Repotting My Norway Maple, The Bonsai Zone, March 2022

[@rebeccahunter725]

You have been doing bonsai for 30 + years; you have some impressive and valuable trees; your collection of pots is increasing in value. One of the reasons I love watching you, is that you also use a butter knife as a bonsai tool! The combination of "make do and mend" with "use the best you can afford" makes your approach available to such a wide audience.

[@ogsxl]

such a good way to put his valuable insights

[@rosshopkins2063]

And to add the soil its not always bonsai soil, like this one is growing in what appears to be natural substrate.

[@rosshopkins2063]

And to be honest this year im ditching bonsai soil and going to be using my forests natural soils sense that is where i collect.

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

@@rosshopkins2063 it was in a bonsai soil, made by himself. As he said, the perlite will break down eventually. 50/50 perlite and turface (the original mix) now he's started adding about 20% reptile bark.

[@MrThomascor]

It's such a nice feeling, getting trees out of their training pots.

[@Detlefroemisch]

Das Schönste liegt im Boden Nigel 👌✂️

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

Honestly, if you find some grubs that nibble on Norway maple roots, SEND THEM MY WAY!! Cheers Nigel, always fun to see the original Norway maple that helped inspire me to tackle these monsters!

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Your surgical skills are what make you a great surgeon in the operating room. Really detailed. Tree looks good in its new home.

[@BlueJayBonsai]

I missed the premiere as it was just past my bedtime. Thank you for the masterclass on root pruning. 🙏👍

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Old man winter is relentless out by you. Does not want to let go. 30 below F or C is brutal on any tree. Glad it did survive. Strong will to live.

[@baldyeti]

Daggum, that was freaking satisfying, wasn’t it? I love seeing the roots all raked out just before you whack’em all off. I wasn’t with you on some of those upper roots, but afterwards you were spot on. Tough choice, but necessary. Thank you, Nigel. That was a blast

[@chinookwind8535]

As much as I love your bonsai teaching I absolutely love your concern and kindness for all creatures alive tells me a lot about you in general

[@austinmead5754]

The flow from the truck into the root base looks great from the angle! Your previous root work has really paid off with this tree.

[@mattaustralian6584]

Nice trunk on that tree. Patience and time and she'll be a beautiful little tree.

[@paulbyland]

You should always feed your grubs to the chickens!

[@jefsbonsaiandfarming]

Love Norway maples!

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

Yeah buddy!!

[@mattbrennan647]

@@BostonBonsaiIdiot ,,, The red headed step child of the bonsai community.

[@jefsbonsaiandfarming]

@@mattbrennan647 Norway maples do have souls…. Ok?!

[@barbkrienke8400]

Give those grubs to the chickens!!! They will love the treat!

[@3apa3a4eva]

Hi Nigel! Heh, it seems that your climate is pretty much what we've got over here in the central Sweden. It used to be +11 during the days and -1 to +1 during the nights for almost two weeks. And now it is +4 at days and -5 at nights. Typical Swedish March, with another words. :)) We call this time of the year "vårvinter": a hybrid of winter and spring. :)

[@arnoldmmbb]

The new front looks very nice, also great base and nebari

[@natrjack965]

Cannot believe you still have snow. It's so warm over here at the moment. I went into the greenhouse yesterday and it was 35°. C but my father-in-law told me that snow is on the way. We've had such good weather over here in the UK

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

Always very informative and instructive watching you do these root prunings. 🙏

[@TannerSheahan]

Hi Nigel, really enjoy learning from your videos. I'm not a bonsai expert but I spent 14 years as an agronomic consultant in seed crop production and hazelnut orchards in western Oregon and I've dabbled in bonsai for several years now. Those grubs look like crane fly larvae to me. We fought those like crazy in seed production in the Willamette Valley and they most certainly do feed on live roots. In many cases I've seen large populations of grubs remain somewhat invisible until another event (freezing, flooding, drought) exposes the fact that the plants had weak root systems and suddenly the plants are in trouble. I would suspect the hard freeze you mentioned hurt the tree and then the grubs have kept it weak year after year. Thanks for reading my unsolicited opinion 😁 I'll keep watching and learning from you.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Tanner, great information, it's a good thing I changed the soil! I'll keep my eye out for these in future!

