Creating a Chinese Yew (Podocarpus) Grouping for the First Time and Individual Repotting

Creating a Chinese Yew (Podocarpus) Grouping for the First Time and Individual Repotting

This is a very exhilarating post! I will be taking a stab at creating a bonsai grouping using most of my Chinese Yew/Podocarpus cuttings. I have never attempted to make a bonsai grouping of any kind before so I am a little nervous but also really excited to get started!

---

Current Condition

I took all of these Chinese Yew cuttings about two and a half years ago and have kept them in small trainer pots the entire time. The collection features two larger cuttings and four smaller ones. One of the larger ones and one of the smaller ones both have a nice “Y” shape to them. All the other cuttings feature a nice formal upright shape. My favorite of the bunch is the smaller “Y” shaped cutting. This cutting is the fastest grower of the group and I have some interesting plans for its design once it starts to get larger. To encourage more growth, I will be placing it in a pot all by itself. For the Chinese Yew grouping, I will be trimming the roots slightly, just to ensure they all fit snug in the pot, and trying to spread them evenly around the pot.

---

How to Create a Chinese Yew Grouping and Individual Podocarpus Repotting

Chinese Yew Grouping

First up, the Podocarpus grouping! To start, all the trees need to be removed from their old pots. After loosening the soil and gently tugging at the base of the tree, they should all pop right out. The roots of these cuttings are pretty lengthy so a slight pruning will be needed to fit them all into the pot. Chinese Yew trees do not like a lot of root pruning so only a small amount will be pruned off. Once they are all trimmed up, its time to place them all around the pot.

Placement is everything when it comes to creating a grouping. One of the biggest superstitions when it comes to creating grouping is to use an odd number of trees. Some people consider it a borderline sin to use an even number. Personally, I don’t see the big fuss around the topic and think that any number will work as long as you like the look of them all potted together. I opted to go with an odd number, five, in this repotting mainly because the pot I selected was already kind of cramped and six trees would have definitely been too much.

Individual Podocarpus Repotting

Another reason this repotting is so exciting is because I am finally using one of the pots that I bought in Hong Kong! I have been waiting forever to put this pot to use and I finally have a tree worthy of it. The only downside to this pot is that it doesn’t have any drainage holes. I have dealt with other pots like this and am familiar with how they retain water. Whenever you have a pot without any holes at the bottom for the water to drain out, you should be aware that the water will remain in the soil for even longer than normal. This will encourage mold growth. Mold is terrible news as it will rot the roots of your plant, slowly killing it. So, be extra careful how much and when you water any plants in pots without drainage holes.

Aside from that, everything else is pretty straightforward. Remove the tree from the soil, clean the roots and keep them moist, fill the new pot with soil, place the tree back into the soil, and fill in the gaps between the roots. All that’s left for this tree is to wait for it to grow. I can’t wait to see how it starts to develop in this new pot!

---

Final Results and Considerations

Creating a Chinese Yew grouping was a lot easier than I first anticipated. Literally, the only difference is placing multiple trees into the pot instead of one. However, I am still a little anxious for how these trees start to grow once they settle into their new pot. Only time will tell!

Lastly, I’d like to talk about the pots I ended up using. The short brown one for the grouping and the blue and white one for the singular Podocarpus. The brown pot is very shallow and does not have a ton of surface area. I will be keeping an eye on the trees development over the coming weeks and make adjustments if necessary. The lack of drainage holes on the blue and white pot does trouble me but I am fairly confident that I will be able to adapt my watering techniques to suit the pot.

---

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe to never miss any content!

The Gallery has all these photos and more. Don’t miss the growth of all my bonsai trees!

If you missed my last post about my Royal Poinciana repotting you can find it here!