Simple slip potting

[alpineart]

this is a method i have used to deal with all nursery stock that comes my way,

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most of them are pot bound . Firstly i rake the top of the soil to locate the radial roots ,

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then simply slice the root ball between the main radial roots with a sharp knife in 6-8 places , 4-5 was enough for this plant as it was not completely pot bound thanks to the "curl grubs" i found inside .Starting midway from the trunk all the way down to the bottom and out to the side .Then simply fold the wedges out

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until the height of the root-ball is marginally smaller ie' 100mm root-ball now becomes 40-50mm high .A 100mm wide root-ball now becomes 150-200mm wide , then find a suitable pot to accommadate the new root mass. If a tap root is present remove it and pot the tree up using 50/50 mix of original soil and some free draining coarse material .This pot is actually 50mm too small but its all i had for this purpose of the demo

[alpineart]

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The size of the pot is 200mm x 150mm , when doing this i prefer to use 250mm x 200mm oval pots as it gives a little bit of room to play with .The entire root-mass is potted paying attention to the longer roots making sure they travel in the same direction around the outside .Cheers Alpineart

[Pup]

This is a good article for the new chums The one thing you will notice, most times when you get the plant from the pot is, most of the roots are running down the sides and across the bottom.

When you tease the roots from the root ball you notice there are hardly any roots running down the centre of the soil ball. So by removing this soil as Alpineheart has done, means minimal root disturbance.

So as again has been pointed out, this is what is indeed easy to understand KISS.

I hope that it is appreciated Pup

[alpineart]

Thanks Pup , just for those that don't understand the KISS method its "Keep It Simple Stupid" and that's not in reference to anybody .I was told this KISS method 25 years ago but didn't listen then , today i practice it , well most of the time . Cheers Alpine

[Pup]

Thanks Pup , just for those that don't understand the KISS method its "Keep It Simple Stupid" and that's not in reference to anybody .I was told this KISS method 25 years ago but didn't listen then , today i practice it , well most of the time . Cheers Alpine

It also means, keep it short and sweet

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi alpineart,

Very easy to understand and follow. I like this post and found it useful.

Would you please discuss your approach to fairly larger stocks? For example, stocks with a lot of roots that are
around 5 mm or larger?

Thank you and best regards.

[Damian Bee]

Thanks Pup , just for those that don't understand the KISS method its "Keep It Simple Stupid" and that's not in reference to anybody .I was told this KISS method 25 years ago but didn't listen then , today i practice it , well most of the time . Cheers Alpine

It also means, keep it short and sweet

Shouldn't that then be the Kis-as treatment
(Sorry, I will get over the smilies soon...)

[Mitchell]

Hi alpineart,

Very easy to understand and follow. I like this post and found it useful.

Would you please discuss your approach to fairly larger stocks? For example, stocks with a lot of roots that are
around 5 mm or larger?

Thank you and best regards.

That would interest me too, something tells me it's going to be a similar method.

[alpineart]

Hi alpineart,

Very easy to understand and follow. I like this post and found it useful.

Would you please discuss your approach to fairly larger stocks? For example, stocks with a lot of roots that are
around 5 mm or larger?

Thank you and best regards.

Hi daiviet , mate bigger tree demand bigger tools .The same method and approach is used .Instead of a filleting knife i use a carver with a thicker more robust blade as long as it has a good point so its easy to insert .Increase the amount of slices in the root-mass to make it easier to spread apart and fold up .Of coarse a bigger Bonsai pot / training box would be required also .As pup mentioned most of the roots required run across the top and down the sides of the pot . Some times its easier to cut the plastic pot off or break a terracotta pot as the can be difficult to remove if the plant is well and truely pot bound . Cheers Alpine

[Luke308]

Firstly thanks for a great thread!

Secondly, I repotted a nursery stock liquid-ambar last night which was about the diameter of a finger. On taking it out of the 200mm round plastic pot I found that it had a brittle plastic seedling container still inside it (which is square about 25mm across and 125mm deep getting narrower towards the bottom.) This is not the first time I have come across this either. It seems that a lot of nurseries simply pot up without taking the seedling pot off first. Easy for them as it saves time, but I had to spend about 30 mins trying to tease the roots out trying to get them past vertical. Not only that but they were all about 5mm in diameter. I ended up putting a bonsai pot upside-down underneath it in the foam box I was potting up into to help spread the roots radially. (I didn't have a tile or anything similar and the pot only cost $3)
It looked like great stock, and I even dug a little to see some of the roots, however, I did not consider this.

Does anyone else have any suggestions for instances like this?

[alpineart]

Hi Luke , i have just repotted around 50 Natives from tube stock , they all had 60-80% of the roots removed . I simply cut the entire 2/3 of the lower root mass off .Now i was told Natives don't like root disturbance however it would have meant major root disturbance teasing them out trying to get a good spread .If i loose a few then another lesson learned , if it works out well , then another experience gained . They all have good colour and no withering of the apexes .I also repotted several River Red Gums , all the small ones have dried up and withered , no doubt they wll come back however the big raft hasn't faltered .To me its all trial and error .

Cheers Alpine

[Glenda]

Firstly thanks for a great thread!

Secondly, I repotted a nursery stock liquid-ambar last night which was about the diameter of a finger. On taking it out of the 200mm round plastic pot I found that it had a brittle plastic seedling container still inside it (which is square about 25mm across and 125mm deep getting narrower towards the bottom.) This is not the first time I have come across this either. It seems that a lot of nurseries simply pot up without taking the seedling pot off first. ....................

At a recent Bonsai workshop here in Mackay, one member had 2 bougainvillea. When bare-rooting them, she found not one pot inside another, but another inside that as well. Whoever had simply kept putting the whole pot in a larger pot and filling with soil.

[EdwardH]

Totally. Completely. Stumped (no pun intended)

[Sahara]

awesome great guide with pictures will help alot ty