De-potting The bonsai should not be watered before attempting to remove the plant so that you have a dry mass of substrate to work with. After removing the drainage mesh fixations, the tree is carefully lifted out of the pot.

		Untangling the roots The roots are carefully untangled with the help of a knitting needle or chopstick or something similar, and the rootball is gently loosened. The roots are gently ‘combed’ outwards from the base of the trunk taking care not to damaged the more delicate roots.

		Root pruning The roots are pruned with suitable clean - ideally disinfected - clippers or secateurs, in order to obtain the correct rootball shape to fit comfortably into the new container. The level of pruning and root removal should take into account the age and type of tree. The feeder roots and roots which run perpendicular to the trunk should be left in favour of thick older roots which can be systematically removed.

 

		chabasai® preparation Pour a quantity of chabasai® approximately equal to 3/4 of the pot volume into a sieve with a mesh size of about 1mm. Rinse the granules carefully to eliminate the fine particles leaving nice clean granules free from fines. Do not use hands to agitate the granules in the sieve during this operation.

		New pot preparation After fixing the drainage mesh in place over the drainage hole in the base of the pot, introduce the chabasai® to the pot and gently press it down to eliminate any gaps.chabasai® à la main en prenant soin de tasser délicatement à chaque fois. The thickness of the initial bed of chabasai® to be used is determined by the height at which you want to position the tree.

		Re-potting The tree is carefully positioned in the pot and may need to be fixed with wires to prevent it from falling over. The pot is then filled with chabasai®in stages, taking care to cover the roots. The chopstick can again be used to help position the roots in the pot. It is important to gently compact chabasai® to make sure there are no gaps between the roots and the substrate.

			Watering Water the plant generously. The difference between chabasai® and other substrates is that one watering is sufficient because the substrate is already saturated with water when it is placed into the pot.