An open window into the comings and goings of students and their trees attending our regular weekend and midweek bonsai classes under the ever watchful eyes of John Hanby.
Classroom Corner – Some serious repotting!
There was some serious repotting going on in the classroom this last weekend. Almost every student was taking advantage of the time of year and repotting at least one tree.
Each tree had to be investigated and the specific instructions for that tree were then carefully followed. Some trees were going into a bonsai pot for the first time whilst others were going into a training pot. Some were also just going back into their existing pot.
Some trees had problem areas below the trunk so in this case only the central soil was removed. The outer rootball was left intact. In some cases areas of compacted dead roots had to be removed.
One tree was so wet, and the roots so black that almost all the soil had to be removed. Some rootballs were very dry and had to be submerged in water before they were potted up.
Heavy roots were removed where possible to try and improve the root structure. A selection was also made of the remaining roots and some were removed just like when we thin out branches.
On completion of the day’s work all the trees looked so much better and you could definitely see where the students had been working!…..lets hope the tree respond accordingly.
