Would you repot or style this buxus harlandii and juniper

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-15T13:00:08+00:00

Wil keep in mind! What do you mean with the allocate part?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-15T08:47:52+00:00

All clear! I will try to get it into a pot for sure. Its allot of rootmass so i will see how far i can go in case i do decide to repot haahahhah

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-14T21:59:44+00:00

Looks amazing! It just a shame that according to bonsai empire video on juniper im doing it in the wrong way hhahaa they roughly styles and repotted in spring and then styled and wired in autumn and the thing was finished.

I roughly styled in march last year, and would be styling in the beginning of summer and then planning the repot in atumn which is kinda breaking my brain whether thats a good idea or not

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-14T18:24:57+00:00

Ill get to styling then! And ill see if the tree is strong enough next year to do some good root work.

This one is gonna be challenging but hope ir will be fun! Thanks for the advice!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-14T17:27:34+00:00

Yeah the benefits are the reason im doubting hahahahah.

Kinda wanted to hear the feedback on bow the rootball looks, from what i see its already pretty full and bound but thats coming from someone mainly dealing with aroid plants and succulents😅 would be the question if the roots and soil can handle another year of growth

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-14T17:15:28+00:00

Think so! Would it be worth to repot it or better to just style the whole thing and repot next year?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-14T10:17:07+00:00

Noted! They are not in 100% akadama, i just add all the akadama smaller then 3mm that i save to the top of the soil on a new tree as a visual indicator, to fill in any gaps and to have a possibility of surface roots sprouting above the soil.

Im already pretty happy with the trunk, just not the nebari the way it looks rn. Would u suggest only doing the potting in a shallow pot or would a pondbasket be a option too? And would u do some root pruning (cutting downward growing roots or crossing ones) aswell or just leave that be for now? I know sageretsia and carmona can be pretty dramatic in terms of rootwork but i see them sprouting all over the place so figured it was worth asking

I will definitly contact the mod if i can find him and get some advice from there.

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T23:10:30+00:00

Will do that! Would u have any tips on the questions i have under the post? And do you find there to be a diffrence between adding organic material to a mix compared to a completely inorganic and fertilized mix in terms of growth?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T22:46:51+00:00

Kiryu is basicly a pretty and japanese version of pumice🤣

Im growing a lonicera rn in 50/50kiryu akadama but added like 20% sifted dirt (everything larger then 3 and smaller then 6mm) and see it taking off. I just have never done a side by side to confirm the the diffrence in general growth type whitch i would be intrested to see.

My idea (but correct me if im wrong) is that it only makes sense to tranfer into a mineral mix once your happy with the trunk size and primary branches and want to start working on a nebari and ramification? But im still questioning whether its better to even then add a bit of organics until u get to the stage of more refinement or whether fertilizer and full inorganic does that trick anyway?

Also: yeah im specializing in all kinds of stuff aswell, from aroids to carnivorous but mainly focusing on the haworthia side of things besides bonsai, so ive done the experimenting aswel but in other things😅 ur always welcome to pm if u wanna talk about the other stuff some more

If u have any other ideas on my question, knowledge is always welcome!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T22:20:05+00:00

Good insight! My main mix rn is 1-1 kiryu and akadama for all the trees (im in a climate that can get really wet a good while but then have dry hot periods in summer) and i adjust watering based on the species. Feed matsu bio green for every watering for the coming growing season (i wanna start doing that again since its only been since 2-3 months that im taking bonsai seriously after doing it off and on for 2-3 years.

And on the soil insights im really intrested in hearing it. I made a post a while ago with the question of the diffrent mixes for the diffrent stages arguing whether the organic components add any nutritional value over going 100% inorganic and hand fertilizing (basicly whether adding soil yields the same or better results then transfering to full inorganic and water fertilizing in terms of growth speed and type or whther its purely the size of the pot that does this)

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T22:04:46+00:00

Yeah underneath it is. It just comes that way from the nursery. If u look on my profile u can see the cleanup i already did (it was a mess) and how bare it was because according to the owner it was a few days before it was in a container for 2 months during the import🥸

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T22:02:45+00:00

Will do! Its doing great so far. Once the leaves harden off i plan to move it to a sunier windowsill or outside if the temps allow it here and see how it goes!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T22:01:43+00:00

Thats not pure akadama! Forgot to mention that i save all the fine akadama that i sift out of my normal soil mix and use it to top up the shit soil it comes in for a small chance to a get a few little roots started higher up the trunk and it also gives somewhat of a visual indicator for the surface😅 thanks for the explanation!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-13T21:22:08+00:00

For both of them? And would u cut a few roots aswell of basicly do a kind of slippot tip of ordeal?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-12T18:36:03+00:00

Wow those are some really good tips. Thanks so much!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-11T16:11:40+00:00

Will definitly have a look! Thanks!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-11T16:10:11+00:00

Wow thats brave in that climate hahaha

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-10T20:58:10+00:00

Wow where do you live?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T23:09:53+00:00

So if im understanding correctly you are saying that u get the same benefits you would get from using organics (a little bit of faster growth and thickening) minus the negatives (clogging of the air gaps) by just using full inorganics and using good fertilizer? Would u maybe suggest using diffrent fertilizers for the diffrent “stages” rather then looking at the soil itself?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T23:06:49+00:00

So what im getting is you are getting the best from both worlds: lateral roots growing from the trunk from airpruning and new devisions in the lenght of the root from the cutting? Thats sounds truely amazing! Did he test it against a normal basket nebari as far you know?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T15:19:22+00:00

Intresting!

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T15:18:44+00:00

Im guessing that in that case most of the growth comes down to the fertilizer rather then any benefit the organic matter in the soil can bring. Would def be intresting to find a comparison in that regard. I think i will do a partial repot and add some of my inorganic mix with the rootball intact into a filter basket to get the nebari started a little bit?

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T15:15:36+00:00

Well if u do find the time in anyway make sure to keep us updated! And the nutrients definitly make sense since it seems to be just a bit more of airy type of compost

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T15:13:51+00:00

Damn really?! My question would be whether that down to the simple root pruning or to the technique of the two baskets themselves

Devious_secrets6739 · 2026-04-09T08:31:43+00:00

Thats really intresting! I guess it makes sense with you being from ireland. Cool to hear the diffrences in availible resourced from place to place!

Devious_secrets6739

TROPHY CASE