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

Actually, if you don't like the scar, just truncate the branch at a point proximal to (below) the scar. The branch will quickly back-bud and all will soon be well. After severing the branch, wait a bit for the sap to stop leaking, then paint only the wound with waterproof wood glue. It will seal the wound, preventing substantial dieback of the cambium because of desiccation and the accompanying scar. I'm sure someone is going to mention proper pruning procedures and how conventional wisdom is to avoid wound sealers, but this is not a plant in the landscape, in which we need to worry about the structural failure of 20 years down the road. I do this with every succulent I prune and all my bonsai trees, never having a hint that it even might be a problem. This is one plant and it wouldn't have been possible to create if I hadn't painted the wound with a sealant to keep the cambium from dying back after the stem was truncated. It would have died back unevenly and noticeably, and all the new branches would have emerged from the stem at different heights instead of from the cambium immediately proximal to the wound. Al

I have planted many trees with Tubex or equivelent,and I'm not a big fan of them.How many of these trees do you have planted? What I have found is exactly what happens with the tree shelters.They allow your seedlings to start growing earlier in spring,which sets them up for damage from a cold snap,this also happens in fall.If you want a tree shelter try hardware cloth or somthing similar with openings to keep mice away from the tree. I know it looks bad and you think the tree is damaged but if they grow good,in a few years you won't even see the scar.I see your in z5,that is almost it's northern limit for Pecan trees.My brother planted some last year and he is seeing the same trend with the tips being nipped by frost.I have a few peach trees,and I' taking a risk that a late frost may ruin my crop for the year but the tree will live but with some damage.Good luck and maybe someone else in zone5 has pecans. lp

but tree branches can die and still be green and full of leaves? ==>> laymans explanation ... the life of the tree is the cambian layer.. its the thin green line between the bark.. and the inside wood ... it is the vascular system of the tree.. moving water and nutrients.. in each direction.. as needed ... the interior of the branch.. is basically dead lumber ... when intact.. it is the structure of the tree.. just like the 2 x 4's of your house ... when the integrity of the bark is compromised... and the interior wood is exposed to the elements ... just like any other wood .. it starts decaying.. yes.. the branch can be rotten from within.. and still leafing out ... and the more it grows.. the more weight it is putting on the rotting parts ... that tree next to your house.. is a IMMINENT DANGER.. crikey.. almost half of it is hanging over your house!!! you dont need an arborist to get rid of it ... but if you want an onsite opinion.. then pay for it ... GET RID OF IT ASAP ... and insure that whoever does the work.. is fully insured in case he drops it on your house... this is not a job for billybob down the road with his chainsaw .... ken