Repotting Bonsai Day

  Today was BYOT day, bring your bonsai that needs work and you have questions.  4 weeks ago my Turks cap had been styled, but it was before "spring" had really settled in here and we still had below 40 degree temps at night.
   Well, we don't have low temps, the Turks Cap was recovering from styling and desperately needed to be repotted as it was root bound.  That means that the plant had been in the pot too long and the roots were circling round and round inside, (They also were growing out of the bottom).   
   There is a process to repotting... the plant is pulled from the pot and the old material it was potted in is washed out.  At the same time, care has to be taken not to tear the tender little root hairs that are growing out for health  and future growth.  Then, very carefully, the roots are combed free, untangled.
   The next step is to wire a plastic screen  to cover the drainage holes. A securing wire is run through the bottom.  
   Now we look at the roots, determine whether the thick under roots have enough of the fine haired roots to support the tree.  We always look carefully to see where they are coming from on the trunk, not to injure them and spread them out 90 degrees from the trunk to make "nabari", or the look of the roots on a full grown, 40 some odd foot tree, for stability and nourishment. It is all part of making a huge oak or maple, or whatever, look like a miniature tree.
  The stabilizing wires are pulled around the trunk and roots,  Slowly, with careful twisting the wire tightens to support the tree (sometimes tubing is placed over the roots if there is danger of the wire cutting into the roots).
   Now, comes the bonsai soil.  It is all very small stone, 1/4 to 1/3" in diameter.  With a chopstick, all of the stones have to be packed around the roots.  All air has to be removed so that no bacteria will grow, or, the roots don't dry out.  The packing takes a bit of time.
   The finished product is what you see in my photo.  It's not meant to be pretty, but a trainer, to aid the tree's development and continue the styling.  It sounds like a lot, and yes, it is.  It becomes a labor of love every day as you work these plants and watch them grow into something of the vision you had, and what the plant brings to the process.  It is more than a hobby, it is a passion, you love to do, or in the least, something you learn to appreciate for what goes into them.  I have seen bonsai that are 75 years old at the nursery.  
   So, if I don't have a camera in my hand, my girls aren't asking to play, a desire to ride my bike, or the itch to get out and hike, I find time to labor over my trees.  They are very special.