REPOTTING MY OLD MUGO UNCINATA.

Note: You can find an earlier post from 2007 on this tree HERE.

Hi, everybody,

here is the short version of the repotting story of my Mugo uncinata.

Above:  The tree had no roots what so ever to hold it up when I planted it in this plastic container, but luckily it had on bought sides two thick deadwood roots sticking out that I could use to secure it tightly to the rim of the pot! The one on the left side was removed a couple of years ago, leaving only the one on the right to hold the tree in place. Because a lot of roots were even showing through the soil surface, I took a chance to cut the one on the right and repot the tree into the Tokoname pot that, until a few hours ago,  the “SWAN” used as a home.

             

            Above: Cutting the roots free from the side of the pot.

            

Above: Lifting the tree to one side to free it from the pot. Look at my anxious face! 🙂 

I could not believe my luck! Look at a number of new roots the tree had managed to produce out off noting!

Above: Close up of the only old root that this tree had when I repotted it the first time, all the others had been cut and sawed off by the ….. that collected it!

  Above: Close up of the cutoff remains of the one and only root this tree had when I repotted it the first time! It is so amazing that this tree survived and is doing so well!

            

  Above: Look how nice all these new roots have grown around that supporting block of wood in the middle.

             

 Above: Lifting it up to put it into its new pot had to be don really carefully. All these roots you see here are really young and thin, and there was a serious change that they could break off when they were not enough supported by me!

Above: I find it still amazing how many roots this old survivor has produced from nothing!

Above: This is how the tree produced all these new roots, they grow out of the bark that was covered under the soil line, amazing isn’t it?!

               

              Above: Working the soil in between the roots with a chopstick.

          Above: Still working the soil in between the roots with a chopstick.

 

              

              Above: Happy happy happy, happy happy happy! 🙂

Above: Because the planting angle is changed so much, I had to reposition one of the main branches. I used a wood clamp to bring the thick branch into place, then I secured it with a wire to another thick branch to hold it in place.

              

Above: I am really pleased with how the tree looks for now. From now on it will only receive a lot of T.L.C!

Next year I will start working on the foliage and at the end of that same year I will start working on the deadwood and rewire the tree.

The longer version of this story will be posted soon on my Karamotto Bonsai site!

 It is a real honour to work on such a miracle of mother nature, it makes me realise how lucky I am!

Hope you like this amazing tree just as much as I do?!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com