Jkent, yeah I'm not the first to wonder why the pics are rotated when posted. If anyone knows how to preclude this issue, please post. Especially vexing with the auto rotation on most devices these days, however (if someone doesn't know), that feature can be disabled.
Hey Owen, thanks for the kind words and I especially appreciate the congrats on getting them into pots as it always a lesson in problem solving to get yamadori into a reasonably sized pot. As far as aftercare on the Doug Firs (or in your case, attempting to resuscitate a weak one), the biggest thing I'd recommend is foliar feeding. Some fertilizer directly applied to the food factories can make a difference, imo. In addition, due to summer heat, I over-pot in order to keep the roots (relatively) cool yet still allow them to get plenty of sun. I also use a slightly smaller partiical size (3/16") than pines in an effort to retain a little more moisture.
So, in summary of what seems to work for me in the aftercare scenario:
Foliar feeding
Over pot in deciduous sized mix, no turface
Protect from wind, allow morning sun and dappled afternoon light
Inoculate with mycorrhizae
Water copiously when needed to pull oxygen through the rootball
Zero pruning to keep as much food production as possible
Once established, these guys are much more stable and more latitude can be applied to the above parameters. I bet I'm not telling you (Owen) things you don't know, but perhaps someone else will benefit from this. Here's one in the same boat, a few years initially in turface with very little action from the plant. Repotted in a deeper container with scoria and pumice. Hope yours rebounds.
Patrik
