Overwintering and ground growing question

[karen82]

I purchased 2 Amur maples recently. They are small and will probably need to be ground grown for a year or two. Is it best to plant them in the ground now (which would mean some root disturbance as I would want to spread the roots out over a tile), or just bury them in their pots and plant them in the ground in spring?
I know right now is still a time of active root growth so I wasn't sure if it would aid the trees to plant them in the ground now.. or if that would make new roots more vulnerable to cold.

If it matters, I'm in zone 5, but farther north than most of zone 5... so winter is long. It actually snowed today.

 

[leatherback]

I would wait till spring before doing any rootwork.

 

[Deleted member 21616]

@karen82 I was recently looking at starting an Acer Ginnala project. Were you planning on burying the whole tree?

The nursery that I was going to purchase the Ginnala from suggested that I bury the tree a little more than pot depth, and build a burlap tipi over it. We're talking 5-gallong nursery pots - i'm assuming yours is in a nursery pot?

This nursery is in southern Quebec, so their winters must not be so different from yours. I know people use these as landscape trees and do not protect them at all (granted the roots are buried). It's an extremely winter-hardy variety

I don't have any experience overwintering them myself - but I was looking into it seriously

Have you asked the place you bought it from if they have any winter-care recommendations?

(I know this isn't the question you were asking, but I thought I might save you from digging a 48" deep hole if 12" will do the trick)

 

[karen82]

@karen82 I was recently looking at starting an Acer Ginnala project. Were you planning on burying the whole tree?

The nursery that I was going to purchase the Ginnala from suggested that I bury the tree a little more than pot depth, and build a burlap tipi over it. We're talking 5-gallong nursery pots - i'm assuming yours is in a nursery pot?

This nursery is in southern Quebec, so their winters must not be so different from yours. I know people use these as landscape trees and do not protect them at all (granted the roots are buried). It's an extremely winter-hardy variety

I don't have any experience overwintering them myself - but I was looking into it seriously

Have you asked the place you bought it from if they have any winter-care recommendations?

(I know this isn't the question you were asking, but I thought I might save you from digging a 48" deep hole if 12" will do the trick)

The Amurs I got are in small 6" nursery pots so they won't be too bad to bury. I was planning to simply bury the pots slightly deeper than the soil and mulch well. I also have a Trident that I will need to provide wind protection to, and I hadn't decided if I would do this for the Amurs as well. I'm expecting the Amurs to make it through ok, although I'm a little worried for the Trident.
I wouldn't really trust the place I bought them from for recommendations since they are a full zone warmer.

 

[cmeg1]

I have been recently researching these Rootpouch pots.They claim to prune roots from entrapment in the fibers and you can also bury in the ground for determined times depending on the specific weight of the weave they offer.Seems a win win really for ground growing.
Rootpouch brand is the only company that claims entrapment pruning which is beneficial ,so pouches can be buried in ground and removed after sufficient growth whilst maintaining a self pruning rootball without letting roots grow through the pouch.
Nice concept anyway.
I ordered some of their smaller 3”sizes for seedlings in a thinner weave.
The bigger heavier weaves seem great for ground growing though.
You could just fill with a good ,proper soil and put your trees in there ,without the 6”pots they’re in now,and would not have to dig them in Spring....just let them go for as long as the Rootpouch is advertised to last.The advertised life span of the different weaves is for being buried in ground with soil on both sides!
Here is link...
https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/containers-trays/bags-pouches/root-pouch-grey-fabric-pot-3-4-year?returnurl=/containers-trays/bags-pouches/

 

[Mike Hennigan]

The Amurs I got are in small 6" nursery pots so they won't be too bad to bury. I was planning to simply bury the pots slightly deeper than the soil and mulch well. I also have a Trident that I will need to provide wind protection to, and I hadn't decided if I would do this for the Amurs as well. I'm expecting the Amurs to make it through ok, although I'm a little worried for the Trident.
I wouldn't really trust the place I bought them from for recommendations since they are a full zone warmer.

There is absolutely no need to bury the pots, you could probably leave an Amur Maple just sitting on the ground and not even mulched in, in zone 5. They are that cold hardy. My suggestion to you is to just find a spot on the Northside of your house where the tree will be in shade all winter, just set it on the ground and mulch around the pot. It will be more than alright. The reason you want them in shade is because the sun could heat up the mulch and bring them out of dormancy too early in the spring. I did this with tridents as well in zone 5 and they did fine.

Just burying them in the nursery pots without unpotting and doing a proper planting is extra effort for no reason, and could potentially drown your trees roots if the conditions are right. Above ground you can keep better tabs on how wet the roots are and ensure a healthier plant come spring time.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@karen82
If you are closer to Rhinelander than Milwaukee, I would probably bury just the pots. Your part of Wisconsin is significantly colder than Ithaca NY. I'm in zone 5b - and I leave my A. ginnala fully exposed, just sitting on the ground, I even leave in the spot it grew all summer, about 50% sun. Mine is in a 2 gallon nursery pot, about 8 inches diameter. My climate is similar to Ithaca, but I know parts of central Wisconsin can get awful cold. I was in Rhinelander, doing an audit of a lab at a paper mill in January when the real temperature hit -44 F, roughly -42 C. This was without windchill. It was insanely cold. Being young then I actually went bar hopping that evening. I look back and think, ''I cheated death again''.

Regardless burying the pot would be ''safer'', you probably can get away without burying the pot. A ginnala is incredibly hardy but if you are worried, go ahead an bury the pot. Only transplant to ground or repot to a larger pot in spring. Don't disturb the roots just before winter.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Do not bury the tree in mulch until AFTER the ground freezes. This will help avoid bark eating voles and mice. If you mulch too early, before the ground freezes, the critters may make a nest in the mulch and eat the tree out of convenience.

 

[Mike Hennigan]

Do not bury the tree in mulch until AFTER the ground freezes. This will help avoid bark eating voles and mice. If you mulch too early, before the ground freezes, the critters may make a nest in the mulch and eat the tree out of convenience.

I haven’t heard this before but it makes sense, thanks for sharing.

 

[karen82]

@karen82
If you are closer to Rhinelander than Milwaukee, I would probably bury just the pots. Your part of Wisconsin is significantly colder than Ithaca NY. I'm in zone 5b - and I leave my A. ginnala fully exposed, just sitting on the ground, I even leave in the spot it grew all summer, about 50% sun. Mine is in a 2 gallon nursery pot, about 8 inches diameter. My climate is similar to Ithaca, but I know parts of central Wisconsin can get awful cold. I was in Rhinelander, doing an audit of a lab at a paper mill in January when the real temperature hit -44 F, roughly -42 C. This was without windchill. It was insanely cold. Being young then I actually went bar hopping that evening. I look back and think, ''I cheated death again''.

Regardless burying the pot would be ''safer'', you probably can get away without burying the pot. A ginnala is incredibly hardy but if you are worried, go ahead an bury the pot. Only transplant to ground or repot to a larger pot in spring. Don't disturb the roots just before winter.

I'm in Door County, technically zone 5b, just farther north than most. And I'm pretty close to the lake, so it's windy, but should also be very snowy. I just moved from the Milwaukee area (also 5b) so I haven't had a winter here yet, though.
Thanks for the advice. The trees are still out in the backyard until it gets a little colder, then I will move them to the north side of the house. I plan to bury the Trident near the house (it's in a pond basket which offers the roots no protection at all). The Amurs and my other trees are a bit hardier so I'm undecided about burying them or not. I don't want to drown the roots if burying the pot would trap too much water in there. I was thinking of just slipping them from their pots, burying the roots with no disturbance, and then planting them in ground properly in spring.