Any advice for new Dawn Redwood please?

[markal]

Hi There

New to the forums and new to trying to successfully keep Bonsai.
II bought this Dawn Redwood forest from a garden nursery a couple of weeks ago.
Today, i decided to try and look at the top of the tree, because there are several leaders from each trunk, so ive attempted to cut back so there is just one leader.

My worry is, when inspecting the soil and lifting the trees, as you can see the roots are very pot bound, there is also a white fungus/spider web looking stuff on the bottom. The soil does not seem of any decent quality, it is more like a potting compost as appose to a Bonsai soil.

I do have some decent soil from Kaizen Bonsai. My question is, would you repot now? ( I am in Gloucester in the UK)

I would really appreciate any advice, my wife brought me this as a gift and i really don't want to kill it.

Many thanks in advance,

Mark

 

[andrewiles]

Those look like larches, not dawn redwoods. It's too late to repot those this year. Better to wait until early next spring just as the buds begin to show some green.

The white mycorrhizae are good for the roots -- nothing to worry about.

 

[markal]

Thank you Andrew, really appreciate the advice. Larches?.....I did say I was a novice , back to the drawing board with my research then. I'm guessing Care wise and prunning may be similar to a Dawn Redwood?

Thanks again
Mark

 

[August44]

Look up Larch care to know how to manage them. They DO NOT like root work after bud out at all. Slip pot if needed to a bigger container if necessary.

 

[andrewiles]

Thank you Andrew, really appreciate the advice. Larches?.....I did say I was a novice , back to the drawing board with my research then. I'm guessing Care wise and prunning may be similar to a Dawn Redwood?

Thanks again
Mark

Like @August44 said there is ample online material that explains larch care -- much better than we can do here. Your first focus should be on keeping it alive and happy. So finding the right location in your yard and starting an appropriate watering routine. Other stuff, like pruning and styling, can wait.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to go back to the nursery and confirm what kind of larch this is, as the care can be slightly different. And at the same time check with them on how often they watered, if it was in full sun, etc. Until you get a handle on the species in your particular climate and yard, and bonsai care in general, the safest bet is to try to match how it has been cared for up to this point.