So this is a follow-up post from the one I did 10 months ago where I started a ground layer on an Acer Shishigashira.
Today it was time to remove the ground layer from the original rootball. The buds were starting to swell so the timing was right.
Here’s how the tree looked before I started working on it today:
Despite having the ground layer happening the tree grew pretty good this year.
As you can see the buds are starting to swell:
I removed both ofthe pots from the tree. Where I put the little pot for the layer, roots are clearly visible, so that’s a good sign đŸ™‚
(to be honest, I checked if roots actually emerged above the cut that I made before removing the pot just to be sure the whole thing worked)
Lots of roots in the little pot!
Cheap as I am I will re-use the ground layer pot for the next one I will do.
Time to get out the big toys now. I used some big pruning scissors to cut the ground layer from the original rootball .
After removing the sphagnum moss the new roots became visible. The root spread was pretty good, I removed a few that were in the way of others that were better placed.
The new roots seen from above and below:
Now it was time to put the tree in a container, I made sure the roots were spread out evenly and horizontally for a better nebari.
All that remained was to fill the rest of the pot with some soil and water it thouroughly.
The tree is now on it’s own roots and not grafted on the acer palmatum root stock anymore. It will remain in this container for 2 years so it can recover the 1st year and get some strong growth next year. After that maybe a wooden growbox for some years.
To be continued….
Shumi no Bonsai 