years

[@taufikrahman2340]

Indonesia watching