UnmovedMover
Seedling
Hey All!
This is my first thread here, although I've been a browser since I started the Bonsai interest about 6 months ago.
The Boxwood in need of help was originally purchased for cheap at a bog box store. It was extremely root bound so I teased and trimmed the roots to the best of my ability (first ever attempt). The pictures with more roots, leaves, branches, and vibrant green coloring are from that repot whi h was about 4.5 months ago.
The tree went into a air pruning pot, pictured below? In a soil mix of DE (kitty litter/napa floor dry), pumice, and lava rock. 1:1:1 mixture. It seemed to stabalize and after two months it seemed to be settling in nicely. My goal was fpr the tree to stay in this pot and grow like crazy for two years, boosting the trunk size and letting me practice styling on a tree with a strong root system. I have had some insect issues (mites in my evergreens) and fungus gnats around some soil of other tree. I didnt detect any with this tree, but it began to appear dry. In the more recent pictures I tried to show the overall colorig which ia brown and yellow compared to earlier in the Boxwood's life.
I have experimented with breaks in watering as well as increased watering as I believed this soil mix, combined with the extra air from the pot would make overwatering very difficult. I had used the recommended amount of fertilizer pellets spread in the top of the soil during the re-pot.
The tree has not responded well and I investigated today tp see if I could detect any issue with the roots. I felt like the soil was looser and perhaps had air pockets around the lower roots (directly under the tree) despite completely dunking the pot after the last re-pot to try and remove air pockets.
I thought I smelled a bit of rotten egg type odor when lifting the tree out today, but once it was out I couldnt replicate the issue.
I gave the roots a rinse and combed them woth a root pick again. I found some chunks of larger soil components, that I believe were from the original soil the tree came in.
I have purchased some pre mixed soils, which I plan to use as I repot this tree, tp remove the risk of user error preparing the soil.
I also have potting soil, perlite, and compost available. I have all sorts of pots and containers available as well.
I found a good amount of roots in the pot agter removing the tree tpday, so it seems perhaps the first re-pot was never successful, or these roots did grow a bit, then stopped.
The soil seemed tp have good moisture, especially around the center of the rootball, but at the edges of the container, it was much more dry.
Im uploading pictures of the roots as they currently are, wondering if anyone with more experience can suggest what thing(s) have gpne wrong?
I know this is not a gpod tome of the year for a re-pot? But the tree has been looking worse and worse each day, and I feared no action might be a death sentence for this lovely little thing.
I did trim back some of the initial growth thay occured when I first bought the plant, again, my firat attempt at starting to look at styling etc. It had grown significantly as it came alive this spring (original soil and container) but I tried to trim roots and branches in an even ratio.
I found two thick roots, pictured below? That were darkened and perhaps rotting? They looked like die back on an end of a branch. I trimmed these off.
Any help is greatly appreciated - I apologize for spelling issues - I'm posting on my phone as I work with the tree now, preparing for a repot, and hoping for a quick response for anyone that might have an idea or suggestion!
I'm not able to upload all the pictures I wanted to - I'll try and add them later!
This is my first thread here, although I've been a browser since I started the Bonsai interest about 6 months ago.
The Boxwood in need of help was originally purchased for cheap at a bog box store. It was extremely root bound so I teased and trimmed the roots to the best of my ability (first ever attempt). The pictures with more roots, leaves, branches, and vibrant green coloring are from that repot whi h was about 4.5 months ago.
The tree went into a air pruning pot, pictured below? In a soil mix of DE (kitty litter/napa floor dry), pumice, and lava rock. 1:1:1 mixture. It seemed to stabalize and after two months it seemed to be settling in nicely. My goal was fpr the tree to stay in this pot and grow like crazy for two years, boosting the trunk size and letting me practice styling on a tree with a strong root system. I have had some insect issues (mites in my evergreens) and fungus gnats around some soil of other tree. I didnt detect any with this tree, but it began to appear dry. In the more recent pictures I tried to show the overall colorig which ia brown and yellow compared to earlier in the Boxwood's life.
I have experimented with breaks in watering as well as increased watering as I believed this soil mix, combined with the extra air from the pot would make overwatering very difficult. I had used the recommended amount of fertilizer pellets spread in the top of the soil during the re-pot.
The tree has not responded well and I investigated today tp see if I could detect any issue with the roots. I felt like the soil was looser and perhaps had air pockets around the lower roots (directly under the tree) despite completely dunking the pot after the last re-pot to try and remove air pockets.
I thought I smelled a bit of rotten egg type odor when lifting the tree out today, but once it was out I couldnt replicate the issue.
I gave the roots a rinse and combed them woth a root pick again. I found some chunks of larger soil components, that I believe were from the original soil the tree came in.
I have purchased some pre mixed soils, which I plan to use as I repot this tree, tp remove the risk of user error preparing the soil.
I also have potting soil, perlite, and compost available. I have all sorts of pots and containers available as well.
I found a good amount of roots in the pot agter removing the tree tpday, so it seems perhaps the first re-pot was never successful, or these roots did grow a bit, then stopped.
The soil seemed tp have good moisture, especially around the center of the rootball, but at the edges of the container, it was much more dry.
Im uploading pictures of the roots as they currently are, wondering if anyone with more experience can suggest what thing(s) have gpne wrong?
I know this is not a gpod tome of the year for a re-pot? But the tree has been looking worse and worse each day, and I feared no action might be a death sentence for this lovely little thing.
I did trim back some of the initial growth thay occured when I first bought the plant, again, my firat attempt at starting to look at styling etc. It had grown significantly as it came alive this spring (original soil and container) but I tried to trim roots and branches in an even ratio.
I found two thick roots, pictured below? That were darkened and perhaps rotting? They looked like die back on an end of a branch. I trimmed these off.
Any help is greatly appreciated - I apologize for spelling issues - I'm posting on my phone as I work with the tree now, preparing for a repot, and hoping for a quick response for anyone that might have an idea or suggestion!
I'm not able to upload all the pictures I wanted to - I'll try and add them later!
Hoping for the best, and always happy to employ best/better practices for my trees!
