AusBonsai

I have commenced the reconditioning process on a Mugo Pine however have been stumped early and need sound advice and information.

I have removed abiout 1/3 of the foliage already and also the mound of sphagnum moss and soil at the base. Here is what I had uncovered which is concerning.

Probems

1. Root Rot - on one side of the base, the rot not only destroyed 1 side of the base but also digs deep beneath the tree. Disappointingly, a large about of trunk had to be removed so far and there could be more beneath the actual tree.

2. Root Bound - On removing top soil, I had uncovered that the previous owner or whoever did the repotting simply took the pot bound tree with circling roots and planted the whole tree into a larger contrainer. This is evident as I can see the an oval shape of the previous pot made by the roots much of which is now also rotted. There some healthy roots that have made their way into the larger space provided by the bigger pot.

3. Wrong Mesh - Pot is sitting on a stand and looking up, I can see the wrong mesh was used to cover the holes. It more looks like fly screen which would cause water logs.


Can I still perform an emergency repot considering I had already removed 1/3 of the foliage? Should I also wait till summer or would the health of the tree deteriorate ?

If it was mine I would repot now. I am still repotting pines here and do not seem to have problems when repotting later. Much better to sort out the compacted rootball than to try to get it through another summer I think.
Rotted trunk may or may not be related to the compacted rootball but we cannot see it so have to take your advice on what you see. Rot in the trunk is often related to dead wood above ground rotting down through the trunk. If you have concerns about the rot a fungicide should stop it but would also kill any benificial mychorriza as well.

Nothing wrong with flyscreen as drainage covering. I have used it for 20 years without any issue.

Also - try looking on the bright side instead of just concentrating on negatives. You have a good looking, advanced pine that now has some dead wood that might make a feature????

I am not at all experienced with pines, but consider bare-rooting it into pure, sharp, coarse, well-draining sand or fine gravel. It's always been recommended to me as the last resort for rot in roots. Keep it in shade for a bit, mist the leaves if you can. This solves rot and root distribution problems all in one go, and usually results in a good fine-root ball for the next repot. Ask advice of people more experienced than me, but if you have rot and rotten soil mix, there doesn't seem to me a lot of advantage to keep any on it.

Best of luck,

Gavin

Hi The Specimen , i'm with Shibui on the advice about re-potting now , if you have a concern simply slice down 4 sides of the root mass and open up the whole root ball as per the topic "Simple slip potting" .Basically i would treat it like a root bound nursery grown plant . Put it into a bigger box with a good bonsia mix , i believe you are using one . Just make sure you follow the main roots back to the trunk and don't severe them cut between them if that's possible .I collect and re-pot pines from Winter to early summer , and i too have used fly wire and shade cloth as mesh for pot or boxes with no ill effect .

Plenty of time on this old specimen and you will have a very nice old Mugo .Don't try to fix it all today there's always next year , so i would concentrate on the re-potting /root work area now . Hope this helps .

Cheers Alpine

Hmm not sure how I had missed these replies and it really is much appreciated as all these replies has put me at much better ease and yes I am using an awesome mix

I had a styling tip from The Hacker so will need to look for suitable pot cant wait to get this under way!