Burning bush repot question

[Kevster]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this forum and love what i see! A lot of great trees and information here!
I just picked up a fairly large Euonymus alata Compactus from a local nursery today. It is in a 3 gallon pot and from what is visable a 3.5 inch trunk but the roots are VERY compacted and as hard as a rock.

Knowing burning bush only put on one push of growth a year I was wondering if I could do a light root pruning now in hopes that the roots will recover this fall and I will get the best push of growth come spring?
I am in zone 7a and the leaves on the bush have not started to turn yet.

There isn't a whole lot of information on these bushes other then prun back hard and wire young growth early. There aren't a lot of them as bonsai either. I wonder if this is because of only the one push of growth they have a year.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Kevin

 

[Bill S]

Kevin, I think it's a bit late for that at this point. You risk die off over winter of anything trying to regrow at this time of year. Not sure the roots would follow the branches as far as "new pushes of growth".

 

[jk_lewis]

Bonsai is an art form that teaches patience as much as anything. While it is possible to transplant in the fall, for those who aren't horticultural whiz kids, it is always best to wait until spring. Always.

 

[Kevster]

Thanks guys. I will wait to repot. What do you think about slipping it into a bigger pot to protect the bound roots from cold weather? Say from the 3 gallon it's in to a 5 gallon?
This link http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/fallpot.htm was very informative!