Need a little help
- Thread starter redox1856
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DayDrunk
Yamadori
If there is a hole in the bottom of the pot and your soil drains well I don’t see it drowning but I don’t do pines. I may be way off
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
That may have some potential. Hard to tell from just the one photo. You should put your location in your profile so people can give you good advice for where you live. What was this in previously and what did you do to the roots to get it in this pot? Also did you do anything else other than pot it? Did you do any pruning?
cheap_walmart_art
Omono
I have a few pines and several junipers in terra cotta bulb pots, not far from azalea pots and they do fine. I did drill extra holes into mine for wiring in but if yours has the center hole it should drain fine. I cant tell for sure but it looks like you are using a heavy potting style soil and that will retain too much water regardless of pot size or type. Also, put in your location and usda zone, what works for me may not for you.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Why did you start a new thread? i am sure I have seen this tree before.
As always.. Pines prefer dry conditions. The larger the pot, the harder for the tree to keep the rootball from swimming. Add a large component of organics to the mix and you have a risk situation on your hands. Then again.. It is a matter of putting it under a rain shelter and you are in charge of how wet the roots get.
But.. I think you up-potted this tree recently, it did not need a larger pot.
As always.. Pines prefer dry conditions. The larger the pot, the harder for the tree to keep the rootball from swimming. Add a large component of organics to the mix and you have a risk situation on your hands. Then again.. It is a matter of putting it under a rain shelter and you are in charge of how wet the roots get.
But.. I think you up-potted this tree recently, it did not need a larger pot.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
cheap_walmart_art
Omono
Read through that post and looks like he just lifted it from the nursery pot and put in terracotta with minimal work. Looks like it would have been fine to stay in the nursery pot until next year.
Brings me around to a question though. All things being equal, wont it dry out faster in terracotta than plastic? While a colander or pond basket might be the best choice, ive always read that soil tends to dry out faster in terracotta than plastic. The downside of terracotta being that it will break during winter time in colder climates.
AppleBonsai
Shohin
You are way off, yes.
AppleBonsai
Shohin
New thread on this? lol It will drown because you don't have an aeration layer, it's in heavy nursery soil (which if fine) but because it's now in a pot with likely one very small drainage hole that is likely blocked with the root base. This is why nursery containers are fine for nursery soil because they have lots of drainage holes. When you water it with a water wand for a few seconds at med-low pressure does the water pool on the top of the pot?
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Is that so?
What if it doesn't?
AppleBonsai
Shohin
Yes.
It will drown.
rollwithak
Chumono
If you're worried about drowning it, layer the bottom of your pot with some rock/lava rock, will help with draining. Pines will grow!
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Not if you keep screwing with the roots.
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
So every year nurseries toss out the trees from the previous season because they don't have a drainage layer and get new ones that are a year older but yet look exactly the same just a year older?
Who knew?
redox1856
Seedling
thank you for the advise. The tree just fit in this pot. i kept it the same size pot not to mess with the roots
redox1856
Seedling
i pruned it hard. i only scraped off the top inch to expose the base. i live in southern california.
Attachments
Bonsaidoorguy
Chumono
Mike Hennigan
Chumono
Aeration layer doesn’t improve drainage of water, it impedes it. But it does allow more air in from the bottom. The holes in nursery pots aren’t what make them work correctly, really, it’s the shape of the pot. A pot that is talller than it is wide will drain much better than a typical bonsai pot. The pot he has repotted in is taller than it is wide (just barely) so that is working in his favor. I guess the bigger question is why repot into such a pot? You may as well have just left it in the nursery pot, it’s not really accomplishing anything different. And keep in mind that terra cotta will start to dissolve/break apart with freeze thaw cycles because terra cotta is low fired highly porous pottery that absorbs water and then that water freezes in the walls of your pot. Similar to how I’ve breaks apart asphalt after a while.
Mike Hennigan
Chumono
Oh you’re in SoCal, ignore the freeze thaw thing. Terra cotta in my climate is a disaster waiting to happen.
