Potting at dormancy break

[Enfield Snapper]

We're still a few weeks from the normal start of the growing season here in Portland. But some of the trees around here are getting an early start. I have an Amur Maple that has decided to start opening buds. I had planned to repot this spring, since it's in a regular potting mix. Have I missed the opportunity this year if this process has started already? Or is it still a good time? It seems like 1/4 or less of the buds have started. Here's a picture of what they look like.



I also have a Bald Cypress that seems to have decided not to go fully dormant. I had planned to do a repot for that as well, but I'm not sure how the dormancy issue changes things.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I had that happen last year with my Bald Cypress. I chose to wait until this spring. Not wanting to risk losing it.

As to the maple...I'm a stickler to rule of thumb for success. I wouldn't repot it. That's beyond bud swell...look at the fact that nurseries have been around a long time. They wouldn't plant material in the soil medium to have it go belly up. Just water accordingly. I've kept trees in nursery pots with success. I've one currently with no intentions to repot. It's an azalea. I think we lose concept the medium used does in fact keep landscape trees alive.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Question...what set up is this wintering in? It looks protected. Just asking...because I wintering in a controlled cold greenhouse. And its so important to offer ventilation on a warms winter day to keep the area cool. A warm winters day can and does raise temps in my set up. So I have a alarm system thermometer to alert me if it gets to warm. As well for a low temp for secondary heat if needed. Just throwing that out there. It may not apply...if that the case. Please disregard.

 

[leatherback]

This looks like a near-perfect moment to repot. There are many people arguing repotting is normally done too early by many. For many trees, real root growth starts after the buds start opening up.

I would not think twice about repotting in that state.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

Question...what set up is this wintering in? It looks protected.

Thanks for that thought. I had it out in an area where it was more in the open up until I rearranged things a week or two ago. Now it's on my balcony. I didn't think it was much warmer there, but it may have been just enough to give it the push it was waiting for. Next year, It'll probably stay in the same place all winter.

Having said that, I have some marionberries and there are wild blackberries here that never lost their leaves at all. Winter has been particularly mild here. So I'm not sure moving it really made much difference, but I'll keep it in mind next winter.

 

[Enfield Snapper]

For many trees, real root growth starts after the buds start opening up.

I would not think twice about repotting in that state.

Thanks for your input on this. I was under the impression that was the case for root growth, but I didn't know if rootwork needed to be done prior to that point or if having started growth already would be beneficial in getting a start on root regeneration.

 

[JudyB]

The big problem with early leaf break, and repotting is if you get cold weather after that happens. There is still plenty of winter left, so you should be concerned about keeping this protected if temps get low.

 

[sorce]

I wouldn't Repot it even if you could offer it protection.

Post in thread 'Waking up' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/waking-up.26325/post-429525

Mine died cuz I repotted. Only cuz I repotted.

Sorce

 

[Nybonsai12]

I would definitely repot and protect from freezing temps.

 

[Shibui]

I have repotted many deciduous trees with buds at the stage shown and sometimes even more advanced. I usually root prune far harder than many consider safe and I still have not experienced problems after late repot. Those buds are using very little water so even after a normal repot the roots and trunk reserves will be able to maintain those tiny leaves.

Trees can be dormant and still have leaves. Chinese elm is a classic case. Often they don't drop leaves here in winter so I had the same dilemma - repot or not? Turns out it does not matter if there are leaves. All the Chinese elms root pruned in winter survive whether they have leaves or not. Further north in our sub-tropics where Chinese elm never stop growing they have discovered Chinese elm can be repotted any time of year. I would suggest the BC could also be repotted even if it does have some leaves still on. If you are still concerned introduce artificial dormancy by defoliating. In the few weeks it takes to develop new leaves the roots will also begin to regenerate.

 

[Colorado]

I would not hesitate to repot.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Hard freeze still very likely to kill "early" trees even without repotting. Unless having good protection not a great idea.

 

[leatherback]

Hard freeze still very likely to kill "early" trees even without repotting. Unless having good protection not a great idea.

