Bonsai Roots
Healthy bonsai tree’s have healthy roots, in fact you might like to think of bonsai roots as the mouth of the plant. To make your tree’s surface roots appear even and naturally spread out, it’s a good idea to cut back any thick or heavy roots when repotting your plant. You must remember that whilst the branches and trunk of the tree can be altered throughout the year, a bonsai’s root system can only really be altered when it’s repotted and this should only really occur every year or so for fully grown tree’s, although it does depend on the age of the tree.
So when you do get the change to repot your bonsai, make sure you take up the opportunity to alter it’s root system if needs be. So spend plenty of time observing and trimming the roots.
Surface Roots and Buttressing your Bonsai
When a tree is kept in bonsai like conditions, it’s surface roots do not spread out as much as those of giant trees. A normal tree has to contend with the wind and other tree’s so it’s surface roots give it greater support. This is known as buttressing.
Getting a bonsai tree to buttress makes the tree look older and more majestic. However, this won’t normally occur naturally in a bonsai tree and so some altering of the root system is required.
There are several different types of surface root arrangements that you can choose however in general it’s a good idea to encourage the roots to grow and spread out in all directions from the bottom of the trunk.
To encourage the surface roots to spread out there’s a couple of things you need to do. You should first of all make sure the plant is potted in a shallow surface. Basically you don’t want the soil depth to be any deeper than the width of the tree’s trunk.
Then when you repot your bonsai you should remove the soil and cut any roots growing directly beneath the base of the bonsai tree. This will encourage the roots to grow outwards and not downwards. Once this has been done 3-4 times then your tree’s surface roots will be evenly spread out on the surface and underneath the plant giving the desired look and result. Just remember to apply plenty of fertilizer after each repotting.
If you’ve got a bit of bonsai experience under your belt and are feeling adventurous you can even consider styling your bonsai’s roots over a rock formation. This requires you to apply the same principles as before however you’ll also need to style, wire and train the surface roots of the bonsai tree. This should normally be done on developed bonsai plants which already have an extensive surface and ground root system. First remove the soil and to separate the major roots. Then place one or two of the larger roots over the surface of the rock ensuring they’re long enough for the ends to be planted back into the soil. It’s a tricky style to pull off and requires plenty of advanced techniques, but if done correctly the results can be award winning!
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