[@BlueSkyBonsai]

Great work Nigel! The main trunk is already looking like a real tree!

[@alphavinebonsai6586]

it really is. the nebari and slight bend is looking good.

[@debfaulbonsaigurl]

Lots of nice roots on your maple Nigel, love watching how you root prune, I've learned a lot from watching. I hope my root pruning videos show what I've learned. Thank you very much. Deb

[@mattbrennan647]

My first bonsai is a Norway Maple I planted from seed. I did a MAJOR trunk chop on it eliminating all of my rookie pruning mistakes. So far no buds but I’m hopeful it will survive. Yours is looking good. Thanks, keep growing

[@PickleJar251]

So did it survive?

[@mattbrennan647]

Unfortunately not😢

[@stuartrose7628]

Im glad your maple survived Nigel, i bet your chickens would have found those grubs very tasty

[@snakendahills]

Love this channel... Keep up the great work!!!!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks! Will do!

[@jokesterk5302]

I think this sturdy tree is going to take it's breath back and hava a great growspurt, I wish it well. Thanks for sharing the good care you are taking of all of your trees!

[@JesusChrist4ever]

I loved this tree!

[@myciko3112]

Hi Nigel, Set the camera on the right side and little zoom in for better view please , Thanks for sharing Your knowledge.

[@TobyJin]

The root base is looking improved, hopefully this year the leader won't mysteriously die on you again for this tree.

[@everythingbonsai3758]

Looks awesome Nigel I love the root base and the trunk this maple is so cool

[@nillysbonsai9636]

I’m glad to see someone else passionate about this species. Iv got a Norway maple I’m very found of finally starting to come on I really love the spring leaf. Iv been lucky enough to find a couple of different dark leaves ones from seed! and a kind of chance seedling acer brilliantissimum! I’m going to look thru your previous videos one this tree and await the future ones!! Thank you :D

[@dabblingwithbonsai]

But maples are cool! 😎 Even if not always the traditional species for bonsai, with big leaves and all.. I have hopes to grow some from seed this year, two different species, the other being the Norway maple.

[@otterwench]

So beautiful

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I cannot believe the snow you are still getting - I am in bright sunshine for my repot work. Can you just confirm whether you used a silver butter knife or just silver plated?? Great work as always.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

My gold butter knife was in the washing rack so I had to use my more common silver one!! Lol, thanks Xavier!

[@marysoldeeley2218]

Love that trunk!

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Marysol!! Lots of clip and grow in the ground to get it!

[@wingchunming]

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing your work with us. Learning a lot ~

[@TheBonsaiZone]

My pleasure!

[@jensgrabher-meyer3565]

Even worms love Nigel - I do too

[@abbasduman6963]

Hey Nigel, have you ever tried putting a plastic foil under the roots to develop flatter roots? I saw this method used in some cases.

[@michaelcowart6100]

The Root Wrangler....😃

[@PaisanosRoostFarm]

Paisano's Roost Farm (American Blackbelly Sheep) in Southern New Mexico: at 31:49 the trunk/nabari looks like a toad in profile potential name Norway Toad Tree

[@donabellahardeneravlogs790]

Making bonsai is really an alluring activity.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

It really is!

[@donabellahardeneravlogs790]

@@TheBonsaiZone Yes Sir 🙏

[@angelikafischer3082]

I think these are normal earthworms. In bonsai pots you find often small ones only. Here in Germany you can dig somewhere and you will find some producing compost of organic material. It s a sign of a healthy soil. But I have heard once that they are invasive in Amerika but it could be that they are already everywhere anyway. Your ducks will eat them with pleasure but i like them a lot. Great beneficial animals. 🪱

[@mrscotchguy]

Looks like you got some chicken and ducks snacks in your soil!

