Orange Jasmine (Murraya Paniculata) Repotting Time?

roberthu

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I recently bought a small orange jasmine plant and it arrived in typical peat moss based nursery soil. The soil was very loose due to shipping but the little plant has been doing fairly well in it after I pushed the soil down a bit to make it relatively compact. It came with flower buds and now some of them are open nicely. Is it safe to repot now or should I wait until the flowers drop? I want to get it into non-organic bonsai soil like turface, akadama or kanuma for better root development. I am in Atlanta GA and the high here is around 90F and the low in the night is about 70F. Thanks.
 

roberthu

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Can someone share their experience please?

I am leaning towards waiting until it’s a bit cooler to repot now. We are at 90F in the day here so it’s probably too hot for most plants to be repotted.
 

penumbra

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Sorry no one has answered you. I have a small one I am getting ready to repot. I am not hesitant because I am potting it up to get some growth for a couple years before I style it. I meant to get to it today to take advantage of the lunar cycle, I just couldn't get to it. Perhaps I can get to it in the morning. I will use a mix of Napa 8822, fine pine bark, a bit of pumice and a bit of lava.
Temps here have been 88 to 96 F with about 70-85 % humidity.
 

Vin

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Mock Orange is an evergreen and like most evergreens repotting occurs in the Spring. I almost collected a huge one 6 or 7 year ago but decided to pass because I didn't know that much about their care. I still don't. Good luck!
 

roberthu

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Sorry no one has answered you. I have a small one I am getting ready to repot. I am not hesitant because I am potting it up to get some growth for a couple years before I style it. I meant to get to it today to take advantage of the lunar cycle, I just couldn't get to it. Perhaps I can get to it in the morning. I will use a mix of Napa 8822, fine pine bark, a bit of pumice and a bit of lava.
Temps here have been 88 to 96 F with about 70-85 % humidity.
Thank you! It's probably a little bit cooler where you are compared to my location. I may do the same though. Getting it into a bigger pot for better growth makes sense.
 

penumbra

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Mock Orange is an evergreen and like most evergreens repotting occurs in the Spring. I almost collected a huge one 6 or 7 year ago but decided to pass because I didn't know that much about their care. I still don't. Good luck!
Not the same plant and nowhere closely related. Mock orange is temperate zoned and spring re pot is appropriate. Orange Jasmin is a tropical and summer re pot is appropriate.
 

roberthu

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This is how common names get us into trouble: Murraya versus Philadelphus
Yep. Common names can be very different for the same plant in different regions. Or it can be the same name but different plants.
 

penumbra

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Not the same plant and nowhere closely related. Mock orange is temperate zoned and spring re pot is appropriate. Orange Jasmin is a tropical and summer re pot is appropriate.
I screwed up and read Mock orange as Osage orange. One of those senior moments.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Murraya paniculata is a great tropical for bonsai. Good for "indoors for winter, outdoors for summer" bonsai. Summer repotting, while the tree is in active growth is the norm for tropicals. If you want to repot your Murraya at this time of year in Atlanta, the timing is good. You still have a couple months of warm weather during which the tree can recover. In the future repotting in early summer has the advantage of the whole growing season to recover, but you still have enough months left that repotting now is not an issue.

For Murraya, depending on what you want from the tree, would determine what media I would use. If you want the trunk to increase in diameter, you will need growth, foliage and branches to extend in order to increase the diameter of the trunk. In that case, I would consider moving it into a larger nursery style pot, or a low but wide pot, such as a bulb pan or an azalea pot. In such a case, I would use an organic mix, a potting soil even, to encourage a rapid growth rate.

If you are happy with the diameter of the trunk, and you want the size of the tree to be relatively static, then I would go to an inorganic soil.

So which type of media you choose depends on your purpose. Inorganic media, especially with broadleaf trees, tends to lend itself towards slower growth. For conifers, and desert dwelling trees, inorganic media is the first choice, but for broadleaf trees, the generally somewhat more dry nature of inorganic mixes definitely slows the growth of broadleaf trees, both tropicals and deciduous.
 
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