Repotting Evergreen Alder and ornamental pear in same pot

[Josh]

Hi guys.
I have an evergreen Alder and I believe an ornamental pear growing in the same pot. Evergreen Alder seeded in the pot. They are both largish (2-3 ft) When would be the best time to separate them. I was thinking end of winter/early spring. I assume their roots will be a tangled mess so will probably need to remove a lot of soil and root prune also.

Thanks in advance
Josh.

[GavinG]

Just before the earliest of them starts to shoot in late winter, like you said. The alder will certainly take over, given half a chance.

Gavin

[shibui]

Any time when they are dormant would be ok Josh. They might come apart easily but your assumption is likely to be true and the roots will be entangled. In any case, if you want them as bonsai a good root prune would be beneficial so I would wait for winter/ spring.

[Josh]

Just before the earliest of them starts to shoot in late winter, like you said. The alder will certainly take over, given half a chance.

Gavin

Thanks Gavin. The alder has certainly outgrown the pear.

Any time when they are dormant would be ok Josh. They might come apart easily but your assumption is likely to be true and the roots will be entangled. In any case, if you want them as bonsai a good root prune would be beneficial so I would wait for winter/ spring.

Thanks Shibui. They could both do with a root prune so I'll wait till end of wintre. I'll see what they look like once out of the pot and separated, then decide what to do with them. Never had an Alder before so that was the one I wasn't sure about the time to repot.

Thanks for the info.

Josh.

[jadecuphey87]

heads up with the alder mate youll need to stay on top of them as the can easily grow 9ft plus in a single growing season. good luck with the repot...

[Josh]

heads up with the alder mate youll need to stay on top of them as the can easily grow 9ft plus in a single growing season. good luck with the repot...

Thanks for the warning. So far it seems to not be to bad but it is competing for space and food so it may be a different story once it's repotted.

Josh