I very recently got into Bonsais and purchased a Trident Maple, Ficus, and Fukien Tea. The Trident Maple was my very first Bonsai or pre-Bonsai, as some would call it, since it doesn't meet the strict definition of Bonsai. Since then, I've picked up two Mallsais; the Ficus and Fukien Tea with the intent of learning and practicing everything that's involved with creating a Bonsai.

I was very enthusiastic and excited to be starting a new hobby and planned on purchasing the correct tools and a new pot to eventually repot the Ficus since it came in normal potting soil. The intent was to take my time researching and watching YouTube videos about repotting before actually proceeding. However, last night when I came home, I saw that my Trident Maple has been knocked over by a tarp that was blown by strong winds during a thunderstorm. The Trident Maple was struck from behind and tipped over resting on the front rim of the pot; luckily it didn't completely fall over and break any branches. Upon lifting the Trident Maple and inspecting it for damage, I saw my poor little Ficus had been knocked completely out of it's pot and soil... I'm not sure how long the roots had been exposed like that since I didn't know exactly when the accident occurred. Luckily the Trident Maple and the Fukien Tea didn't suffer too much damage besides the branches being intertwined slightly and the Trident Maple losing a leaf as it was lodged in the Fukien Tea's branches; I actually may have ripped it off in a panic to pick up the Trident Maple.

As soon as I evaluated the damage, I was determined to repot the Ficus and get it out of the potting soil as soon as possible. That's when I quickly found out that Bonsai supplies are very hard to find in Canada. I searched many Canadian websites and specialty Bonsai stores without much luck. Bonsai soil is especially hard to come by and after researching, found out that most hobbyists actually mix their own. Since I didn't have time to source the materials to make my own I decided to place an Amazon Prime order of BonsaiJack Organic Bonsai Soil Mix since it could be delivered today with Prime shipping.

Once the Bonsai soil mix arrived today, I quickly went to work repotting the Ficus as per what I've seen on YouTube. I don't have proper Bonsai tools yet so I just threw together some Dollar Store tools to get the job done. It was also difficult to find Bonsai pots around town so I ultimately decided to re-use the small pot that originally came with the Ficus since it has a decent drainage hole. During repotting, I did notice some white sacks that bursted when squeezed. I'm not sure exactly what they were, possibly some insect eggs or fungus??

Coming home and seeing my Bonsais / Mallsais on the ground like that was very disheartening. I know many of you would probably just tell me to throw away the Mallsais since they're low quality material and buy an actual tree, but I'm very determined to keep them alive. I'm really new to this hobby, literally just a week if that, but I really don't want to kill any plants. Hopefully after repotting the Ficus will survive. I will be keeping an eye on the Trident Maple and Fukien Tea to see if the exhibit any negative symptoms since I didn't notice any obvious signs of damage such as broken branches or twigs.

I've attached pictures of the simple tools I've used for the repotting process, the Ficus after repotting, the soil with the white sacks, and my Bonsai / Mallsais before the accident. Unfortunately I was too panicked to take pictures when I stumbled upon the accident scene; it was still thunder storming so I was just rushing to pick everything up and think of the next steps. Hopefully this will be the worst experience I have in the hobby and it's all sunny days from here =]

I think we saw that maple before?
You know the difference between mallsai and bonsai. Good. Ofcourse, no one wants to kill trees, mallsai or not.

The tools... well, yeah... I saw a movie recently where the actor was holding a bonsai pot and such a little shovel. He wasn't doing anything with it, just holding it and acting like he was concentrating on the soil. Quite silly. No one uses such shovels, really.

All I need for a normal repotting is a chopstick. For an emergency potting actually all you really need is a substrate.

You did not really need bonsai soil either. Your main concern would have been to get the plants back into the soil. I hope you did not wait for the bonsai soil to arrive to do that.

I read your first post. I didn't respond to it, but it's the kind of first posts I really like (you know what you bought, you have taken a good look at your tree, you think and ask questions before you act. Good!). Welcome to the forum

Auk wrote:

All I need for a normal repotting is a chopstick.

Yes, most of the time.
If the tree was wired to the pot, wirecutters.
If the rootball is pot bond, a sickle to circle the roots and loosen it from the pot walls.
If it's root bound or the new pot is not bigger than the one in use, the pruning scissors are needed.
If I want a tidy look after finished, a flat mini trowel and a Japanese bamboo mini broom do the job.

