Hi everyone nigel saunders here well we did get our snow last night we got a light dusting over everything it’s beginning to melt now i’m going to check the surface of the soil and just see if it’s frozen or not well it’s kind of frozen on top but not all the way through the soil it could be repotted today but uh i don’t know maybe later today if it warms up you can see my maple group here this got a lot of snow on it buds are still looking good we’ve got some cold weather coming up so i may have to put some of my more tender trees like this osage orange forest back into the greenhouse for the one night because we’re getting down to minus six degrees celsius which is pretty cool and i can always put the little heater on in the in the greenhouse here and that’ll uh keep them warm for that night and after that it looks like it’s going to warm up again april’s one of those months that it’s quite typical to get snow in april you get a week of good weather then a week of snow and it’s one of those transitional months then it’s not till may that it really starts warming up and gets above freezing so yeah the last frost date here is usually around going towards the third week in may is usually the last time we get frost but we’ve had it frost in june even still so you you really have to watch the weather my soil bin’s in the greenhouse here and it’s not frozen so it stayed pretty warm in the greenhouse here overnight i think what i’ll do is i’ll bring the cedar clump into the greenhouse here i can turn the heat on in the greenhouse and it should be fairly pleasant in here and i can repot it on the bench here and i’ll keep it in the greenhouse until it begins to recover i’ve got my workbench cleared off here so i’ll bring in the trees now all right there’s the cedar clump brought in yeah it’s quite frozen the surface of the soil so hopefully in the greenhouse here it’ll thaw and i can get it repotted today i still have a few more cedars to separate from this elm here there’s three of them in here the trees are warming up so i’ll come back in maybe an hour and see how they’re doing maybe the soil will be thawed by then and i can start the repotting it looks like the sun is coming out today so that’ll help warm things up i’m back outside it’s definitely warmer here in the greenhouse it actually feels quite comfortable so i’m going to everything’s thawed out yeah still cold on the surface of the soil but it’s thawed it’s above freezing now so i’ve got two three remaining trees to get out of this pot so i’ll do that next this pot has an elm tree growing in it and this elm tree was just growing in the backyard and i saw this little seedling and put it in a pot so i’m going to get it out of this pot looks good it’s not too root bound just right i think a few weeds here i can pull out and it’s still a little frozen this root ball i place the little heater here beside the frozen pot and that’ll help warm it up a little quicker there’s not much heat comes out of here it’s just like a gentle breeze maybe i’ll put it a little further away about there yeah that should heat it up nicely i did some weeding to my bone size outside while i was waiting for this to thaw out so let’s give it a try now much better well i managed to get the smaller one out fairly good root system on it so that can go in the water just getting some of the finer roots out there’s this one tap root so i’m going to have to pull it there it goes okay that one’s out too that’s got a fairly good root system too i might have to remove that one root that sticks up really high here but all right so that is all my trees ready for planting all right i’m going to get the tree out of the pot now so i’ll just lift it up it comes out pretty easily let’s have a look at the roots wow there’s quite a mat on the bottom if you can see that just a thick mat on the bottom so that’s probably what’s been pushing it up out of the pot so i will begin raking the root system out now so here i go i’m going to lose all this nice moss but now i guess i can save it [Music] i’ll save as much as i can okay so i’ll begin raking now starting from the base of the tree raking outwards in a radial pattern i think this is the third repotting of this tree i believe i’d have to go back and check the playlist i have a playlist for this tree so you can see it right from you know a collected tree in a training pot to its present state and i was looking back at the old video and i mean it’s the basic structure hasn’t changed a whole lot on the tree but it’s certainly getting more refined both the root system and the top of the tree and this was collected on one of our club collection trips and the trees have to be collected because they cut them down for the pathways in the forest and they cut them down and then all these little seedlings grow in the light and they end up you know they let them grow for a bit and then they cut them all down again so these are trees that are collected from areas that they would get removed anyway so i don’t feel guilty about collecting them and they’re not all that old these trees these trees would probably be this one is probably maybe 10 years old they grow quite quickly in in the forest there maybe a little older maybe 15 years old but it’s not that old they get this flaky bark on them quite quickly in one of my videos i removed all the flaky bark took it right back to smooth bark and it just grows in the next year again the flaky bark and you can see because this tree was outside there’s no white root tips so the roots aren’t active on this tree yet so that’s good it’s a good time to repot it when it’s inactive like this it is warming up enough that i think i can go outside and do this no point filming indoors in here well here we are outside don’t mind the bit of snow there let’s just pretend it’s nice and warm outside and keep working on the tree so you can see i’m cleaning out a lot of roots but i’m keeping the ones i want the radial roots so cleaning out all these fine roots does a couple of things it allows the water to get into the root base more so it’s not you know a massive roots and the other thing it it cleans out the old roots and then it has space for the new roots to grow in all the new fine roots so it’s kind of like um you know reducing your root base but keeping all the roots you want and then creating space for the new roots to grow in you can also see how far the roots have spread from the tree right to the edge of the pot here so i need to reduce this back to plant all the new trees around it for this tree to have a really powerful base to it i will need to get these roots all sorted out nice and radial to get that nice buttress trunk that the cedars are famous for so not only do we have to pretend it’s warm out here but pretend my hands are keeping nice and warm too i keep washing them in the ice water over there which has a layer of ice on top so it’s it’s quite cool to wash your hands in ice water however i think they’ll warm up there’s a phenomena that that your hands when they’re in ice water they i don’t know the body reacts by pumping lots of blood to your hands and that works really well because i’ve done it many times and your hands suddenly get really warm and they stay warm even though you’re got them dipped in ice water so you can see all the radial roots that i’m keeping and any crossing roots in that get ripped out by the root break so it just leaves the nice radial roots intact and that’s what i want you can see this section i can run the comb right through the roots without any more tearing so that’s how i want the whole root base so it just combs out like hair i guess you might ask like doesn’t the tree need all these roots why am i removing so many roots and how can the tree survive well i reduced the top of the tree quite severely when i pruned it so i’m kind of reducing the root base with the top of the tree in equal proportions so taking a lot off the top and a lot off the bottom if i hadn’t taken a lot off the top then you have to be more careful about removing so many roots on the bottom because it may not be able to support the canopy of the tree and you might get a lot of die back up top so you kind of gotta keep your roots in proportion to the top of the tree that’s why quite often repotting and pruning is done at the same time because you’re reducing the top and the bottom of the tree in proportion okay i think i can flip the tree over now and start working on the bottom i’ll just wash my hands in the ice water again all right let’s start on the bottom there’s some drainage screws in there they’re kind of falling apart and i’ll comb out these roots again starting in the middle and combing outwards in a radial pattern definitely down to the wood here now okay i’m going to give the root base a wash now all right here it goes in the water and it’s all one tree it’s uh they’re not you know separate trees fused together which is interesting to have kind of a natural clump style okay i think that’s good i think we’ve got them washed enough that we can see what’s going on and sort them out and prune the roots so let’s head back to the bench now all right here’s a look at the root base my first task i’m going to get rid of these dead roots that are up here and just keep you know the live roots down lower i’m going to come in with my branch cutters and come in kind of about here like that that’s much better i’ll take this off here i’m going to remove this one too that now there’s not much of this in this area for roots which is too bad however i will try and encourage something to grow i’m wondering if this one should be removed it’s kind of high up and the problem with it is it’s not that radial it should be coming out this direction and it’s kind of over here so i’m going to take that off there’s lots of fine roots below like that dead one there too yeah this part of the root system is really nice now there’s there’s a root from this trunk that kind of crosses over that nice root there i’m going to take that off because i really like this root that flows down from the trunk into the ground there so this one’s going to come off like that and that shows that root flare much much nicer and there’s one here too it looks like it’s a dead root that needs to be removed so you can see the trunk flare better there so let’s see if i can remove it with the little scissors here i’m not sure but there it goes and i’ll pull it apart here try pulling it from this side there we go okay there it goes got 90 of it out so that’s better too looking at the back here i’m wondering if these roots are too high they are kind of out of the root base i think i’m going to take those off like that and this one also it’s a nice root but it’s just too high there’ll be better routes down here below a few crossing routes in here i gotta get rid of i may have to rewash this area i think i will just to see what’s going on here so i’ll do that and come back all right i’ve got that section rewashed and you can see a bit more of the the roots so now i’m wondering about this one it’s i thought this one came down here but now i see it doesn’t it’s just a root comes off and it was cut off so i’m going to reduce that one back to there that’s better this is all looking okay in this area it’s nice and radial and flowing you know i see our soil level i don’t know it’s open down lower but it’s kind of awkward looking in this section i might just have to wait for that to thicken up and maybe something grow in this area all right i think it is ready for planting i don’t think i can do a whole lot more i can prune these roots back a little let’s do that so i’ll just take the you know really long roots off just trim them back a bit keep the root base a bit more compact i think that’s about it that’s it for the root pruning yeah it’s i really like this side of the tree this side is very strange but that’s the way it is i’ll get the pot and the seedlings and start planting the tree now i got this pot from hong from our club and he drilled a whole bunch of holes in it it’s a mica pot so he could tie down his forest trees so i think i’m going to put a big screen across the entire bottom of the pot and that’ll make sure my soil doesn’t fall out of any of these smaller holes okay spread it around so it’s nice and flat looks like i need a little more now i’m going to place the tree in the pot so make sure all my roots on the bottom are kind of radial and i wanted to rotate the front slightly maybe two here a little more maybe there yeah and i want it a little further back i think give some room up front here now how’s that looking i think that’s looking pretty good for the front of the tree but it is on a bit of a slant so i’ve got to pile up some soil on this side of the tree to straighten it out all right let’s get a bit of soil in here and i’ll straighten the tree out making sure i still got my front here now that’s not bad that’s looking pretty good