Ming Aralia – New Tree Questions

Question

I ordered a Ming Aralia from a seller on Etsy. It was in transit for about 5 days. My questions are how soon should I repot it after receiving it? How long should I wait before Pruning it? and my last question is a little more unusual. The tree I got has kind of a boring trunk and I would like to start taking the steps to develop a more interesting trunk. Would repotting it at an angle force the branches and canopy to start growing upward (creating a more interesting profile)?

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Answer 1

Doing much of anything while it is still recovering from transit will be an added stress that should be avoided. Outside of watering when the soil is starting to dry, I would wait to even feed it for a month, at the least.

I would not prune it until it gets too tall to handle, either.

Repotting will need to be done once it is rootbound. There is no need to do it any earlier, and this can cause more damage than benefit. You can see the state of the roots by carefully lifting it out of the pot. If the roots are intact and tightly swirling the container, then it will be time to repot into a slightly larger container. (About 1 or 2 inches larger on all sides.)

As far as making it interesting, you could try using plant wire to train the branches, as you would a Bonsai!

Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/aralia-plants/polyscias-fruticosa-ming-aralia.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/bonsai/bonsai-basics-starting-your-own-bonsai.htm