Nursery trees to bonsai pot

[maroun.c]

As most nursery material comes in bad soil and has to be moved to bonsai soil, what percentage of trees u get makes the transition?
Realize ratio would be lower or conifers which can be problematic with associated roots manipulation and pruning.
As its a 1-3 process to get deciduous/ conifers to Bonsai soil and looking at the estimated percentage of trees which dont Make the transition, do you still do basic design pruning and wiring before you re sure tree made it to bonsai soil or prefer to spare the effort and time to trees that have moved to bonsai soil and showed signs of growth?

 

[Shibui]

I think 99% should transition from nursery pot to bonsai mix. Much will depend on species and the skills of the operator but there is nothing inherently difficult about replacing one soil mix with another. Root pruning hard to fit the tree into a smaller pot is another ball game entirely and some losses can be expected depending how quickly you make the transition and the species.
With most trees I do some basic pruning at repotting to reduce the stress on a reduced root system but there seems to be a growing number of people who leave more on top to feed new roots so it seems both ways work. On some hardy trees I have done a full styling - prune, wire, bend at the time of root pruning. Best not to try to wire and bend after repotting as the tree is likely to move around and may break soft new roots.
Full styling is something else entirely and should usually be left until the tree has recovered and is growing well.

 

[sorce]

trees u get makes the transition?

I'm having a hard time understanding if you mean survives the transition...

Or the actual act of transition.

Sorce

 

[eryk2kartman]

If done carefully and at the right time, the survival ration should be 100%
Usually mine is, apart of couple of times i did it to late and tree died but that was entirely my fault.

 

[Adair M]

Look up “half bare root” or “HBR” on this site. It’s a way to transition conifers from bad soul to good soil.

Deciduous trees are easy: just bare root them.

You can bare root olives, too! Just do olives when they’re actively growing.

 

[rockm]

Bare root deciduous trees is the ONLY way to repot them from the ground or a nursery container. It would be for conifers too if they weren't sensitive to root disturbance. Clearing out all the nursery/ground soil and replacing it with free draining bonsai soil encourages roots. Pockets of old nursery/field soil kills roots in a container...and as Adair said Olive trees are extremely tough and can take drastic root reduction (at the right time).
Stole this pic from a tree moving site in California...

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The thing is, in my view at least, that nursery soil isn't all that bad. The nursery business is booming, and has been booming since it started. They're good at growing things, and they pick the right soils for that. Otherwise they wouldn't make any money.
I transition my plants when I need growth to slow down, or when nursery soil has degraded so much that there's a need for transitioning.
But for good and stable growth, some nursery soils are superior to bonsai soil. Bonsai soil works great in bonsai pots, there's nothing wrong with it (other than it being expensive) but I honestly can't believe a nursery would deliberately choose a bad soil.

I found the limits of what you can do with conifer roots by failing a few times. Maybe 1 in every 20 trees. Nowadays, three years later, my survival rate is 100%.
What really helped was taking notes and pictures with a date stamp.

Right now, I have roughly 50% of my trees in non-bonsai soil.

 

[leatherback]

Right now, I have roughly 50% of my trees in non-bonsai soil.

Blasphemy!

The nursery business is booming, and has been booming since it started.

But,, You are from the Netherlands. What do those dutchies know about growing plants

 

[maroun.c]

Problem in my case is nursery soil is bad and by the time I reach repotting season trees are already doing bad which affects my repoting survival I guess. This year I purchased trees starting few months back so theyare better than previous one and I will start repoting soon. My only problem is conifers that I can only change half the soil so it will be one more year before I mo

 

[Warpig]

My only problem is conifers that I can only change half the soil so it will be one more year before I mo

I am not understanding the problem. Explain what is stopping you from going forward with that plan.

 

[Shibui]

I have no problem with removing the majority of old soil from pines and junipers. I don't actually wash the roots, just shake and poke out as much as will come out easily. I have bare rooted many conifers like this with very good survival rates. Removing the soil does not seem to be a problem. Cutting lots of roots can be more traumatic for the trees.
How much I remove depends on what the soil I find is like. Some nurseries in the past have used garden soil in the pots. Works OK in deeper pots and when the nursery has adjusted watering and care to match but not so good when someone increases watering or changes care routine after purchase. Other nurseries use a finer potting mix to save watering and rely on selling the stock relatively quick. After that most will be planted into the garden so no problem but if they stay in a pot for years such mixes can cause problems and should be replaced at the first opportunity.
More nurseries over here use modern soilless potting mix which can be similar to many bonsai mixes. Replacing the soil in these plants is not so critical.
I have no idea where the nursery trade in Lebanon is up to. Maybe there is still some old fashioned operators potting into garden soil? You will just have to observe and try out different strategies.

 

[maroun.c]

I am not understanding the problem. Explain what is stopping you from going forward with that plan.

In the case of trees we get soil is so bad I had so many trees doe from root rot. This is the first year I'm doing a half bare root, my concern.is that the one half will still have to spend a year in bad soil and possibly be affected. Also selective watering (more on side with bonsai soil and less on side with nursery soil ) will be tricky I guess.