Should I repot?

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I bought this trident Maple over the weekend and I want to know if I should repot it in a bigger pot to speed up growth a little bit. The roots are growing out of the drain hole in the bottom of this pot and its a pretty thin tree. Would be better to repot or no?
 

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sorce

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Looks like a pretty too small pot to me.

I'm on pond basket binge. Those depot ones would fit that nice. Maybe even get it in the ground.

Nice.

Sorce
 

sorce

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Oh, and I wouldn't cut any roots you don't have to, but definitely work them out while you can.

Sorce
 

Adair M

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Zac, this maple has leafed out, it's too late to work the roots this year.

Pond baskets work well.

The current pot is all wrong. It's encouraging deep roots. You want radial roots.

So, plan to do this next year: bare root the tree, remove the tap root. Find the best level of radial roots, and cut off the tap roots just below them. Screw the bottom of the trunk onto a board, spread the radia roots out flat across the board. Bury it two inches two inches down in a pond basket.
 
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Ok good to know. Don't want to kill it already. so I'll put that on the list for next year. Thanks!
 

parhamr

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For reference, here’s Trident maple seedling in a pot that is significantly large enough to call it a “grow pot”

The pot width is about 14" and the soil is about 80 percent pumice.
 

Giga

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Actually parhamr I wouldn't consider that a grow pot. While a larger pot can be better then a uber tiny one for grow out purposes. A larger colander/pond basket/ the ground would serve a better grow out.
 

parhamr

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Actually parhamr I wouldn't consider that a grow pot. While a larger pot can be better then a uber tiny one for grow out purposes. A larger colander/pond basket/ the ground would serve a better grow out.

Well, sure. I also have colanders of this size, but not with the same species as OP.
 
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Ok so next year it is. I'd love to put it in the ground but unfortunatly my property is really low and close to the shore so it's always muddy and floods. Not ideal for too many species lol. So pond basket next year it is!
 

sorce

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I still think the benefits of slipping it into something bigger this year will outweigh the neggies.

You're going to have a lot of jammed up roots that are going to have to come off next year, which will likely set it back more than if you free it up now.

No?

Sorce
 

leatherback

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I still think the benefits of slipping it into something bigger this year will outweigh the neggies.

You're going to have a lot of jammed up roots that are going to have to come off next year, which will likely set it back more than if you free it up now.

No?

Sorce
That's what I was thinking. Even a little tampering the roots to get a decent spread on them would not be too much of a problem. Tridents are tough and normally recover quickly. (I did a repot last summer, and the tree only hit the breaks for some 2-3 weeks, after which growth picked up again)
 

jk_lewis

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I still think the benefits of slipping it into something bigger this year will outweigh the neggies.

You're going to have a lot of jammed up roots that are going to have to come off next year, which will likely set it back more than if you free it up now.

No?

Sorce

I agree 100%. Don't cut any roots. if you have a deep taproot wire it off to the side, spread out the roots, then plant this in a 1-foot square, 5-inch deep grow box without cutting any roots
 
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Ok. You guys know more than I do. If you say it's safe I'm willing to take the chance. I appreciate all the help.
Thanks!

Zac
 
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So I got a 10" pond basket. They didn't have any bigger size available but this is much larger than the pot it was in so... I did it. Sorry the pictures not the best. It was dark by the time I was done.
 

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