Broken Pot

[Haines' Trees]

So we had a bit of a thaw here over the weekend and I went to check on some of my trees to see how they are faring the winter. One of them has suffered a cracked pot, not so bad that it needs emergency reporting, just the top 10% or so of one side cracked off, likely from some of the freeze/thaw back and forth we get in my climate. I was wondering when the best time would be to repot, should I wait till late March/early April right around spring? Should hurry up and do it ASAP since the structural integrity of the pot is certainly much less than it was? It’s a Juniper, a couple years old. I have some plastic training pots I bought cheap on amazon a while ago that I could transfer it into. They’ll be a bit big for the size of the tree currently but it’s better than nothing.

I didn’t think to take a picture when I noticed; I was leaving the house to go to work when I saw it. I’ll take a picture when I get home to share the damage.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I had a pot all lined up for use this year. Had tree picked out and everything.
Then I looked at the bottom. Hairline itsy bitsy crack around most of the bottom... I could see myself wiring the tree into the....uh..... piece of pottery.

Went with plastic. Better anyhow as the entire bottom is vented.

 

[Dav4]

Unless the health of the tree is being significantly compromised by the broken pot, I’d repot at the appropriate time for the tree.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I'm in Zion, north of Gurnee, more or less same climate. I would wait until April.

 

[sneutrino]

More Illini here than I expected. Gives me hope!

 

[Haines' Trees]

More Illini here than I expected. Gives me hope!

I went to the UofI! You too sneutrino?

 

[Haines' Trees]

Upon further inspection, I found four pots that have cracked. The one I noticed before I left for work actually seems like it’s sustained the least damage and can safely be left alone I think. Some of the others however...
This one split corner to corner, all the way across the bottom. Pretty much two equal halves of a pot is what I have here. I figure if transferring it to a new pot now is inadvisable I could I guess use some duct tape to keep the two halves together for now??? I’ve got another identical pot that cracked in the same fashion.

 

[sneutrino]

I went to the UofI! You too sneutrino?

No, but have many friends that did. I've lived in and around Chicago for 15 yrs, but travel often. Restarting bonsai only now, having lost 5 starts in a balcony incident 7 or so years ago. Thankfully I now have a yard

 

[sorce]

I have 2 junipers that the pot has fallen off of and I water just a nursery rootball for the most part.

Hey check this out! Seen it the other day!

Sorce

 

[Carol 83]

I have 2 junipers that the pot has fallen off of and I water just a nursery rootball for the most part.

Hey check this out! Seen it the other day!

Sorce

You should take your kids there, if you're ever down this way. Kind of neat museum and you can walk up the biggest mound.

 

[RKatzin]

Upon further inspection, I found four pots that have cracked. The one I noticed before I left for work actually seems like it’s sustained the least damage and can safely be left alone I think. Some of the others however...View attachment 282287
This one split corner to corner, all the way across the bottom. Pretty much two equal halves of a pot is what I have here. I figure if transferring it to a new pot now is inadvisable I could I guess use some duct tape to keep the two halves together for now??? I’ve got another identical pot that cracked in the same fashion.

Well someone got a good lesson on cheap pottery! Replace with Sorce pots and live carefree.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

duct tape - until repotting season.
i've used duct taped up pots for as much as 2 years before repotting

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

shape of pot is critical for freeze tolerance. Walls of pot must slope outwards, wider at the top than at the bottom. Soil (soil-water mixture) expands as it freezes, the walls of the pot need to slope outwards to allow the soil mass to "float upwards" as it expands. No interior lips, or horizontal ridges to stop the ice-soil mass from sliding up. A coarse soil, with very few fine particles will have air voids the ice can "back up into" and keep the pressure of the expanding ice lower.

The vertical scored marks in some fine, high quality Japanese pots are guide ridges to encourage the soil mass to slide up vertically as it expands.

If a pot has a lip that extends inward, either keep the level of soil well below the incurved portion, or do not freeze. Bag pots are a shape designed to be broken by freezing.

 

[Haines' Trees]

I did a combo of duct tape and some training wire around the rim to keep them together. Seems pretty sturdy for now. The pots they’re in have a handy grove near the top rim that the wire nests in perfectly. Should suffice till April.