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Larry white's demonstration at Midori Bonsai Club's General Meeting August 5th, 1999 featured the
transplanting of a beautiful bougainvillea specimen that he collected himself.
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Larry describes the transplanting process. Although it's August,
Larry explains that now is the perfect time to transplant certain tropicals like Bougainvillea.
This plant will be moved from the brown mica growing container to the oval, glazed ceramic container in the foreground.
The container has been prepared by covering the drainage holes with small squares of plastic mesh held in place with bent wires to prevent the soil from washing out of the
bonasi pot. |
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Ably assisted by Midori member Ron Jussen, Larry begins the process of removing the tree from the
growing container. After cutting away the tie wires, Larry loosens the soil around the container's edge.
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Next, the tree is removed from the growing container. Larry has
inverted the mica growing container and placed it in a mortar tray to make a convenient catchbasin for the soil he's removing with an oversize "chopstick".
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Soil is loosened at the bottom of the container to encourage the roots to grow into the new
media.
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After laying in a bed of new growing media in the container, Larry positions the tree in its new home.
Larry explained that the weight of the massive trunk will make any form of tie wiring unnecessary.
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Larry does some fine positioning of the trunk before adding the new soil. It's important to be sure that the trunk is exactly the way you want it before adding the rest of the soil.
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Next, Larry adds the remaining soil
and levels it, working in the new soil with a chopstick to eliminate air pockets.
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Larry settles the soil by hammering the container with the palms of his hands. The vibration helps eliminate air pockets.
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After watering thoroughly, Larry brought the Bougainvillea back inside for display. You can see the
difference that the new container makes!
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<----Before at left, After, above |
