I class myself as a beginner although I have been dabbling for decades. I have never taken it too seriously but would like to give the few trees I have the best care I can. I have several plants I have grown in pots for many years one of these is a small piece of hedging I have been growing and trimming for well over 30 years. It is Lonicera nitida.

I want to know what to do with it. It is in a bonsai pot and is covered in moss. I was thinking about repotting it and removing all or some of the moss and exposing some of the roots. Any advice would be appreciated.





EDIT: I forgot to mention, to give it scale it is in a pot that is 7 inches (18cm) diameter.

Many thanks,
Ralph.

Ralph wrote: I was thinking about repotting it and removing all or some of the moss and exposing some of the roots.

hey Ralph, I quite like it.
The moss doesn't bother me at all.
Have you seen its roots? Are they spread in a circle, or interesting enough to show them?
The bark is great, but long branches with foliage at the ends are not.
Consider pruning it a bit lower down the branches (do they backbud on old wood? I sincerely don't know...)
Twin trunks are always a challenge anyway.
But, in the end, it has some nice movement and...
I still like it.
(not of great help, sorry)

How lng has it been since you last repotted. Andhow much growth do you have on this plant this year?

It looks like growth has slowed down a lot. Which might mean you have a pot full of roots. Nitida can take a lot of abuse, but only when strong. So I would focus on getting good strong growth on it. Thee moss will be less of an issue then. in a year or so, look at restyling?

It has been in that pot for a long time, many years. I was wondering if I should re-pot it. I have been trimming it for the past few weeks to encourage it to grow thicker 'pads' of leaves. It seems to be growing fairly fast but has not put on any bulk. It does need styling, I say 'styling' as it has never been styled, just trimmed!

I was thinking that it must need repotting but I was a bit apprehensive about doing it. I have read that I need a 2:1:1 mix of soil using Akadama, loam and grit. but the plant is stuck in the pot (not surprisingly) and do I replant it in the same pot after trimming the roots? Or would it be better to plant it in a flower pot and grow it on for a year or so?

Sorry for all the questions but I would hate to lose it after so many years.

Ralph.