Repoting advanced trees

Manfred says...
I really love questions like this, because the answer is likely to leave as much out as the question did, and eventually it shows that the most experienced grower can make the same mistakes as the earliest beginner. Whatever I say should have someone less experienced, equally experienced, or more experienced leaping to the keyboard to correct me.

For what it's worth,

if you are growing a bonsai, take it out of the pot, and cut the roots to the size of the pot you are repotting it into. If you are putting it back into the same pot, try cutting it to about half its present rootball.

Don't worry about anything but the size of the roots. Cut, cut, cut. If you are feeling lazy, use a mechanical saw to cut the roots. You will look after it and nurse it back to health after it gets back into its pot.

For anything else, first refer to the above advice. Those bonsai people might seem a little weird to the rest of us, but in their own way, they do love their plants.

Take the plant out of the pot. (If that is a problem, refer a separate question). It really does deserve separate consideration.

Look at the roots. Cut fearlessly if any look like they might choke each other when they expand. Try to cut flat roots rather than round roots, leave as much tap root as you can, but if it curls around the pot don't be too frightened to cut.

If you need to choose, cut the root further from the base rather than the inner root. Try to leave some of those soft white feeder roots, but if you can't don't worry too much. It's just a feelgood thing. The plant will forgive you.

Pot it into a cheap potting mix with the AS mark. the only difference between the "standard" potting mix and the "premium" potting mix is about 30 cents worth of fertiliser. If it doesn't have the AS ticks, don't buy it, and if you are in the mood, abuse the supplier for stocking it.

Next- the above ground part.

I am a great believer in pruning for shape. What do you want the plant to do? If you want a full, productive plant, trim the outer growing shoots, if you want a tall open plant, trim the side shoots. If you are happy with it, consider leaving it as it is.

Think about it a bit and you will almost certainly do the right thing. The plant will forgive almost any insult as long as you feed it carefully afterwards. I don't think I have ever gone wrong with a liquid fertiliser, so if you are feeling bit remorseful after the repotting, try that.

There is nothing so satisfying as wandering around the garden with sharp secatuers snipping a leaf here and there

Bangkok says...
My only fruittree rootpruning experience was an acerola cherry, barbados cherry.

Because i couldn't get it out of the pot by the huge roundgrowing rootmass i just janked it out and cut all roots away to do so.

The neighbour wanted to have it and i thought it would die for sure since i cut almost all the roots off. Maybe 10% was left.

He planted the tree in the shade and it just grew more like nothing happened.

I don't dare to rootprune my fruittree's though, i will practise very carefull. Moving big pots into shade also ain't easy for me but that will help the tree survive i guess.