Thank you John. That’s very kind of you. Glad it helps. 👍🏻😊

Thanks for that! Appreciate the comments and compliment 😀

You bet!

You're welcome!

Awesome, hope the info comes in handy.

ha ha ha, thank you!

Thanks great! Thanks

Glad you like them!

Ha ha. Nope. I’ve been practicing 😂

Awesome Simon. That’s what I love to hear. It’s great to be inspired and even better to inspire.

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Its my big pleasure to follow your channel and every tip you have been sharing. 😊 I really appreciate it a lot.

Great suggestion, I want to do those for sure. Watch this space.

Awesome, thank you!

My plesier!

Thank you! Cheers!

Hi Silver Bells, I am glad you find the videos useful. I would be happy to assist with ID but I am not sure how you will show me the photos. Besides I am willing to bet that if you went to your local garden centre they should be able to ID the plants, unless you have some pretty obscure species.

Sure, thats a good strategy for sure. Thanks for sharing.

Mmm Zulupink, thanks for the question. I have not done a video on this specifically although I would have discussed this to some degree and demonstrated it during the style of the pines featured on my channel. I am not sure I could do an entire video on the subject but I will try to remember to dwell on it a little more in the future.

I did cover that in the video, 2 years later.

Glad it was useful! Yes indeed, especially as the rootstock is most likely Japanese black pine.

Thanks Bruce! 🙇🏼‍♂️

Although I’m not sure what you mean Mark I believe the answer is yes. However I might have used coarser particles at the bottom of the container. For instance medium particles at the bottom as drainage layer and then small particles for the main volume of the container.

Hi Kurt. Sure, happy to help. I think that is going to be a problem yes. It’s important when repotting to cut those thick roots and encourage finer roots closer to the trunk or you will have problems getting the tree into a small enough show bonsai pot and/or you will develop a pine which looks perched on the ground rather than clasping the ground. If you don’t have much feeder root and all the roots are coarse then this process of cutting back the roots can be done over a period of years. JWP are not very strong growers but I’m assuming yours is grafted to JBP root stock? in my experience JBP are very tough when healthy and if repotting at the correct time they can respond well to techniques applied to them. Grafted trees are not quite as strong JBP but will be strong than ungrafted. Perhaps it is better to wait now that you have done the work and rather check the response of the tree and then next spring repot again if it’s nice and healthy, if not then wait another season and then try again.

Thanks Terry! My JWP is grafted onto black pine rootstock, I think since it’s only been in the pot 2 days I’ll remove it and trim more roots on the bottom to set it lower in the pot. I have only cut a small amount of roots so I think it’ll be fine to cut a bit more, plus the weather is still cool here. Thank you again!👍🏻

Thanks Shaun. Well I cannot recall 100% but I’m pretty sure I would have cut a small amount of roots yes. The purpose of using this method is to have a section of root ball, untouched and acting as a reservoir of sorts, giving the plant a chance to develop into the new media. The more you reduce the rootball the less the effect. I can’t give you a % or something, but simply try to keep as much of it as possible. Good luck and I am sure you will learn and gain confidence from the experience.

Thanks Shaun. Well I cannot recall 100% but I’m pretty sure I would have cut a small amount of roots yes. The purpose of using this method is to have a section of root ball, untouched and acting as a reservoir of sorts, giving the plant a chance to develop into the new media. The more you reduce the rootball the less the effect. I can’t give you a % or something, but simply try to keep as much of it as possible. Good luck and I am sure you will learn and gain confidence from the experience.

Thanks Terry, appreciate the reply. Less is more seems to be the answer. Cheers!

My pleasure Maurizio! When you use this type of media it is necessary to sift the dust particles out before using it. However there is still some small dust on the soil particles and you also can create some dust when you use the chopsticks to work the soil into the roots. All this dust needs to be washed out as best as possible. If not it will accumulate at the bottom of the pot in a thin layer and will be like mud. The roots won’t grow in it at all. After this initial heavy watering it’s best to keep the tree on the drier side until it is showing signs of active growth and then you can water normally.

