Hello! Newbie here. Today I repotted two of my shohin Chinese elms and used a soil mix from one of the most reputable sellers here in the UK.
Now, seeing as the trees are shohin sized, I figured I didn't need to hold down the trees using wire so I just added soil to the pot, placed the tree, then added more soil, using a chopstick to let the soil fill all empty spaces. The soil is coarse and unlike regular compost I must add. After watering, the trees are sort of loose or flimsy in the soil and can easily be tilted. I know the trees haven't settle yet especially after root pruning, but is this normal?
Should I just wait a couple of weeks for the root network to grow again for the trees to become actually totally fixed in the soil? Should I have added wire? Any advice or help is appreciated! Thanks!

Yes, you should have used wire. You can still apply the wire. Push it through the wire hole in the bottom of the pot, and gently work your way upwards through roots and tighten. don't use a thin wire, you can't push it through the roots.

nadereid wrote:

Should I have added wire?

Yes.

I took your advice and used thick enough wire so it can go through the soil. The trees are now secure in their pots and are no longer wiggly. I came home today to find one of them with droopy leaves though. I water them regularly and they're not in direct sunlight but are in a bright and sunny room. Could it be simple repotting shock? Because I did do some root pruning.
I trimmed back some of the foliage today to help aid root growth. Is this normal for repotted trees? Thanks!

They should not be inside.

m5eaygeoff wrote:

They should not be inside.

And trimming foliage does not aid root growth.

nadereid wrote:

Could it be simple repotting shock? Because I did do some root pruning.

How much root pruning did you do?
Yes, could be shock.

I didn't go too heavy on it. I cut about one third, maybe a little bit more because it was sort of pot bound and in need of root pruning. I removed most of the thick roots that are growing in weird directions and left the fibrous feeder roots, just made them shorter so the tree fits nicely in its pot.

could be all sorts of things. How long did you have them,Where they healthy, before you repot them. Did you give them fertilizer.
Etc. can you post picture.

Here's a couple of pictures of it. I only just watered it today so it looks kinda wet. The other tree seems to be doing fine but this one not as much. I don't have "before" pictures though.