Repotting early Quince and Prunus question

[iant]

With two young kids I want to do some spring work a little early as I never know when I'm going to have some free time. Given I'm in the Bay Area, California, I figure I'm safe to do a little early repotting. If it freezes I can move them in the garage.
I know with Quince it's recommended to repot just after flowering.
I ended up doing it this weekend on a few small quince and P mume (before flowering.)
I understand this may mess up the flowering a bit. Perhaps I should have waited...
Does anyone know if it sets the tree back in growth in other ways to have it's flowering disturbed? I know with Azaleas if you remove some of the blooms it's supposed to let the plant put more energy to leaves and vegetative growth.
Just wondering how 'not recommended' it is to repot some of my flowering trees prior to flowering (prunus, malus, chaenomeles.) I don't mind missing out on some flowers but just hope not to set the plant back.
Thanks!
Ian

 

[dick benbow]

looking at the photos of the quince (thank-you BTW for posting) They look like relatively young, so it's good to have a mindset of repotting annually to keep up with their root growth during the year. as they age you can begin to switch to alternate years and by the time the kids have made you an empty nester, once every three years will work.

My experience has taught me to do the repotting with quince in the fall, tho it can be done in the spring and in your local before March. Nice to see you are aware to protect them now against what used to be unusual weather, that is now becoming more of the norm.

Hopefully you've used a potting mix that favors water retention and nice to see a little deeper pot. When it comes time to put them into a ceramic pot, I've always favored blue as it seems to show off both red and white to it's best advantage.

for single trunk style don't be afraid to quickly remove the sucker growth as it appears.

for wiring wait till the new growth has finished elongating and begins to harden off.Should be around the End of june/july depending on the weather, in your area.

Always delighted to see another quince fan and hopefully the allure of the chojubai will have you scrambling to find one for yourself.

 

[Eric Schrader]

Ian - I know many people who re-pot starting in December in the Bay Area. If there is a freeze or even nighttime lows in the high 30's you should move the plants inside or under protection to avoid damage. Other than that think about the health of the tree first - which you are when you repot - and the flowers second.

BTW- you didn't ask but I can't help but advise you to put some movement in those little trunks so that when they get bigger they don't look like big sticks. Some aluminum wire should do the trick.

 

[iant]

Thanks for the advice Dick and Eric. I used a fairly coarse mix this time. It's fast draining 1/2 pine bark, 1/4 pumice, 1/4 perlite (1/8" to 3/8".) I'll have to be careful it doesn't dry out. They were in a finer mix last year and seemed damp for too long. The first pic is a Contorted White and it does look a little straight in the first 8" of trunk. I just got it last May from EG. Not sure where to go with design for it. I don't think the first trunk section is bendable as it's almost 1/2" thick. I could cut it back to 3-4" and regrow or try to go another design route (leave it slanted, bring one of the top branches inline and have it go long and bunjin style perhaps.) Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Ian

 

[dick benbow]

One of the mantra's my sensei was constantly reminding me of, was " new shoots bring more roots, more roots bring more shoots".
With that in mind, I think once your white recovers from repotting and becomes active I would cut the main trunk back to about a third
of it's current length and let it re-invent it's self from there. Be sure and treat the wound with paste. Thinking mid summer might be about right if it responds properly. Most new shoots need a coupla months to harden off before being exposed to cooler winter temperatures.
Keep in mind that while we love the flowers they do steal a lot of energy from the plant that could be used for strength, so i wouldn't allow it to have very many blooms while being trained. ( maybe one to enjoy)

 

[JudyB]

Your sensei has a good mantra.