So what difference does the repotting make?

I can get late frosts well into May, frost in late April is normal. By then all but the latest trees have started growing. There is no way I can wait till no more frosts can happen, nor protect all trees.

 

[Sputnik 184]

In the UK my Amur maples are starting to come out just like yours. They are always the first to wake up and don’t seem too phased by cold snaps. Here I would have no hesitation to repot but you know your local climate.

 

[leatherback]

In the UK my Amur maples are starting to come out just like yours. They are always the first to wake up and don’t seem too phased by cold snaps. Here I would have no hesitation to repot but you know your local climate.

Mine too.

Considering where they are from, they consider 32f/0c spring weather.

 

[HENDO]

For the Bald Cypress here in Houston, in January once the leaves/needles turn rusty/red then a lot of people will defoliate to help push them into dormancy. Then, do the work on them in February.

I've had no issues with the above schedule +/- a month. I've done several BC repots in January knowing that we won't get any hard freeze - you may want to adjust the above schedule to do your major BC work at a time where it is late enough that there won't be a hard freeze afterwards.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I guess it all comes down to a dice roll. If you can protect the tree, there is minimal risk. If you have to keep it outside, there is only risk if you get caught by one of those uncommon winter storms that roll through Portland every now and then.

As a reminder, the record low in Portland in Feb is -3 F (-19 C).

However if you had such an extreme weather event you could probably find some way to provide a few days of emergency protection. I always err on the side of conservative re-potting. What is the harm in waiting? None. What is the risk? Your call... but a dead tree is forever Nothing good in bonsai happens fast

(Supposed to be 70 F here on Tuesday, but I'm not planning on repotting anything, LOL!)

 

[Dav4]

So, it's my understanding Amur maple always break dormancy early compared to other trees (particularly if protected in any way from the cold), so unless you keep this one frozen in a freezer next winter, you'll be dealing with the same issue. I'm with Shibui and would re-pot now or even later this week and plan to do a thorough job concerning what the roots need to be potential bonsai stock. Amur are tough as nails and you could probably leave it unprotected after the re-pot and it would do just fine... but... I'd try to keep the soil from freezing again if you do re-pot, more so for peace of mind. I'm a full zone colder then you and my re-potting season typically starts in the next few weeks. In the past, I've had a few recently re-potted trees freeze solid- JBP, Rocky Mountain Juniper, hawthorn- and none seemed to mind... though they were all solidly dormant when the re-pot and subsequent refreeze occurred.

 

[coachspinks]

So, it's my understanding Amur maple always break dormancy early compared to other trees (particularly if protected in any way from the cold), so unless you keep this one frozen in a freezer next winter, you'll be dealing with the same issue. I'm with Shibui and would re-pot now or even later this week and plan to do a thorough job concerning what the roots need to be potential bonsai stock. Amur are tough as nails and you could probably leave it unprotected after the re-pot and it would do just fine... but... I'd try to keep the soil from freezing again if you do re-pot, more so for peace of mind. I'm a full zone colder then you and my re-potting season typically starts in the next few weeks. In the past, I've had a few recently re-potted trees freeze solid- JBP, Rocky Mountain Juniper, hawthorn- and none seemed to mind... though they were all solidly dormant when the re-pot and subsequent refreeze occurred.

I have some pre-bonsai maples that have opened one or two buds. I expect I will be repotting them within the next 2 weeks. After, I will just hope to avoid hard freezes....but I know I will be carrying them back and forth between the garden and garage. It is what it is and I have done that the last few years with zero loss.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Not really relevant, but the earliest I had any bud waking in Southern Cal was in mid-February. I just went out and looked, and the winters are so mild here in NC it is hard to tell what is in true dormancy and what is not. Some of my Chinese elms never dropped leaves, but their leaves just coppered up (similar to junipers). My Mediterranean species look like it might as well be mid-June

That said, none of my maples are showing any sign of awakening. They didn't drop leaves until mid-December, so I'd be very surprised if they turned around so quickly.