• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bonsai Tonight

An educational website about bonsai development

  • Blog
    • How-to Guides
  • Podcast
  • Shop
    • Bonsai
    • Books
    • Soil
    • Soil (wholesale)
    • Supplies
    • Tools
    • Video Consulting
    • Northern California Bonsai Resources
  • About
    • Workshops

Repotting a trident maple: removing the tree from the pot

December 8, 2009 by Jonas Dupuich

Part 1 of 5

Preparing a trident maple for exhibit requires a lot of work. Fortunately, most of this work happens long in advance of the exhibit. Having developed what branches I could this summer, all that remains is a little clean-up and repotting.

Root-over-rock trident maple

Plucking spent leaves and removing extraneous branches doesn’t take long. Repotting, in this case, doesn’t take long either, though it must be done with care. I’ve owned this tree long enough to know that it needs repotting every year, but the work is usually straightforward.

The first step is removing all wires that poke through the bottom of the pot. I usually begin with the tie-down wires and then remove the clips that hold the screen in place.

Tie-downs cut

Cutting the clips

I’m always sure to remove all of the wires as a single remaining wire can help a tree cling to its pot with surprising tenacity. Once the wires are removed I set the pot back down and get out the sickle.

The signature on the bottom of the pot, if you are curious, belongs to Sara Rayner.

Wires removed – ready for the next step

Sickling is hard work. This simple task can become unbearable if a tree hasn’t been repotted in a while, or the soil is brick-hard, or the roots have filled in solid. Further antagonists include low-growing branches and pots that curl inward toward the lip.

Sickle-time

Using a small sickle or a sod-knife, I carve a narrow trough between the rootball and the sides of the pot. This is the most dangerous part of the process. While one hand holds the pot in place, the other works quickly with a sharp implement in close proximity. Watch out for your fingers!

I’ve found that a smooth, scraping motion works better than vigorous jerking or saw-like motions. While scraping the surface with a shallow motion seems to get you nowhere with large pots, it creates clean margins that actually make the work more effective.

How much scraping you do depends on the tree and the pot. Since the idea is to disturb the roots as little as possible at this point, it’s important to do no more scraping than necessary. That said, trying to remove a tree before the roots are free is a good way to damage roots.

For square, rectangular, and oval pots, one needs to free two short sides of the pot and one large side. Trees usually release from round pots after about half of the diameter has been cleared. In all cases, scrape to the very bottom of the pot. Because roots tend to circle at the bottom, stopping short of this mass can prevent the tree from escaping its container.

Soil cleared

The last step – actually removing the tree from the pot – requires care. Try to keep the pot on the workspace while tipping the tree away from the pot by raising the end of the rootball that has been cleared with the sickle. Dangers at this stage include crushing branches and flicking pots to the floor.

Tilting the rootball away from the pot

While these steps may seem a bit formal for something that is done with a simple plonk to trees growing in nursery containers, each step helps us avoid common pitfalls. Experience will provide further guides.

Next up: Part 2 – preparing the pot.

✕

Subscribe to Bonsai Tonight

New Posts Delivered Every Tuesday and Friday

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Filed Under: Bonsai Care Tagged With: Repotting, Trident Maple

Previous Post: « Impending Exhibit
Next Post: Repotting a trident maple: preparing the pot »

Footer

Follow Bonsai Tonight

Subscribe

Instagram ● Facebook ● Twitter
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • About

P.O. Box 6560, Alameda, CA 94501 · 510-915-2025 · jonas (at) bonsaitonight (dot) com

© Copyright 2009-2023 Bonsai Tonight · All rights reserved · Privacy · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish. Accept Decline Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT