For those that did not see the report on Bonsai that was on the CBS Morning show this week.

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A while back I had shortened a long surface root of my Chinese elm. I wanted to show how well that root has healed and how nicely the cambium closed up the cut

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I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they purchased a tree, or collected one only to find that when they clear away some of the top soil that the tree continued to widen out.  This not only will add height to the tree when planted at the proper soil level, but will add a stronger look for the tree as the nebari width increases. 

A few years ago when I potted up my bouganvillea I had to plant it rather low because I had changed the angle of the tree dramatically.  It showed no surface roots and had no flair.  However this week I decided to repot the tree into a smaller pot to bring attention to the massive trunk.  However when I cleared away the soil the trunk had some great surpises to show me.

The trunk had great flair and roots had developed. In addition I was now able to pot the tree up about 3″ higher.

You can see the old soil line and how much more strength the repot gave the tree.

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I realized over the past week that the pot that I had planted my Wrightia religiosa was too big. The color wasn’t bad, but the large wide pot make the trunk look small. This tree has a rather large trunk and I needed a smaller pot to emphasize it. As for the color, I was told that a light blue glazed pot works well with the leaf color and the small white flowers that bloom during the year.

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