Linden #1 repotted finally

This linden had not been repotted since more than 15 years. While some will think that this is reckless, it is not uncommon with professionals. I only repot when it is really necessary. So now it was necessary - sort of. Together with Andy we took off all the wire, edited the tree a little and I had to cut it out of the pot with a reciprocating saw. Inside we saw that this tree had a lot of roots, but that it could have stayed in that pot for another ten years. Well we put it into the same pot again, just slightly higher to expose the nebari better. and we used pure pumice from IBUKI. Nothing added to it, since this is a very large tree in a very large pot. It will keep moist enough even on really hot days. And the pumice, when dry is so light I can now again carry the tree alone if I have to. Then we added top soil as the pumice is not so beautiful and will swim away at watering time.

Repotting of the big maple

Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, about 70 years old, modern substrate(baked loam, like turface, pumice, rough peat 20 %), August 21, at the  moment hottest August in history, temperatures in the high eighties to low nineties almost every day, lost no rainfall in weeks, - NOT A PROBLEM! -perfect time in my area, climate zone 6b, south of Munich Germany, similar to south-eastern Pennsylvania, southern New England, Full foliage - do NOT take off foliage, 50 % of root ball cut off. After-care, half shade, watering every day, sometimes twice, when very hot and dry, water the WHOLE tree, foliage dripping wet. feeding with chemical strong fertilizer immediately.

Doubts? I could have easily waited until mid-September or even mid April next year. No problem. I chose now because this is the best for the tree.

I will show the tree in two months with full fall colour again.

Japanese maple #23

This maple found a new home over the weekend. It experienced a great jump in quality in only15 months, which is almost two vegetation periods. If you look at the last image and compare it to the first ones you can see that it was nice, promising, but not yet exiting. Only 15 moths later the nebari seems to be twice as strong and is quite impressive now. The new pot, of course also helped a lot. The improvement is the result of very aggressive watering and feeding and hedge cutting. The tree could grow way more than it would have with most bonsaiists. After cutting beck there came endless new shoots which I let grow again very far out only to cut them back ruthlessly like a hedge again. This is insofar remarkable as the tree is in refinement stage and the methods do not sound like refinement and certainly not what is generally being taught.. Let the result speak for itself. The maple is planted in baked loam mixed with some pumice and about 25 % rough peat.Since I could do what I saw as challenge in a very short time I could let loose of the tree to get some money to purchase a new challenge.