Too early to repot?

[BonsaiButler]

Hey guys, I just moved to a new zone in October. I am now in zone 8a and have noticed some bud activity on my Hawthornes, Crabapple's and plums. Is it still to early to repot?

 

[aml1014]

We need pictures, I've done some repotting already and I'm in zone 7. It's been a weird winter.

Aaron

 

[Dav4]

If the buds are swelling, repotting time is upon you. Don't look at the calendar for your answer... look at your trees.

 

[BonsaiButler]

If the buds are swelling, repotting time is upon you. Don't look at the calendar for your answer... look at your trees.

So the hawthorns are showing the green part of the leaf inside the buds. Some others like the quince also look like leaves will emerge soon? Should I be concerned with frost? Is it worth it to get an early repot in vs the risk of frost damage to the roots? I do not have a way to protect the trees currently they are just sitting on the ground.

 

[sorce]

I been thinking about this a lot lately.
Lotta similar threads.

In my newbage "ignorance" ("" cuz it was blissfull), I would dig and repot trees while in full leaf, and I never lost one to it.

I realized since these threads, that since I started using the, "as the buds swell" tell, I have lost at least one tree a year at repotting.

Thing is....

I've seen buds leaf in a day....
Or stall out for 2 weeks.

So is "as the buds swell" a good tell?

Not for me....not here.

Walter repots in full leaf.

I'm doing all mine during the first waning moon after full leaf out.

Sorce

 

[BonsaiButler]

I been thinking about this a lot lately.
Lotta similar threads.

In my newbage "ignorance" ("" cuz it was blissfull), I would dig and repot trees while in full leaf, and I never lost one to it.

I realized since these threads, that since I started using the, "as the buds swell" tell, I have lost at least one tree a year at repotting.

Thing is....

I've seen buds leaf in a day....
Or stall out for 2 weeks.

So is "as the buds swell" a good tell?

Not for me....not here.

Walter repots in full leaf.

I'm doing all mine during the first waning moon after full leaf out.

Sorce

Sounds safe! I like it

 

[sorce]

Sounds safe! I like it

Careful.

More throwing it out there for discussion than etching stones.

Sorce

 

[Dav4]

So the hawthorns are showing the green part of the leaf inside the buds. Some others like the quince also look like leaves will emerge soon? Should I be concerned with frost? Is it worth it to get an early repot in vs the risk of frost damage to the roots? I do not have a way to protect the trees currently they are just sitting on the ground.

Well, if the buds are moving and leaves are forming, that means the roots are active, too, and I wouldn't want the root ball to freeze again anyway. If these trees need to be repotted, you've got a relatively narrow time to do it safely. I have no idea what your climate is like, but you can move the trees in and out of an outbuilding, garage, 3 season porch, or under the deck, etc.,. You can even mulch the repotted tree with wood chips to keep the soil from freezing.

 

[Giga]

My zone is almost the same as you and I've collected tree's and have repotted half my tree's already. A lot of them are already waking up so the time is now if you see bud movement. Then if you get any temps get below freezing put in a unheated garage or the like.Even then bring them inside before you go to bed then back out first thing in the morning as a last resort, last resort!.

 

[abqjoe]

As Aaron mentioned, we've had some weird weather out here in ABQ NM zone 7. My new Maple that I just got from Don had leaf tips poking out when I received it and I felt it warm enough outside (68-78f daytime 40-46f nighttime) so I went ahead and root trimmed it and put fresh soil. Well, temps dropped 20 degrees yesterday so I just moved it into my garage. Don basically told me it's fine and to just not let the roots freeze.

 

[BonsaiButler]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all of your input.
Ill probably start repotting in a week or so depending on how fast they begin showing leaves.