I am not sure how to answer your question, but will try anyway ;)

First, why did you root prune a tree you received in the fall of 2008? Does that mean you have only had it 6 months? Did it come with badly mangled, over sized roots? I am just thinking of the 2-3 year old trees I have ordered and when they arrive they are bare root or I bare root them and generally don't find a whole lot worth pruning off.

Anyway, I would not advise any further root pruning (can't imagine it needs it if it is a young tree), but I don't see any harm in replacing the mix in the pruned section.

Is the existing mix hard compacted to the point you couldn't bare root the tree fairly easily? If not then you could go ahead and bare root the tree and replace all the potting mix if you want to, after all it has to be done sometime, right? Just keep the roots moist during the process.

If this is your first year with the tree and it was purchased as a 2-3 year old tree I wouldn't worry much about losing flowers (which you probably won't). Many folks believe the tree will do better long term if it isn't allowed to produce much fruit in it's first bearing season anyway.

Once you get things squared away root/potting mix wise if it were me I would just leave the tree alone in it's new home for a couple years.

Note: I am not the world's most experienced tree pruner, I just saw your question sit for awhile and figured I may as well toss in a reply as sometimes it gets others to jump in if they don't have to be the first responder who gets corrected ;)

Thanks for the reply, JaG2. The tree came in a 5 gallon nursery pot, and I didn't bare root it because of Al's advice regarding evergreens in the Trees in Containers thread. The mix that it came in is definitely loose enough that I could remove all of it. However, I was afraid that it would be too much at once, so I was working on a two or three-year plan similar to the one Al suggested in both the aforementioned thread and in this thread. It sounds as if you've successfully bare rooted citrus trees before, though. If that's the case, then I'll definitely go ahead and remove the rest of the original soil. I'd much rather do it all at once and leave the tree alone for a while. I'm new at this, and root work in general is a bit nerve-wracking for me. If I misunderstood you, please let me know before I do anything rash... :)

Well, why not wait for Al or the more experienced tree pruners to chime in before doing anything?

I have bare rooted citrus before, but that was because they arrived in stuff I didn't wish to grow them on in. My citrus were acquired last year so I haven't had to worry about root work yet.

I know just enough to know that not all trees are the same in terms of the root work they tolerate, but my little experience with citrus suggests they are very tolerant of it.

Just to be safe though, wait for those more experienced with this to chime in.

Hi, Shazaam. I wasn't ignoring your post. I didn't reply because the only Citrus I've done any extensive root work on was a Meyer lemon, and that tolerated it just fine, but I don't have enough practical experience to give other than broad, and what I know is safe, advice on other Citrus. I could normally fire off a question or two to one of dozens of bonsai contacts if citrus was commonly used as a bonsai subject, but unfortunately, they are not.

I can't say, "Yeah, go ahead and bare-root it ..." because I don't know how it will tolerate it, so unless you can find someone you trust has bare-rooted an established tree, I would do the 1/3 off the bottom & remove soil in wedges over 2 or three repots for the sake of safety. In the meanwhile, I WILL try to get a better answer. Hopefully it will come in time to be useful to you.

Al

I'm encourage by your success, JaG2, and, given how well my tree has handled its rough treatment so far, it may very well be up to a complete bare rooting. Since I'm not in a hurry, though, I'll gladly wait for your follow-up, Al. I understand, of course, that you may not be able to find a solid answer for me. In the meantime, I'll pop over to the Citrus forum just in case someone there has some experience with the subject at hand (probably should have done that sooner...).

I think I'm going to be saying thanks to you guys quite often. I really do appreciate your willingness to help those of us who aren't quite so far along...

I've bare-rooted mine with no problems. They've responded quite well to a repot in Al's mix. Of course, I live in citrus growing country, so YMMV and besides, if I were to lose one, I would just toddle over to the nearest big box for a replacement.

Citrus require very little pruning, above or below the soil line. A newly purchased citrus in a five gallon pot will do quite well for at least two years in the pot and soil it came in. In my opinion you are distrurbing the roots enough to prevent their establishment. Citrus growers pot their plants in well drained soil mixes needing only regular fertilizing with citrus labeled complete fertilizer, plus weekly watering. Al