Mike423

I have a Brazilian Rain tree I acquired last summer and just repotted it to get an idea of the root system/health. When I got a look at the root system I was unsure if I was amused by the unusual look of the root ball and or how I wanted to work on it. I have to admit even though I have worked with similarly entangled rootballs this one for some reason seems to have me stumped. Fist off I was surprised on how small the root mass was to begin with (4th picture) compared to the trees size and therefore was reluctant to do any actual root pruning. It seems like two or three of the thickened main roots are encircling the bottom of the rootball as shown in the pictures I attached. Like I said before I am unsure if this would be a neat attraction to the nebari I can work on in the future or if It may hinder the root system (seeing as they are all entangled) and should be removed.

Upon closer inspection of the rootball I noticed that the root hairs have little bulbous balls. The first thing that came to mind when I saw this was nematodes (picture 3). I am wondering now how damaging this can/will be to the tree and how I should go about treating it.

Even more troublesome was the fact that I didn't have a pot with an appropriate depth so I ended up having to mound it on the deepest one on hand that was adequate in size. I guess I made the classic mistake of not checking to making sure I had a pot deeper in case of a situation like this.

Any input as far as the root situation as well as the possible nematode infestation would be appreciated. Thanks

-Mike

Attached Images

	Picture 005.jpg (102.6 KB, 30 views)
	Picture 006.jpg (102.3 KB, 24 views)
	Picture 012.jpg (98.4 KB, 27 views)
	Picture 016.jpg (97.9 KB, 28 views)
	Picture 001.jpg (93.0 KB, 33 views)

treebeard55

Mike, after seeing your post on B-Nut I checked for myself to see if Brazilian raintree is a legume. It is. I think I can see a few of the "bulbous balls" you refer to in your 3d picture, and they look like the nodules on the roots of some other legumes, like clover.

Those nodules are home to the bacteria which fix atmospheric nitrogen in a compound that plants can use for their nitrogen needs. Very beneficial -- you don't want to take them off!

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

artyanimal

Mike, how long since you last repotted? If I had to guess, I would say not very long as I too am suprised at the lack of roots.

Not to be to contrary guys, but I'd have to say if the tree were mine, I would continue to let the hair roots grow until they are about triple thier current mass before I attempted to prune out any of the larger unwanted ones (probably next season). If you remove even more roots now I think you would probably have to reduce the foliage to a corresponding amount or it may just die off anyway. Either case would cause an unnecessary wait before normal vigorous growth returns. Plainly, less roots and foliage will result in slower growth in any tree. In other words, as you already know, its always best to work on healthy strong plants as they resume production much more quickly. The current root ball does not suggest to me that this tree has yet (entirely) reached this "workable" point.

Cheers,

Arty

octoberust

I am new here, but I would agree that more root mass would be needed. Looking at your first picture I would imagine removing the large entangled roots would remove a hole lot of the root mass. Maybe it would be possible to shorten one or two of the entangled root per repot. It would be several seasons until the job was complete, but using the tourniquet method would be the only other thing I can think of to resolve the problem. I have a somewhat similar issue with a brazilian rain tree, and I am wrestling with what to do. I hope I have not over stepped my bounds as a new-be on this forum, but I have to say I am ecstatic to see this thread on my first visit!

treebeard55

Welcome, octoberust. BTW, we'll shorten that username, somehow, since most of us are Yanks or Aussies. If you prefer a particular shortening, you might want to use it as a signature.

Let's see now, bounds for newbies, bounds for newbies ... there was a memo around here somewhere, where did I put that ...?

I'm teasing, and I'm sure you know that. My point is that there really are none, beyond refraining from personal attacks or put-downs and staying sort of on topic. But those apply to everyone, of course. All of us were newbies at one time or another, and I trust none of us have forgotten!

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

philgrayser

Hi Mike nice tree, if the tree were mine i would wire down the bottom branch on the right and the one above it and shape them to about the same angle as the branch thats on the left as it has a nicer horizontal line. cheers Phil G

Mike423

Already on it Phil. I have a tie down on the lower branch now, and once I got that taken care of I'm going to do the same for the one above it.

philgrayser

Great minds think alike eh hehe!!