Potting up is simply removing the plant from the pot, adding a little fresh soil on the bottom of the new pot, adding the plant, and filling in around the edges with more soil. Potting up, as opposed to repotting, ensures your plant cannot grow to its genetic potential, within the other limiting factors. Repotting includes removing all or nearly all of the soil and pruning roots. All the plants I work with in Moraceae (the Ficus family), which includes many species of Ficus + mulberry get bare-rooted at every repot and a complete change of soil. This guarantees the plant does have the opportunity to grow to its genetic potential within other limiting factors. I'll kind of narrate what I was thinking and describe what I did. Three or four years ago, I conducted a workshop with Ficus b 'Too Little' as the subject material. This tree was exceptionally ugly, and no one wanted it, so I took it home & set it on the grow bench. I cut it back hard as soon as I brought it home to establish some sort of future branch structure. I know I repotted it at least once, because it's in the gritty mix, but I didn't remember anything in particular about the tree because I only looked at the roots once & regarded it as pre-bonsai material. The pots are by Sarah Rayner, and I intended to put the plant in one of them after the work, but it took more than I thought it would to straighten out the root nightmare, so I wanted a larger pot with a greater soil volume to allow the plant a year to recover. The tree before starting: This is how the roots looked after I had removed a small amount of soil from the perimeter: There were a LOT of roots. A closer look, confirming that there is a mess under the soil that will need some work: If the roots are ugly, it won't matter to you because you'll bury them. In bonsai, the root base and exposed roots are a very important part of the composition because they are a very important part of the illusion of great age. This doesn't really tell you much, other than there are a LOT of healthy roots to be dealt with: As noted, I bare root Ficus completely. As I work, I submerge the tree in a tub like this, or I use a spritzer if the tree is too large for that kind of treatment. The important part is to be sure the roots don't dry out as you work on them: Sorry for the detour. I snapped this because it was close to where I was working and thought you might like it: Back to work now. The roots are still a mess, but you can see that I really whacked them hard. I didn't leave much in the way of any large roots. Normally, I don't cut the top back at the same time I work on roots, but the tree had so much foliage that the remaining roots could never support it. This means that the tree would have shed weak branches that might be important to the end composition. By cutting the tree back hard, it should prevent random die-back because I selected the branches to be 'shed'. Treatment this harsh should only be undertaken on healthy trees with plenty of reserve energy. You can see how large some of the roots I removed were: A look at the roots on the other side: The pot I settled on, a Tokonome ceramic training pot, prepared with a screen & a wick (wick, to facilitate drainage until the plant is well established & roots have colonized the entire soil mass). I did too much work on the tree to put it directly into one of the bonsai pots. The larger soil volume of the training pot will help it to recover faster: After potting. I'll cover the scar with waterproof wood glue to keep the cambium from drying & dying back. It's a large scar, but should heal over by the time the tree is fit to show, in 4-5 years: The other side: After the repotting work: The last is after the top is cut back hard and the tree has been secured to the container. I often prefer this method of securing plants instead of wiring them into the pot. It IS important though, to secure the tree so it can't move in relation to the pot. Jostling the tree or the wind, breaks many tiny roots and greatly extends recovery time. The wound has been dressed. The tree actually looks much better than the picture shows because you can't get any perspective on how the branches are positioned. Branching looks messy in the photo, but it doesn't when you're in front of the tree. A few days in the shade & then back on the bench until night temps start dropping below 50*. It comes in at that time after a couple of applications of neem oil about 2 weeks apart: That's about it - can't think of anything else at the moment. I hope it was helpful and hope even more that it bolstered your courage. ;o) Take care. Al

i dont see where pruning will save a dying tree ... or a dead tree ... hard to pin point that dichotomy ... if you are dying.. will lopping off your arm??? perhaps.. if in fact that its the problem part .... but how would you know on a tree ... the losses i have had .. in late spring.. after i note bud swelling.. i can usually figure out a hard frost or freeze.. that hit the plant at just the wrong time.. and yes.. it can hit on tree ... or only affect the struggling on .... a previously struggling plant [transplant .... drought the prior year... disease.. bug????] ... might have just enough power to bud out.. but then they get hit with the killing temps.. and frankly.. it just gives up .. if it had a choice ... and if that is the case.. of what good would pruning be??? i suppose.. at that point.. you have nothing to lose ... cut on it.. and see if anything can be saved ... but i wouldnt bet too much money on it... ken

I would look at this as an opportunity to do some landscaping revision. Both the burning bush and the Japanese barberry (the yellow thorny shrubs) are regulated invasive plant species in WI, so the planting of these is highly discouraged. There are scores of other, equally attractive alternates that could be used in their place and that could be more tolerant of tough winter conditions. As to why the current plants are dying off, I'd put winter cold damage at the top of the list, possibly combined with road or deicing salt. Next would be a water issue - either drought/no irrigation or poor drainage and too much water. You would need to determine which condition seems the most reasonable for your location and then select new plants that will accommodate these conditions. And feel free to ignore the comment about fertilizing :-) It is not even close to being accurate!! Plants that have been in place in cultivated garden for an extended period and without benefit of a regular organic mulch can indeed be helped by fertilization, as they have likely used up whatever soil nutrients might have been available. Replenishing soil nitrogen is typically at the top of the list as it is the one used in the greatest quantity and also the least stable/most mobile. It is almost always lacking. Any all purpose granular garden fertilizer will work, applied as per label instructions, annually in spring as new growth begins. May not need to do so every year.....it's a bit of a monitor and watch how the plants behave situation or get a soil test to confirm. Also, mulching routinely with a good organic mulch (shredded bark, composted leaves or garden compost, etc.) will go a long way to supplement and replenish the soil nutrients.

Any ornamental cherry tree is prone to a huge number of disease ad pest issues and for some reason, the weepers seem to be more susceptible to problems than the upright forms. Bacterial canker and brown rot are two of the most common issues. Generally not a long term plant in the garden for this reason :-( Just prune off the dead limbs. That's really all you can do at this point. In winter, you might look into dormant sprays but I'd figure out what you might want to replace it with. Once they start going down hill, it's pretty much a non-stop ride. Sorry