Mike423

I have heard from a few sources that soaking a trees root ball in a liquid supplement mixture when repotting for a period of time can be beneficial in giving the tree a boost/reduce the 'down time' in the tree from the initial shock after repotting. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with doing this or something similar, and if so with what type of bonsai (tropical, deciduous), with what sort of supplements (superthrive, seaweed extract, rooting hormone, etc..) and with what results.

On a similar note I always wondered if it was wise to fertilize a tree in the few days prior to repotting? Has anyone done any testing on this or know the effects?

-Mike

JLDoggett

I often soak a tree before (like an hour) before I remove it from its pot for repotting. This I find loosens the siol for easier combng of the roots and to replacing the soil easier. It also means the roots will not dry out if it takes me a while to do the root trimming. I use plain water.

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Salvelinus

I will soak my trees after repotting for 15-20 minutes in order to ensure the whole soil volume is saturated. I then don't have to worry about dry areas in the mix. I have used Superthrive and ThriveAlive (B1 solution) as well as plain water and have noticed no significant difference between them, though I admit I've never been very scientific about it.

When you repot, you are destroying all the root hairs which are responsible for uptake of water and nutreints from the soil. This means the tree is unable to replenish water that has evaporated/transpired from the leaves until new root hairs grow. When you cut back the roots, the wounds must heal as well. Therefore, the tree is more vulnerable during this period to root rot, which is why you have to pay even more particular attention to soil moisture during this time.

I have heard that Vitamin B1 acts as a fungicide in the soil, which reduces populations of fungus that can contribute to root rot. For this same reason, some people avoid B1 after repotting pines in order to preserve the beneficial mycorrhyzal fungus needed by the plant. So, for me, I feel it is not necessary and can be potentially harmful during a normal repot, so I usually don't use it. I do, however, use it if I repot a sick tree or one that has not flourished over the past season.

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Namaste,

--Scott ><>

"There seems to be no survivors to interview, but I suspect [kamikaze pilots] did not shout 'traytree' the moment before their personal sacrifice." --Herb Gustafson

Salvelinus

Regarding fertilizing before a repot, I tend to think it is a waste if you use slow-release fertilizers. If you have been keeping up with regular fertilizing, you should not need to give more just before repotting, especially considering most trees will be dormant at this time, anyway.

__________________
Namaste,

--Scott ><>

"There seems to be no survivors to interview, but I suspect [kamikaze pilots] did not shout 'traytree' the moment before their personal sacrifice." --Herb Gustafson

artyanimal

With tropicals, I simply water after repotting and have never bothered soaking. I do mix a "tea" from the beneficial fungi spores already mentioned and use that the following day. I do pot/repot many, many trees day in and day out and honestly can not remember the last time I actually lost one over seveal years of using this type of root enhancement.

I use the same method on deciduous trees and believe it makes a difference as well. Admittedly though, I do not have the same amount of experience (at all) with these to back it up regarding their recovery time. In the end, the proven ability of the fungus to break down organic material thereby making it more readily available to the roots simply makes sense to me.

Cheers,

Arty

centaura

At the Chicago Botanic Garden all trees are soaked in a mix of KLN and mycorrhizae (he really likes the brand Great Shark? Or white shark? Something shark.....) after being repotted. I add a product called Rooters Mycorrhizae to my pots as I'm repotting, since more than just pines benefit from mycorrhizae, and then soak them for a bit in water with a bit of liquid rooting hormone and superthrive.

-Centaura