How To Repot Bonsai

STEP 1 - Gather your supplies.

You will need:

If you are potting your bonsai tree in a ceramic pot it is a good idea to soak the pot in water for a while beforehand so the pot will not wick out water from the soil.

STEP 2 - Prepare your pot

Ok, first cut pieces of potting screen material large enough to cover the holes inside the bonsai pot about twice the size of the hole.

Next, cut a short piece of your training wire for each of the screens you are going to use (approx 3-4").

Now, lay the screen in the pot and center over the hole. Fold the training wire like a staple and push thru the screen making sure the staple fits easily thru the hole.

Now flip the pot over and bend the ends of the wire outward while holding the screen up against the inside of the pot.

Last, cut the excess wire to do a clean job.

It should look like this when you are done.

Now, cut a long enough piece of training wire to tie your bonsai securely in the pot. Run the wire down thru one drain hole and back up thru the other. Some pots have small extra holes just for the wire, but if you don't just follow the instructions here. Make sure you have enough wire to easily tie your tree in.

It should look like this.

STEP 3 - Prepare your soil

This is probably the most important step in the process.....the soil.

It is essential to sift out all of the small particles of soil so your roots will get the best mix of oxygen and moisture and of course you want the soil to be fast draining. Idealy you want to put the largest particles of soil in the bottom of the pot and the smaller toward the top just as a rule of thumb. I won't go into mixing soil right now but you can learn about that here.

Ok, now you want to build a mound of soil, wherever you plan for the main trunk of the tree to stand so when you sit the tree in, it will help to fill any gaps under the trunk.

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