Repotting question

[GOZTEK]

Hi all,

I am still buying new trees almost everyweek, and i have a small question. We all know that peat is not good for trees but unfortunatel all the trees i can buy are in peat. Usually i just repot them immediately in more suitable soil. Now is almost summer and i don't know if i should do the repotting now or wait for next spring leaving the some trees in peat for next year. I have a good size bouganville, pine and some others. Can anyone give me some advice please?

 

[mapleman77]

Hi goztek,

Peat (at least in limited quantities, 10% or less) is actually beneficial to the trees. The problem is, like any organic component, it breaks down given time and moisture. As a result, repotting has to be done. As for the individual plants, I would repot the ones that look very healthy and strong, and especially the conifers, and they prefer soils with higher pH's (more inorganic particles). If the pine and other conifers look good, repot them but don't prune any roots until next year or the year after. Depending on how broken down the peat is, I may or may not repot the bougie. Also it would be helpful to know what zone you are in. If you are in zone 11 this would probably not be a very good thing to do.

hope this helps,
David

 

[GOZTEK]

the bougy i got today is quite large and the pot is actually very small, when i took it out there are roots showing everywhere so i though i would just use a larger pot with some clay, sand, and grit around it and keep its original peat for this season. Its blooming at the moment and i don't want to harm it as much as possible as i fell in love with it already