Western Australian Peppermint: October 2024 potting

Five and a half years since I picked this plant up. It quickly went into a pot, and has been quietly thickening ever since.

Here we are in May 2019. Note the thin trunk, and high branches.
And now it’s October 2024. Much thicker trunk, and a rather nicer profile. The peak of the main trunk is obviously chopped, so hopefully some long-term cover will grow there.
I haven’t looked at the roots…ever. The base flares a bit, so I’m looking forward to seeing what’s under there.
Out it comes. I’m surprised it’s not root bound. Or at least not much.
Cleaning… the pot was deep enough that there’s a lot of down to the root system.
This is where the roots got bound, at the bottom of the pot. I knew I wasn’t going to use this portion, so I just hacked it off with a trowel.
I’ve been planning this tree for this pot since I took the figs out. I think it’s a much better fit for the circular pot.

Hmm… I forgot to not the root system. I don’t think there was anything significant, but… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. More to the point, I’ve had lots of trouble with newly bonsaied trees with heavy leaf cover, so I’m not done yet.

Western Australian Peppermint: October 2024 potting
First is a moderate defoliation to reduce the water needs in line with the reduced root system.
Second, I’m going to keep it in a tray of water for a while. I’ll clear it out of an evening, so it doesn’t drown, but during the day I want it well watered.

And there we are. Let’s see how the next couple of months go.

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