On Sun, 24 Nov 2013 18:54:22 +0000, Jeff Layman wrote:

On 24/11/2013 18:10, Emery Davis wrote:
I've got an Acer ceriferum (or Acer robustum depending on your
religion) which is scheduled to go into the ground in March. However
I've noticed it's actually gotten quite root bound in its pot.

Is is better to repot now, so that new root growth has a chance to take
place over winter, or leave it in the existing pot until I can bung it
in?

[]
Sorry to answer your question with a question, but what is the
likelihood of the roots becoming severely frosted and/or drying out in
their current pot over the winter? If the answer is "almost none", I'd
leave them be. Maybe a little water once or twice a month, just to keep
them damp.


The pot would be kept inside and damp, these usually get watered about
every 4 weeks during dormancy. The repotted plant would be kept inside
also.

But if there is a good chance, I'd do as you mentioned - temporarily
repot. Is there, in any case, any root growth at this time of year? Or
does it start shortly before the leaf buds start to break? If there is,
once again, repotting seems the way to go.

You didn't say how big the current pot is. Would there be any chance of
repotting in a peat pot so there would be minimum root disturbance when
planting in the ground?

It's in an ~5l pot now. The temp repotting would be to 15l.

Maples put on significant root growth 3 times during the year: during the
first part of leaf dormancy, after the spring growth, and after the
summer secondary growth. So there is likely to be root growth over the
next month, it's exactly that which I'm "worried" about losing.



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy