AusBonsai

Hi all,

The last few days in brisbane have been very warm for this time of year. I think some of my celtis think its spring as most of their buds have burst.
Should I re pot them now or will these new buds die of when it gets cold in the next few weeks.
Cheers,
Sam

I have the same concerns - it has been so warm this last week here in Brissy. I have tridents that I got a month ago from VIC that are just about in full leaf now. I still think it may be a bit early as I think there is still cold weather coming

Yeah that's what i was thinking. I just got a little excited thinking I could re pot some of them and see last years root growth.

Cheers,
Sam

Why do you reckon you will get cold weather next week
If they have already leafed then I woud repot, do minimal root work, or Repot and defoliate. I if you get a cold snap, the new growth will suffer anyway so not loss if you do .

Ken

Yeah I know what you are saying Ken. Problem is my chinese elms are still growing and my Brisbane based tridents haven't lost all their leaves yet. I have a small celtis I collected about a month ago and it's shooting new leaves - but it doesn't need repotting. I guess if they need repotting it needs to be done now in case they keep leafing out

is it better to be too early rather than too late?

Guy I think it is better to be early than late. You may have seen some of the posts from down south here where we are root pruning trident maples any time over winter even though it will be months before any shoots appear. I have done this for years without any problems.

I also think there is a possibility of root pruning when trees are in leaf even though this is not traditionally accepted practice. this is not yet proven, only my theory. Figs are repotted in mid summer in full leaf and growing and love it. We see experienced growers also repotting Cedrus in mid summer (hottest day of the year quoted) with no ill effects. I read an article from UK reporting that deciduous trees have been collected in midsummer and grew on well. Many natives are routinely root pruned during summer and recover better than winter repotting.
I believe there might be much more lattitude in repotting plants than traditionally believed and intend to experiment to this effect this coming year.

I live a long way from Brisbane but if your celtus needs repotting I'd say go ahead - maybe a lighter than normal root pruning to be safe?

Mmmmmm to prune or not to prune? That is the question.

It looks to me like the soil in the pot is ok for now, from what i can see/tell it is not rootbound or in any need of repotting till next year. remember the dates and do it then. You can use the stored energy in the roots this year for further developement of the tree,. Good luck

Definitely better to be too early than too late Sam as Shibui mentioned. If they have started growing you can do them now if needed. The alternative is to wait untill the new growth has hardened off around mid spring, give them a light prune and perhaps thin the foliage, and repot them then. We can do it here on most deciduous Shibui, so long as we get in before it gets too hot. Most of the time they start so early we can do them in late September like this, with early to mid October viable as well depending on conditions.

Tony, most of the time trees keep growing through winter here because they may have been repotted in Autumn, or there is still plenty of grow room in the pot and the feeding has been good. If that is the case, as Craig said, leave it alone and let it grow free, unless you are wanting in a Bonsai pot anyway.

BTW Sam. Celtis are tough buggers and can be done most times of year. Can even be collected in summer, so go for it.

Tony

Cheers fellas,

The reason i want to rep pot this one is to have a look at the nabari so i can begin my design on it. I plan on do some heavy carving on some dead wood for my first time. Probably wont be much root mass removed so i might give it a go.

Cheers,
Sam

Samegyed wrote:Hi all,

The last few days in brisbane have been very warm for this time of year. I think some of my celtis think its spring as most of their buds have burst.
Should I re pot them now or will these new buds die of when it gets cold in the next few weeks.
Cheers,
Sam

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2012-07-15 11.37.04 (Large).jpg

Either way it will have nothing to do with the repotting. Your job is to repot before it breaks out into leaf. I would. Ash are the first to break here so i have done them all and sure enough with in days they are all preparing to open. Some years once leaves have dropped i will repot in june just to get the work load out, no prob what do you think will happen. I never lost any deciduous from repotting early and im harsh in the way i treat them.

Thx Anttal,
This makes me more confident.
Makes sense,

Cheers,
Sam