Pine Transplant

[Gr8tfuldad]

I have these year 2 seedlings that I haven’t gotten to just yet. Work has been demanding this year. What would you do, slip pot in some promix and course perlite or leave them. I’m afraid of the watering requirements in small pots and course soil, work shows no signs of slowing down. If you did repot would it be ok to leave most of the corse soil in your opinion? Thanks, I hope your trees are thriving!

 

[Shibui]

Slip potting is likely your best option. Try to use a similar soil mix because different water and roots don't like crossing boundaries. I suspect that much of the current soil will fall off as you try to repot but that's not fatal and will probably help blur the boundary between old and new soils. Just changing soil is not such a problem for the tree or roots and, hopefully, you'll only be breaking occasional roots which won't hurt either.
It's a pity you could not do a good root prune while repotting because that would set these up much better for future nebari but that can always be done next spring - if the work situation allows.

 

[PonderingSage:]

Maybe you could bury the entire tray to the top of the tray in your garden bed or larger container?