AusBonsai

Hi.
Have been planning to repot this corky bark Chinese elm this coming spring but have noticed it is already putting out new buds!
Have I missed the bus or am I ok to repot this weekend??
Cheers

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You can still prune hard and repot chinese elms. There very forgiving. Must be damn mild in Sydney atm. All mina are naked with ice on them.

Chinese elms are quite resilient. They may not lose leaves or stop growing in some places but can still be root pruned. Over the past few years we nave seen some growers repotting these in late summer without any problems so it seems that the repotting window is actually far wider than we have been told.
Still really cold down here not far from Matthew but I would be quite happy to repot and root prune a Ch elm with new shoots like yours.

And clean up all those stubs.

Was also just thinking about this myself, with my oak and maple trees. Can they be branch/bud pruned now, then re-potted end of winter? Or should pruning only be done the same time as the roots/re-potting?

Either way, prune before more buds form?

- Daniel

I agree with Shibui.
I’ve heavily root pruned Chinese Elm in the middle of summer with no ill effects.
After care was some Seasol and a week of partial sun and away they went again.

Re-pot.

Noticed this morning one of my Tridents has a bud that has started to pop.

Ahhh, ok, so despite time of year ... once buds are about to pop, repot? Also have a few oaks in one pot. Some are about to pop, some still have leaves on from last year.

I think you are making it more difficult than it should be.
I root prune trident maples any time during winter when they have no leaves. I have also root pruned after buds started to open - no problem. I've even root pruned tridents in summer with leaves on, again, no problem.
The ideal, best time may be just before buds open but these trees are resilient and will cope with a wider repotting window.

I have had some Japanese maples that get a fungal disease if repotted then left in cold, wet soil over winter so I prefer to root prune Japanese maples closer to bud opening. When the roots are more active they can heal up quicker and (hopefully) beat the diseases. A few weeks before buds burst won't hurt, A week or so after the first buds start to grow won't hurt either and the window is probably even wider than that.

Some maples can 'bleed' when branches are pruned in winter but if they are root pruned bleeding stops almost immediately so repot and prune at the same time is a good option for Japanese maples. Otherwise prune branches soon after leaves drop or prune in summer when they are active. Most trees can have branches pruned any time of the year.

I only have a few oaks so have not had lots of experience but I think repotting and pruning is similar - any time from late winter through to new leaves coming out. Prune any time of year.

First leaf of the season. Trident .

Thanks for the advice and reassurance Shibui ... I do tend to complicate things, haha. Will aim to root prune repot AMD branch prune my oaks and maples in a few weeks then. Thanks again!!!

New buds ... gone?!

Guess I have another Grasshopper, Caterpillar or bug infestation as my precious oak has had some buds hollowed out. I've had this in the past, years ago with a pine tree which never pulled through.

If this tree is under attack, should I repot now ... or try and let it recover first? Feed, shade, etc?

- Daniel

You can still repot now. While repotting check for caterpillar’s and remove them. If it’s grass hoppers unless you can catch them they will eventually move on from my experience.
Cheers
Kirky

Hi Kirky,

Thanks for the super quick reply. Glad to know now is good to repot. Will repot on the weekend, and will be on the look out!

- Daniel