there i’ll show you the front view here’s a look at the front view so i’ve got the tree vertical and i’m just wondering about the position in the pot is it too far over to the left i’m wondering i think it is i think i’ve got to move it to the right a bit it’s too too far off balance does that look better that looks more balanced i’m wondering could i go further it’s hard to say because you know i may i’ll have seedlings planted which could change the whole composition this is just the single clump which looks pretty good i think that would be a good position for just the single clump it looks fairly nicely balanced try moving it over a bit but now does that look better or it’s not bad there it looks more balanced in the pod more peaceful and serene i would say i think i’ll get some soil in around those roots first kind of work it in because i don’t think i’ll be changing the position of the tree i think it’s nice and vertical i’m happy with the front and i like the position in the pot i checked the position from the side to make sure it’s vertical in that view too and it is so yeah i’ll put a little soil in the pot now and add a bit of soil all right i’m going to find my largest ones first that’s these two there was that one root i was going to prune off the top of it it’s kind of sticking out of the root base here out of the soil i’m going to prune off this taproot down here and the rest can stay now i will cut this back it’s too much foliage i’m pruning back to some nice healthy foliage on it [Music] yeah somewhere about there actually yeah that’s good now so from the front here i would think i’d want my two largest seedlings up front here to create forced perspective so one each side of the main tree i think so this one’s kind of got a bent trunk it’s fanning away so that would match the trees in the back so i can plant that one here kind of up front right about here i think and i’ll try and get my roots combed out a bit if i can find my root break it’s here somewhere oh there it is right over here okay so i’m going to try and get the roots sorted out a bit like that and then plant it out front here [Music] and i’m not sure if i’ll like this planting or not it’s it’s just an idea if it doesn’t look good well it was worth a try so that one’s planted it kind of fans out it looks good so let’s get the next largest one pruned up i’m just going to take the taproot off the bottom here like that the rest can stay and then i’ll prune it back to about there let me just take the tip off this leaf like that now this one’s a pretty straight trunk so um this might be the case where i have the tree in front of the other trees so you kind of have to look in and see what’s going on or do i want it off to the side i don’t think so i think i need something here so yeah i think right about here for this tree so i’ll fill this in all right i’ll let you have a look at what this looks like so far there’s what it looks like with the two little seedlings out front so kind of this one’s blocking your view of this trunk here and this one’s kind of fanning out to the side yeah might look okay continue with the planting i’m going to get all my seedlings out and just so i can see which of the larger ones which are the smaller ones and i can arrange them in order having the larger ones at the front to give that forced perspective in the planting right like that definitely i’m stepping back now having a look at the planting i like it it looks like a grove of cedars it really uh gives me that impression that i’m in a cedar grove i really i like all the difference in height of the trees the small ones and the big tree and makes the big tree look really you know tall and mature so i think i’m going to finish filling in the soil i’ve got a few low spots and then i’ll apply moss to the planting i filled in the soil on the low spots i’m going to give it a watering now just to settle all the soil in around the roots and then i’ll apply the moss [Music] i’ve got my moss all laid out here i’ve got some really kind of thick coarse shade moss and then i’ve got some finer more velvety moss so my plan is to put the thicker coarser moss in the front and the finer stuff at the back and that again will give me a forced perspective coarser stuff up front and finer at the back and it’ll give the whole planting a little more depth i hope so i’m going to start applying the moss and how i do it i just wet each clump of moss press it down firmly so it contacts the soil and i i put it in little pieces range is sort of like a jigsaw puzzle so they all fit together it’s a tricky and long process so i’ll show you just a few ones at the start and then we’ll come back and see the final planting when it’s all mossed up so i’ll take my first clump of moss here i’ll just rip off a tiny piece dip it in my bucket of water to soak it like that and then i’m going to put this coarse stuff up front here so and then you just have to push it down so it’s firmly contacting the soil beneath and you need bonsai soil to have the moss grow so you can water it frequently without drowning the tree so that’s why moss does really well on top of bone size soil because it gets water frequently and fertilized frequently so there’s my first piece planted and then i’ve got this really fine moss here and that will go i think that’s going to go in beside the tree here i finished applying the moss so let’s go in and have a look i used some sand also just to kind of break it up a bit so it’s not just all moss so i’m quite happy with it it uh really gives me the impression of being in a cedar grove i really like it so i’m looking at the planting now and i’m trying to picture what scale a person would be in here and i would imagine a person would be about that high yeah yeah i think it’s quite successful i like you know having to look through the little trees to see the big tree behind it’s kind of like a view you would get in a forest when you’re walking along a trail or something you know the big trees they’re not right there by the edge of the trail you’ve kind of got to look at them through a few smaller trees that’s what the that’s the impression it gives me anyway so [Music] so so i really enjoyed taking this project from something in my imagination to reality and i i think i achieved my goal i think it gives you the impression of a cedar grove it reminds me of those uh cedar forests up north and that’s all for today i’m nigel saunders thanks for joining me in the bonsai zone
