Why wait until spring? This is the best time to transplant most trees. The winter gives them time to settle in before the summer heat. And if it's a difficult tree to transplant, the smaller it is the more likely it is to make the transition.

Seems a strange time of year to be thinking of re potting a tree,surely it should be just planted out? I'm not familiar with this tree tho but going from a 1 gallon to a 7 gallon pot seems a big jump(having said that I'm not used to pots being measured in gallons tho-we use the diameter measured in inches over here. And if a tree is sensitive to being transplanted its gonna react the same to potting,so you'd be better off planting it out anyway and let autumn do its magic.

>Should I put it in a 10 gallon pot at this time to allow the roots to spread more >this fall before it goes totally dormant for the winter? I do not intend to disturb >the rootball when repotting. I know this kind of tree does not take well to >transplanting, so I want to help it grow an even better root system before I try >to transplant it into the ground 5 months from now, when it is just about to >break dormancy for the upcoming spring.

I agree with the others. If this kind of tree does not like transplanting, why plan on transplanting twice? I'd put it in the ground now, this is the best time of year.

Alex

If I were a Black Gum I would much rather have my feet in that nice, warm September soil rather than in a pot all winter long. Exactly what is the rationale for keeping it in a pot for the next five months?
Nyssa has a root system like a parsnip, don't expect to ever see "fine feeder roots". What makes you think that it is a graft?
Sam

I also suspect something as small as a one gallon tupelo would not be a grafted tree. Did it have some sort of fancy cultivar name?

I'm with the others, in ground is a better bet for winter survival than a pot. I raise container trees and it can be a struggle giving them the winter protection to their root zones they need. Sometimes I heel them in, pot and all. If it's a tree you intend on keeping, then ditch the pot and just get it in the ground. It's still officially summer for another week, and the milder autumn temps and more adequate water make it a good time to plant trees.

Thanks for all the responses.

Sam, the comparison of the root system to a parsnip is pretty accurate to what I saw. So, the roots were normal?

Wow, no wonder this tree does not do well being transplanted.

I just re-inspected what I first reported was the graft union on this tree. It still appears to be a very well done graft union. The root-stock's trunk is only about 3 inches above the rootflare. and the grafted trunk is only slightly curved just above where the the stock trunk and the tree is grafted.

I do not remember seeing a cultivar name on the label sticker. That made me think when I first purchased it that it had been grown from seed, especially since the grafted union was healed so well that at the time I so easily overlooked it.

There also was not a supplier name on the pot which the tree grew in when I first purchased it. That now suggests to me that a local grower must have his own root stock and grafted one onto it that he knew had good potential to change leaf color to red in the fall. I hope he also had some evidance that the tree he grafted on is a male tree that will not produce fruit, which birds will eat and drop debris and stain the driveway that is near where I desire to plant the tree.

Today the tree also dropped the last of its leaves. The branches still flex easily, the bark appears healthy, and its leaf buds appear healthy and not at all dried out.

Since so many have suggested that I should not repot the thing, I nixed my plans to repot it into a larger pot. Later, and just prior to our first forcasted frost, I plan to simply sink the deep 7 gallon nursery pot down into the peat bed that I already mentioned.

The tree's deep 7 gallon pot is 12 inches across on top and about 15 inches deep, which is an inch or so more narrow and about 4 inches deeper than my normal 7 gallon size black nursery pots.

The 15 inch depth on this tree's 7 gallon pot is the same depth as my 15 gallon black nursery pots, which are also several inches wider across the top.

I know a lot of you suggest that I plant the tree, but the fact that it dropped its leaves already motivated my desire to keep it close to where I live this fall, so I can make sure it stays watered properly.

Where I want to plant it next February is on a property I own that is across town from me, and the planting location is in full sun. Our high temps this week are predicted to stay above normal in the high 80s and low 90s. As windy as it was today makes me think that If I plant this tree over there now, it might dry out too fast; especially, since I would not have the chance to daily monitor its water needs. If it does not releaf in a week or so, I also intend to move it under my Scarlet Oak's dappled shade.

I would still like to read more opinions about my choice described here. By no means am I closed minded to other's ideas, and I do value all the information others can give.

Some excellent points brought up by all who have replied. I would just add that my experience with black gums has been similar with the fall color. Leaves color early and drop quick.

Quirkyquercus, when your Black Tupelo trees change color early and quickly drop their leaves, are they in full dormancy by that point?

Our daytime high temps are still in the high 80s and low 90s, so I have a little trouble perceiving that my potted Black Tupelo now has a low sap content flowing. If not won't it go in further shock, if I try to transplant at this time, and in full sun.

Am I wrong?