Is Your Japanese Maple Root Bound? Watch This Before It's Too Late | Root Correction | Shishigashira

It was time to give this Shishigashira Japanese maple some more room! 🍁 In this video, I’m walking through my entire process for repotting a large Japanese maple, moving this tree from its 15-gallon container into a new 20-gallon container. But simply moving a tree into a bigger pot isn’t the whole story. I’ll show you some of the signs I was seeing that told me this Japanese maple was ready to be repotted, including how the container was behaving during watering and what that can tell us about what’s happening inside the root ball. Once we get the Shishigashira out of its old container, we’ll take a close look at the root system and perform some important root correction before it goes into the new pot. We’ll talk about circling and congested roots, dry pockets inside the root ball, and why I like to work with the root ball as moist as possible when doing this type of work. I’ll also walk through how I prepare the new container, position the tree, work fresh container mix around the existing root ball, and thoroughly water everything in once the repot is complete. One of the biggest things I’ve learned growing Japanese maples in containers is that going to a larger pot isn’t just about giving the tree more soil. It’s an opportunity to inspect what’s happening below the surface, correct problems while you can, and set the root system up for continued healthy growth. This is the process that’s been working for me with my container-grown Japanese maples here in Coastal Georgia and the Deep South, and I hope seeing the entire process helps anyone getting ready to repot one of their own. 🍁 In this video: Signs a Japanese maple may need repotting Shishigashira Japanese maple Moving from a 15-gallon to a 20-gallon container Inspecting the root ball Root correction and circling roots Finding and addressing dry pockets Preparing the new container Repotting and watering-in Japanese maple container-growing tips Welcome back to Salty Maple — growing Japanese maples in the Deep South and sharing what works, what doesn’t, and what I learn along the way. #JapaneseMaple #Shishigashira #JapaneseMaples #Repotting #ContainerGardening #RootBound #AcerPalmatum #SaltyMaple