So the repotting is done. The tree looks amazing in
its new pot, before it was in a ugly shiny black lotus
pot i hated. Sara Raynor made a amazing lava black
custom glazed oval for the tree. The repotting went
OK. The root system was very strange. The roots were
healthy and white i only found one semi exposed
rotting root which i cut off completely. The sides
were not too root bound which i was suprised by since
it actually hadn't been repotted for 4 years. The
bottom of the pot was lined with roots not as wound
around as are most root bound plants but totally
covering the bottom of the pot so that no soil was
visible. As i gently loosened them with a chopstick
they started immediately breaking off. I lost most
all of the bottom roots. Underneath them was a inch
thick layer of soil which left me a nice open cavity
after removing that soil underneath the tree there
were almost no roots in this soil area...... I was
able to keep most all of the white side feeder roots.
I didn't actually trim any roots on the tree since i
lost so many on the bottom. What i found strange was
that the roots did not grow down through the soil.
Rather they grew around the soil ball on the sides and
onto the bottom. I also thought it was very strange
that the bottom roots were sooooo fragile they fell
off when i tried to gently loosen them like a lizards
tail would if it was caught. Usually i loose a few
but overall i proabably lost about 40-60 percent of
the roots during the repotting. After the repotting i
cut off about 40 percent of the foilage. The pot is
larger by about 1-2 inches in diameter and slightly
deeper then the old pot. Yesterday while repotting i
noticed the leaves had become very very thin very
quickly. The repotting took about 1 hour from start 2
finish. That included 2... 20 minute root soak's. I
soaked it in thrive as i always do before repotting.
Then after repotting i soaked it in one of the "roots
2" products. I have it in a very shady location which
may get a tiny bit of dappled direct sun but will be
mostly indirect reflected shaded light. The leaves
were thick and felt good to me this morning unlike
during the repotting. I wired it in securely and put
a few balancing wires anchored to my stand while the
roots take. "crossing my fingers still" For the new
soil mix i ended up doing about 40 percent "akadama
various sizes, and red lava rock" 40 percent "pine
bark, oak leaf mold, spagnum moss, and garden soil",
and about 20 percent gravel. Its denser then my usual
mix however is still very open. Compared to its old
muddy mix it's a million times better. I will post
pics in the gallery once it has started growing again.
For those of you who have repotted bourganvillea's
before how long do you usually wait with them to move
them back to full sun. Do you wait till you see new
growth or longer. And how long do you usually wait
before applying fertilizer.
As far as treating the wood i did not do that yet. I
have heard that lime sulfer and other wood hardeners
work best when applied on a hot sunny day. Since i
have it in full shade now i thought it better to wait.
There were 2 spots on the hollowed out trunk which
seem a bit rotten to me. However im worried abou
applying lime sulfer or git rot to it since the live
vein runs underneath the aged somewhat rotten bark.
What do you all think would be the least dangerous
method of preserving this wood.
Thanks for all your suggestions
Ben
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