[@erikneelsiedippenaar1553]

Watching these videos are so relaxing. May i ask if there has been any updates on the Plumeria? I have watched your previous videos on it and Plumeria is a tree i am very interested in seeing if it could be made into a bonsai😊

[@davidadams7459]

I have several Norway maple pre bonsai

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

That root ball is one massive undertaking. Dr. Saunders in action. Students. Pencil and paper in hand for notes.

[@andersnrregren9087]

I love it

[@MrJcalvino]

With all that roots I doubt the tree us still weak

[@bcfran3g844]

Grubs were under my grass when I changed to astroterf. They removed all the grubs from the soil before they continued.

[@alphavinebonsai6586]

that tree is looking good.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks, it's pushing out leaves now!

[@klytuko]

Have you ever re-used your bonsai soil for another or the same tree?

[@PlantObsessed]

Do you get black soldier flies up there? They grow up to look like a black wasp. They like to eat dead organic matter too. They don't eat live tissue.

[@rosshopkins2063]

Do you basically just use the general soil you would normally find these plants in, in general, approximately, ect..ect

[@lewisnorden3744]

No, people use granular bonsai soil for good water drainage

[@ErikeeTow]

Hi Nigel, Do you not wire your bonsai after repotting? I repotted a tree recently and he fell out of his pot when I was moving him outside for some sun :(

[@shawkorrrTWITCH]

Question from a norwegian: Is it too late to repot my norwegian maple mid april? I am out on a LONG journey and wont be back home until mid april. Thank you for these maple videos!

[@danieldalton8125]

If the leaves are out and the roots are active you're better off waiting a year than risk damaging the tree

[@shawkorrrTWITCH]

@@danieldalton8125 Thank you. At this point my tree looks just like this one does, hopefully the leaves aint out before I return hehe.

[@YaroslavPronin]

I have often heard the opinion that washing the roots is bad for trees, is it true?

[@danieldalton8125]

Blasting them with a jet wash probably isn't a good idea but rinsing them or dunking them like Nigel does is fine.

[@hsvfanjan17]

It's not necessarily bad. Why Nigel does it: roots are as important for him as the rest of the tree so washing the roots allows him to see everything going on there and eliminate bad roots early on. Why others don't do it: when a tree grows, often a healthy (!) kind of mushroomgrows around the root (sorry, forgot the name of it). It helps transporting important nutrients to the roots more easily - which results in a more healthy, better growing tree. Some people reuse parts of their old soil due to that, so that the mushroom is already in there. I think it also depends on the tree a bit, I'm no expert.

[@TheRealOrangeGringo]

For anybody wondering “What mushroom?” It’s Mycorrhizal fungi. It’s present pretty much everywhere. It will soon(ish) return to your new bonsai soil.

[@kaneda4102]

My question to Nigel is if the hairstyle was a bonsai, what type would it be? 🤣

[@TheBonsaiZone]

That is a good question, windblown, broom, octopus?!! Lol!

[@denisemac118]

Foist

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌👌👌🍎

[@sbragaglia]

Just checked the weather and in Southern UK we should go again to 0 C degrees over night by Friday… nothing like in Canada, but come on!

[@danieldalton8125]

Yep. Not as bad as this time last year though. I remember moving my maples in and out of shelter quite a few times.

[@sbragaglia]

@@danieldalton8125 don’t tell me! I just planted some cuttings into a larger pot, thinking it was safe to do it, and now The larger pot doesn’t fit my fiddly plasticky little balcony greenhouse! I think I’ll cover them with recycling bags… transparent and large enough to fit the pots… 😅

[@TheRealOrangeGringo]

Ugh, I know. I’m in the north UK and the weather forecast says -3C for me towards the end of the week. All my trees are in leaf now.

[@alexanderwebb3424]

Hopefully it gets the beautiful bark the full size one's get🤔

[@TheBonsaiZone]

I hope so!!