JBP - When to work on them

[shibui]

By the look of the trees they most urgently need pruning to get budding happening.
The drawback is that as plants get more rootbound it becomes increasingly difficult to get water into the root ball. Pines are more tolerant of dry conditions so maybe it will be ok but please really monitor watering this summer. I think an occasional soak in a tub would help.
Although I see that others warn against working the top and roots in a single year I often do just that and have not noted any problems here but you will all need to make your own decisions.