Repotting a Ficus Burtt-Davyi

 Original Post Date:
12/6/2014

Where I live, the leaves on maples and elms are changing colors because of the cold weather.

It is the wrong time of year to repot a ficus because of this cold weather.  A ficus is a tropical plant, which means you are suppose to repot it in the spring and summer.  But I am going to take the risk of repotting it..
The tree I am repotting is a Ficus Burtt-Davyi.  This tree has been in this tiny pot for many years.  The tree is a relative of our original Ficus Burtt Davyi.  Working on a baby from the original Burtt Davyi, Mike Cartrett suggested that this root be put in a pot and that if it is planted above ground, it will grow leaves and branches.  The part that is underground will grow roots.  The tree mostly grew roots above the pot.  It grew some branches and leaves, but not many.

The reason I'm repotting this tree in this time of year is because it is not healthy.  If I wait any longer to repot this tree, I could risk loosing this tree.
Below is what a healthy Burtt-Davyi should look like:

Picture From Google. Search Ficus Burtt Davyi

---

Back to work.  I rinsed off the broken down bonsai soil and got these roots.

There are some big tap roots, but I am not going to mess with them because it is not the right time of year.  I put the tree in a pot and added some fresh soil to it.  Here is the after photo, I did change the front.

Hope you have learned about Burtt Davyi's (by clicking the link) and when to repot tropical trees.

~Ben Jamin

View JaminWithBen Post

Repotting A Ficus Microcarpa

Original Post Date:
11/12/2014

Warning: even though this is the middle of November, I want you to know I repotted this tree two and a half weeks ago.  When I was looking in the garden, I saw this tree has some broken down soil and it appeared root-bound.  Below is the tree:

You may recognize this tree...  Time to take the tree out of the pot.

Time to wash the soil off.

All of the soil is washed off.  I expected more roots.
Now I will do a little root trim:

All trimmed, I picked out a nice blue pot.  Here is the after picture:

Notice how I didn't wire out the whole tree.  I didn't wire it out because I did cut some roots and when I repotted it, it was October.  The nights will get cooler.  I also didn't want to harm the tree or brake any week branches.  I want the tree to flush out with growth.
The tree in November has new buds and is growing.  I'll post an update soon.

~Ben Jamin

JaminWithBen Post Link