Dawn Redwood: First Re-Planting, to Help it Stay Upright [Bonsai]

over 3 years ago

Skyrocking to new heights, the Dawn Redwood tree in my collection had quickly outgrown the tiny pot it was growing in. Even the slightest breeze was knocking it over most days.

Here I document the delicate operation of transplanting this tall, and unusually shaped towering tree.

As you can see this is by far the tallest tree in my collection. Even when wired in a way to fold the tree height down a bit, it far exceeds everything else I own.

Historical Information

ID: 0046
Nickname: None
Type: Dawn Redwood
Age: 1.5 years (approximately)
Grown: seed (from nursery plant sale, bare root)
Last repotting: October 2, 2020
Wired: April 2020

Uprooting

This is the results after the first Summer season of growth.

The roots have completely conformed to the shape of the pot. Not only can I see the toothed edge on the base, but also the corner of the upper rim where the roots were coiling over.

The soil is largely in-tact, being mostly a dry gravel bonsai soil. I decided not to disturb the roots too much, and leave the root-ball mostly in-tact, because it will be going into a much larger pot. I expect the roots to expand out into all directions with the added space.

With one exception, I do a bit of pinching on the edges and the base, and tease the exterior roots to release their shape a bit.

The bottom screen in the pot had some thick roots bursting through it. Those have to be cut off of the root-ball completely.

For a future project, I can re-use the screen if I choose to plant a smaller tree into this pot.

End Results

The gallon sized pot should be heavy enough to prevent the tree from tipping over in most cases.

The black plastic pot is a bit deeper than I prefer, but this is a young tree in training. I like to encourage deeper roots on young trees, because they can stress more easily if the deepest roots freeze or dry out during the season extremes.

A couple of basalt rocks, I buried in the surface. And a pearly white rock I also added for decorate contrast.

The surface soil is all pumice for decoration. Underneath I think I added some organic compost and recycled bonsai soil (sometimes I forget what I put underneath, unless I photograph it).

Adjustments

A few days later, especially with tall trees recently transplanted, I often have to make adjustments.

Tall trees will shift and lean over after a while because the soil is loose, especially after watering it.

Dawn Redwood has a very flexible trunk and stretchy roots, so it will easily bend over if the roots have not yet securely taken hold in the soil.

So the solution I chose this time is to add a bamboo stake, and tie it to the tree, which is common in the Niwaki style (Japanese garden trees).

This will hold the tree upright, and allow it to still sway freely in the wind to build up trunk strength. A simple wire loop at the top is much less stress on the tree than adding more heavy wire coiled around the turgid trunk to hold it up.

Photos in this post are all #originalworks by @creativetruth, unless stated otherwise.

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