Root pruning & re-potting Callistemon

[Raging Bull]

I'm on the Gold Coast, S.E. Qld only a couple of Kms. from the beach, so our weather is usually quite mild. (wearing only T shirt & shorts ATM) I have a couple of dug Little John callistemon which have been in a styrofoam grow box for a year now. After initially looking like they weren't going to make it, they are now growing strongly and look very healthy.
Is there a grower in S.E. Qld or northern N.S.W. who can advise me on the best time to root prune and re-pot these in this area? They both have quite good nebari and potential to make nice trees. Should I prune the roots in stages, say 25% the first time and let them recover for a year before reducing the roots further? At this stage I don't know how extensively the roots have re-grown after being dug from their original site.
Cheers, Frank.

[Pup]

Search under callistemon in the native pages.

[dansai]

General consensus seems to be when its warm. You may be able to do it now and have no issues, however if you wait for a couple of months you will definitely be fine and get a faster response. As for the amount to take off the roots, it will depend on the roots. I'ld be looking to remove any downward roots, cutting back any heavy roots to start them ramifying and shortening any really long roots. You should be able to take more then 25% off, but it depends on the health of the tree and how well the root system has recovered from being dug out. I try and deal with as much problem roots as possible early on so that they don't become a bigger problem later on.

[Waltron]

See here.

[Raging Bull]

Thanks for your replies I have read Pup's lengthy dissertation and found it very informative and interesting. Thanks Pup! After all that I've decided to leave them in their grow box until spring.