Clicio wrote:

Auk wrote:

All I need for a normal repotting is a chopstick.

Yes, most of the time.
If the tree was wired to the pot, wirecutters.
If the rootball is pot bond, a sickle to circle the roots and loosen it from the pot walls.
If it's root bound or the new pot is not bigger than the one in use, the pruning scissors are needed.
If I want a tidy look after finished, a flat mini trowel and a Japanese bamboo mini broom do the job.

Yeah... but we are talking about mallsai, right?

I sometimes think too often we respond from our own experience not considering who we are replying to.

Auk wrote:

I think we saw that maple before?
You know the difference between mallsai and bonsai. Good. Ofcourse, no one wants to kill trees, mallsai or not.

The tools... well, yeah... I saw a movie recently where the actor was holding a bonsai pot and such a little shovel. He wasn't doing anything with it, just holding it and acting like he was concentrating on the soil. Quite silly. No one uses such shovels, really.

All I need for a normal repotting is a chopstick. For an emergency potting actually all you really need is a substrate.

You did not really need bonsai soil either. Your main concern would have been to get the plants back into the soil. I hope you did not wait for the bonsai soil to arrive to do that.

I read your first post. I didn't respond to it, but it's the kind of first posts I really like (you know what you bought, you have taken a good look at your tree, you think and ask questions before you act. Good!). Welcome to the forum

My first post on this forum was actually this thread: www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/pruning-and-w...rident-maple-pruning. That's a couple of days after I purchased the Trident Maple and was looking for advice to prune / wire it. However, I'm just holding off on anything and focusing on keeping it healthy. That's where you probably saw a picture of the Trident Maple.

As soon as I saw the Ficus out of the pot, I immediately put it back into the soil. The soil was slightly moist so I didn't water it or anything and ordered the new soil mix the same night. The new soil mix came today and that's when I repotted and watered it. Hopefully the Ficus isn't too stressed out from the whole ordeal but ultimately I got it out of the potting mix with the white sacks into a more suitable soil mix. This new soil mix seems to drain so much water compared to the old potting soil; I'm kind of worried it will dry out. Yes, you're right, I didn't use the small rake and shovels much except to loosen the dirt from the roots and scoop the soil out of the pot since it was still somewhat wet.

Clicio wrote:

Auk wrote:

All I need for a normal repotting is a chopstick.

Yes, most of the time.
If the tree was wired to the pot, wirecutters.
If the rootball is pot bond, a sickle to circle the roots and loosen it from the pot walls.
If it's root bound or the new pot is not bigger than the one in use, the pruning scissors are needed.
If I want a tidy look after finished, a flat mini trowel and a Japanese bamboo mini broom do the job.

The Ficus didn't have that much of a root ball since it was a Mallsai. It literally fell completely out of the pot and soil when it was knocked over. The small cutter was used to cut wires to tie down the mesh to the pot and to tie down the Ficus after it was positioned. Since there was so little actual roots I'm really hoping it survives. It's not a mature plant by any means...

I've attached another picture of the Ficus after repotting that's the same angle as the picture showing it before repotting for a better comparison.

Auk wrote:

I sometimes think too often we respond from our own experience not considering who we are replying to.

Auk, you are absolutely correct.
I agree I forget this fact most of the time.

seeparks wrote:

I've attached another picture of the Ficus after repotting that's the same angle as the picture showing it before repotting for a better comparison.

I think it looks quite nice.
Maybe it's the picture, but I see large particles in the soil mix, maybe a little too big to this pot and tree sizes. Have you sieved them with the apropriate mesh size?

Clicio wrote:

I think it looks quite nice.
Maybe it's the picture, but I see large particles in the soil mix, maybe a little too big to this pot and tree sizes. Have you sieved them with the apropriate mesh size?

Thanks Clicio. I bought pre-mixed organic Bonsai soil from BonsaiJack which claims to have been sieved and washed ready for use. It was delivered next day through Amazon Prime.

I was quite desperate for an appropriate Bonsai soil mix since it’s very difficult to find where I live and that was the only option that I could source quickly.

I’m just happy that I got the Ficus repotted. Hopefully it will survive all of this.

Seeparks,

Whereabouts are you in Canada?

- Daniel

Diesel_Bonsai021 wrote:

Seeparks,

Whereabouts are you in Canada?

- Daniel

I’m in Ottawa. How about you? Do you have any good sources to purchase bonsai related items in Canada?