No that would be too water retentive. Use equal parts akadama, pumice and lava. www.bonsaitree.co.za/collections/growing-mediums-and-substrates

Thankyou Terry, much appreciated, enjoy all your info, from Sydney Australia...

Also do you have info on different soil ratio's for the different species ?

I would ask around in your area what others are using Daniel. This is best. However I would say the basic mix of akadama, pumice and lava would be good, just add more akadama for more water retention possibly. If the trees are in very small containers you may need to water 2 - 3 times a day. I would say 3 years is very short to develop a pine, assuming they were grown from seed. I would wait till at least 8 years I guess, if for shohin. Much longer (15-20 years) if for larger trees.

Hi Johan. I use BonsaiBoost all through the growing season. I supplement this with Seagro or Sea Secret every two weeks. Sometimes I add Trelmix too.

I repot any time before the needles start separating from the candles. Pine root activity does start fairly early yes. My repotting window is thus from when I see buds beginning to swell till before the needles separate from the candles. I have no problem with anyone who wants to do it at a different time at all! 😉

@@TerryErasmusbonsai thanks Terry, just trying to collect all points of view, to do the best for my trees.

Not at all. Generally people overpot their trees in my opinion. This presents several problems when over potted but one of them is certainly going to be a balance of water and oxygen - overpotted trees take longer to dry out and the tendency is to water them before that time hence root rot is a potential problem.

Great questions, thank you. You are trying to make a grey situation black and white regards decandling. Different situations demand different treatment and it’s not a matter of one persons opinion compared to another’s. They’re all correct. You won’t lose the design, there is no reason you cannot cut back into the previous seasons needles. Yes, bigger pots within reason produce more growth and thus bigger trees. But if you go too big then your soil is going to stay too wet and growth is slowed that way. Smaller pots drying quicker allows me to water a couple times a day and as I use solid fertilizer I effectively fertilize each time. Knowing how big or small a pot to use comes with experience as it depends on so many things. But start somewhere, evaluate the results and adjust.

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Thanks for your reply. Can we really cut all the branches back to the needles of the previous season in a year? And yet I would like to understand more about decandling, by what criteria is it assessed in this case? If growth has not slowed down at all, do we still prune? What if growth slowed down slightly?

@danhip2442 thanks Dan. I suggest you book a consultation with me and we can go through all your questions: www.bonsaitree.co.za/products/consultation

@@TerryErasmusbonsai Thanks, I need to prepare better and write down all my questions.😄

@danhip2442 sure. Book when you are ready.

Correct. Organics can create many problems so are best avoided.

Correct. Organics can create many problems so are best avoided.

Sure Daniel you may question away! 😀 The technique however is indispensable when working with old trees, weak trees, trees you don’t want to stress further or trees being weaned from a completely different type of growing media. I didn’t think of this technique, Boon Manakipavit did after much experience. I’ve used it many times with great results too.

Thank you for your response, agreed!

Good question. No. Never. I always have enough in the soil. Usually too much and it causes problems with watering. I have many pines in my collection and the spores spread between them, at least this is my theory.

@@TerryErasmusbonsai interesting, I picked some up last season and have added it to my conifers, although I have never bare rooted any of them, the seem quite happy. A bit off topic, but have you had any adverse reactions to using akadama with junipers?

@@dawud7791 “adverse” reaction no, just the opposite. There is nothing I know of which does not grow well in it.

@@TerryErasmusbonsai good to know! I personally have not used akadama with shimpaku, or procumbens because a reputable artist said that it’s the worst thing you can do… However, I have seen many people using boons mix with junipers and they look very healthy.

@@dawud7791 I don’t know and don’t want to know who this reputable bonsai artist is you refer to but ask yourself what the Japanese masters are growing masterpiece bonsai in? I assure you it’s not bark and turface or anything similar. If it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for me. There must be a context you are not conveying in which this person said what they did.

Thanks Matthew. No, a good mix for this sort of pine is equal parts akadama, pumice and lava stone. Or you could also do one part akadama and 2 parts pumice. Only akadama would not be a good idea for a pine generally as it’s too water retentive.

@@TerryErasmusbonsai thanks.that’s the ratio I use1/3 I each,it looks like it’s all one colour in the video

Thanks!