JBP 6yr Contest - What to do with the roots?

[JeffS73]

So repotting time is almost here and I need a bit of a plan for the roots.

I've got radial or mostly radial roots. I could develop exposed root or root over rock, I've got a pretty good idea how to do with that.

But what if I want a more traditional, radial nebari? I spy on Mark Comstocks FB page every now and again for tips - he had a couple of posts up lately that show pruning the roots pretty hard. It looks like he's pruned back to smaller roots, and sometimes removed big roots. Is this to get root ramification in early? How does it relate to root development later on?

What do folks think, has anyone got comparative results or experience to share? What happens if I leave them all or don't trim them? At the moment, all I do is spread them out, remove crossing ones etc. I'm kinda concerned not to remove a lot in case I slow them down / kill them. Is the tree storing energy in the roots over Winter?

Here are some examples of my '18 and '20 seedlings. Any suggestions, ideas or examples welcome!

 

[ysrgrathe]

I trimmed mine to encourage lateral growth. You can see an example here:

ysrgrathe's contest entry thread

They all look huge and healthy... Great head start after one year. Thanks for the info.

www.bonsainut.com

This may slow them a smidge but it won't hurt them. This is what the root mass will look like in a year if you clean it up during repotting:

ysrgrathe's contest entry thread

They all look huge and healthy... Great head start after one year. Thanks for the info.

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Fonz]

Maybe keep this in your original thread, less confusing

 

[ysrgrathe]

Maybe keep this in your original thread, less confusing

?

 

[Fonz]

?

Jeff started 2 threads

 

[JeffS73]

Fonz is right, I did! I kinda figured my question about roots was generic to JBP, so it seemed a bit tucked away in my own thread, and forum rules say other threads can be created to ask for advice. I don't mind if bnut wants to move / delete.

I'll try some experiments this Spring, though further early root experience still v welcome

 

[James W.]

Fonz is right, I did! I kinda figured my question about roots was generic to JBP, so it seemed a bit tucked away in my own thread, and forum rules say other threads can be created to ask for advice. I don't mind if bnut wants to move / delete.

I'll try some experiments this Spring, though further early root experience still v welcome

This was a good question a lot of us want answered, might have missed it buried in your contest thread.
Thank you