Ulmus Parvifolia/Celtis Sinensis Help

Neild

Hope someone can help with this one.
I just received these two trees 1 week ago, which are now dormant. They were unpotted, and the well formed root ball's wrapped in plastic bag (not frozen). I currently have them in the bags wrapped very well in an unheated garage about 35-40 degrees F. I do not want to disturb the roots any further by repotting. So, should I:

1) Leave as they are in their bags checking for moisture for another 6-8 weeks.

2) Take out of the plastic, not disturbing the roots and "heal" the root ball into a larger pot surrounding the rootball with about 2 inches of soil on all sides, leaving in the unheated garage?

Thanks for the much help.

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David Yedwab

I'm not certain here, but I believe air is good and, therefore, a closed plastic bag may not be. I'd suggest putting into a bigger pot without distrubing the root ball.

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RedPine

Hi,


We need more details.Option 2 is ok for now but what stage are these trees in?Are they young seedlings needing years of growing,or are they ready for shallow training pots and styling?With more details you can decide what size etc.. of pot will be "best" for the trees to live in.

Might aswell go ahead and pot them up right so you wont need to bother with it again for a couple of years.What I mean by these questions is what are your plans for the trees?

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Aaron_K

Hi Neild,

I'm with David on this one. I too would be a little apprehensive about leaving the root ball in a sealed/closed plastic bag. Aside from the lack of air, if the root ball thaws enough, moisture will escape and create ideal breeding grounds for mould, fungi and other nasty bacteria which could overwhelm the root system and kill the trees.

Slip potting them into an over-sized pot or container and back-filling with mulch or pine bark would be a better option in my opinion. That way you won't unduly disturb the roots, and the trees should be easily removed come the spring when you may wish to plant them into a training pot or bonsai pot depending on what stage the trees are in, as Redpine suggests.

Have a Merry Christmas!

All the best,

Aaron

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Neild

RedPine,
These are trees that have been in pots for some time and are begining to be trained for finer ramification. 3" tunks about 18-20" tall roughly.

I did not want the roots exposed to too much cold air, being that they were shipped out of their pots with root ball's intact in plastic bags. I also did not want them to dry out, or let water stand around exposed root surfaces.

I realized after posting that the answer was more obvious, in that the plastic bag is not a good option. Funny how you answer yourself sometimes just by asking a relatively dumb question.

I have a larger grow box, I have placed about 3-4" of soil on the bottom, set the root ball's on this and then covered the root ball's with new soil a little over root ball surface without disturbing any roots.

My main worry in doing any potting is that they are very dormant, and combing out roots would probably be a bad idea.

Thanks Aaron & David, comon sense prevails and the obvious solution is revealed.

RedPine

Using pots as you have done is best but just so you know the plastic bag isnt 'all bad'.I have over wintered more than a few trees bare rooted and sealed up tight in plastic bags before...oaks,maples,spruce etc.

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Neild

Redpine,
Was there anything specific you did to control the possibilities of drying out, or mold? What stage were your trees at, and was that something you had to manage by necessity or was this by choice?