Potting a Semi-Cascade Style Bonsai Tree

Due to the angle of the slanting trunk and sideway extended branches, potting a semi-cascade or a cascade style bonsai tree can be quite tricky sometimes. We must be cautious of the tilted center of mass and be extra careful when we lift the bonsai tree around during potting.

The bonsai pot we use for semi-cascade style bonsai tree should be relatively deep. It can be round, square, octagonal, hexagonal, or a deep cascade.

Surface roots of a semi-cascade or cascade bonsai tree should radiate in several directions, with the strongest on the side away from the direction of the leaning tree (ie: if the bonsai tree leans to the right, its strongest roots should be radiating towards the left). In addition, it usually involves major root pruning when the tree is first collected and potted in a bonsai pot because it requires much long, thick root removal and the growing of fine roots closer to the trunk. While some prefer to do root pruning in stages, the root pruning of this Ficus is done completely in one time. Severe root pruning can be done if branches and foliage are also severely reduced at the same time.

We must make sure the roots where we want new growth of fine roots are covered with soil. In this case, since some roots of this Ficus are not long enough, we added a bendable plastic sheet in the interior of the bonsai pot to allow proper coverage of all the roots of the bonsai tree with potting mix. Once new roots have developed strong and long enough, we can take away the black plastic sheet.