First thing first if you are a beginner I would recommend going to your local library and reading up as much as possible. They should have a great selection on Bonsai books and at least a few should have a section on repotting and a good one will also have pictures going along with it. Here's a repotting article I found after a quick search online, not the best but it looks like it might be informative for a beginner.

http://www.bonsaiforbeginners.com/Repotting-bonsai.html

As for a pot The size should generally be about 2 thirds the size of the trees spread and height and approximately as deep as the trunk is thick. If the tree is in training you can make the dementions a little larger, reasonably.

The trees can be repotted and root pruned later in the summer after the leaves have 'hardened off' and lost their fragile state as long as they are healthy and growing vigorously. I can say for sure what time is best for you since geographical locations differ in weather but I usually would say late June or early July would be good in the Chicago land area. Generally speaking early spring is the best time to repot due to reduced stress on the tree and therefore I would only repot if the root system is heavily compact leaving the tree root bound and it really shouldn't wait until next year. That might be the case with your trees though seeing as they look pretty heavily condensed.

Overall I would say look for your local Bonsai club and join as they will be able to give you all the help you will need and will probably help and teach you the best repotting practices along with others.

Got your email, but have been very busy with my own repots - sorry for delay.

I think you have two sets of circumstances that will require different approaches. Tree #1 is in dire straits & prolly the most rootbound of the two plants. If that was my tree, I would all the perimeter roots & cut some wedges into the root mass & put it in the ground until next spring. It will have recovered by then & you'll be able to cut it back hard. If you don't take that approach, I would treat it the same way and get it into a very large container with a VERY well-aerated soil that doesn't hold perched water and let it grow wild until spring.

The other plant (#2) could be repotted right now, but it's sure not ideal timing, and I'd prefer now (or even fall) to a summer repot. If you DO repot in the summer, you'll need to reduce the top considerably, and though it needs it badly, this will probably leave the tree weak going into winter & produce a weak spring flush.

If you repot now, you'll need to cut the branches back hard - to maybe 1-2 leaves per branch, or even harder, depending on what you find in the roots and how much fine rootage you leave.

Alternately, you could also cut some wedges out of the soil & fill with fresh soil after removing all the tangled roots from the perimeter of the root mass and repot into a larger container & wait until next spring. I have so many trees it's easy to be patient & take the steps necessary to ensure the tree has the energy reserves it needs to bounce back from any serious work I might do, which is really what's at issue. The trees obviously are both struggling, with #1 circling the drain. My first priority would be to do what it takes to build vitality & energy reserves, but since I don't have a feel for how important it is to you to have these trees in a bonsai pot, I can't know how receptive you are to that approach. To me, it's better to force yourself to be patient than to have a brownsai on your hands. ;o)

I was a little nonspecific, I realize that; but if you have enough info to determine a direction; or if you have direct questions, it shouldn't be too difficult to hatch a plan.

AL

Mike:

I've been reading everything I can find for the last month or so. I'm always amazed at how much there is to learn. I'd love to join a Bonsai club, but when you work 60 hours a week and have very little free time, it's hard to find the time to attend a meeting.

Al:

I really don't care to keep them in the pots; I know that's not where they need to be. I'm building a new bed in the backyard this week, so I'm going to save room for these two project trees in it. I'll cut into the roots enough to get the circling outer roots and then cut the wedges and put them in the ground. I've got enough other stuff to do that I can put off these two until next spring.

Considering that what I want to do is cut everything back to the trunk on each one, I need the trees to be as healthy as possible.

Thank you both for the advice.

If you have branches in ideal places, I wouldn't be so quick about dumping them, unless you already have a vision for the trees & know the branches don't fit it, but you can cross that bridge when you get to it ...... wait - maybe not. If you think there are any branches near the top of the tree you'll be using, you'll need to restrain them by pruning or they'll probably get ahead of lower branches in development (caliper). Then, you'll be struggling to get the lower branches to grow so they can catch up. Restraining the top forces the plant to expend energy in the lower 2/3 of the tree, which is what you want in an apically dominant tree. Still, your first goal should be to get the trees back on the track to good vitality.

Best luck!!

Al

It's been a while since I updated this, but I finally got out and took some pictures. I just wanted to show the amazing progress my two trees have made.

Shortly after the last post I was able to get the raised beds put together. I then took the trees out of the pots and began working on the roots to loosen them before putting them in the ground. I got a little carried away and mutilated the root system of these trees. I tore into the roots and cut away most of the mess that was there. They've been in the ground for about 4 weeks now and have been thriving. It's been 95-100 degrees the last few weeks and these two trees are still putting on new growth.

They have exploded in new buds all over the place. The broom shaped tree was even uprooted by a major storm and stayed that way for a day until I got home. I cut it back and it responded by opening more new buds than it had to begin with.

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