picture will determine direction of advice.

Steve

Phew!! had a heck of a time getting pictures to post. I hope these help, but let me know if you need a different view of something

Any thoughts?

Hello, as we all well know usually the optimal time to repot any tree is during the growing season at their prime and that usually puts my trees into June, about father's day.

But, if I am having such extreme growth as you described and you have kept them into good light and the trees are well maintained, now is when I would do them since they are exploding in growth telling me they are very happy. Great mix, right?

Because you are using that gritty mix, when you lift those trees out of the pots the mix should fall away easily or be gently manipulated to exit the root sytem quite without hurting any roots at all. In fact many prune their roots without issues if that is what you should decide to do down the road to keep them in not so large pots which they will eventually require unless you prune.

Those a beautiful trees for growing inside year round and that deserves a pat on the back)

I am curious. I see a yard out there and was wondering why you would not set them outside for summer to gain even more vigor and appreciate good rain falls? I can tell you are using faucet water on them which mine would hate after time.

Mike

Hello there Mike,

to clarify- are you suggesting I go up a pot size? Or can they stay as they are for another season?

I have set them outside in the past, but had a heck of a time acclimating them. If I remember correctly, we had a couple particularly stormy summers and I was constantly rescuing Them out of the wind and hail. And worrying about leaving them outside if I had to go somewhere and there was a possibility of a storm. Then there’s the issue of oak trees. My lot has a bunch of mature oak trees that like to rain holy hellfire down on my plants. The squirrels trim them year round, so what should be a fall time issue is a summer-long issue. Then there’s the bugs...and Then all that just to get them used to their outdoor conditions and have to work on acclimating them back to indoor conditions.

B asically it boils down to a lot of anxiety and me worrying too much. All that said, I am toying with the idea of moving them outside this summer. I know they would most likely be happier outside. Overnight temps are still too cool, but should warm up soon.

Adri, from what I can see that soil mix still looks like it's holding its structure and i am sure there would be plenty of room for more growth in those pots since they look large enough. If they were mine I would leave them alone for another season since they seem to be doing so well)

Just make sure to fertilize them well to get full blown growth back)

They are suppose to be fun to grow, so if growing them indoor makes you happy and you do well that way, why change it up . Enjoy the good work you are doing. If they decline or seem to need more vigor, they will tell you.

Thank you!

I appreciate you taking the time to give advice. I’ve been reading and researching about citrus on this forum for many years now. I don’t comment or post often, but Your advice to other people has helped me a lot, so it’s extra awesome that you took the time to reply to me. Have a wonderful day and stay well!

~Adri

Adri, you are too kind. I am just happy you are having a good time in such a sad time.) Be safe

You as well! My plants are getting me through, but I’ll be glad when the world has healed. Hope you and your family are all staying well.

You can usually tell how tight a tree is if you hold the trunk a few inches above the soil line and move it a bit. If you can move the trunk and center part of the soil while the outside edge of the soil doesn't move, you can probably get away with letting it go another year. If the trunk and roots are locked up solid so the root/soil mass seems to be sort of unitized or seized-up, it's past time to repot. Root congestion begins to take a toll on plants at the approximate point in time when the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact. If at any point in the tree's life, the roots are allowed to get to that degree of congestion, the congestion will become permanently limiting until someone actually gets their hands into the center of the root mass and relieves the congestion. This would be true even if the tree was planted out in the landscape.

As far as timing goes, If you can protect the plant from freezing temps, you could repot any time in April. If the tree is to go outdoors after you repot - it would be best to wait until your "last frost" date to repot.

Al

Hello there Al,

I have to thank you as well! I have read so many of your posts and credit you as one of the main reasons my trees are not dead.

As far as moving the trunks around, I don’t see any movement on the outer edges of the pot. I’m not sure if I am pulling hard enough... but I think that stands to reason that the tree can go one more season? I’d love to see a video of this test to get a sense of if I’m using the right amount of pressure.

I flip flop back and forth on this issue like a pancake. One moment, I have decided to leave them be for this season and repot next. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The next moment I’m worried that waiting until next season could jeopardize the progress I’ve made and I resolve to go up a pot size as a preventative measure.

Any thoughts?

The roots are about 1/4 the mass of the tree..

Steve

Because my focus is primarily on bonsai, I have an interest in making sure my younger trees increase their mass asap; and of course this can only occur when the tree, and particularly their root systems, are healthy. I often repot a tree not because it needs repotting in the immediate, but because it WILL need repotting before the next opportunity to do so comes around. Some young trees need repotting every year, while others need it every 2 or even 3 years in some cases. As trees get older, their growth slows and repotting is required less frequently.

No tree is immune to the impact of root congestion. Once the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact, the tree is already paying a tax on growth, vitality, yields, and probably appearance. Also, once you get all the peat-based mix removed from the root mass and the plant is potted in something like the 5:1:1 or the gritty mix, repotting and especially repots subsequent to the first are much easier.

Growing requires a lot of compromise unless we happen to make it a high priority. Most of us can't or won't, so we do things that might not be the best for the plant, but suit how we have arranged our own priorities better. There is nothing wrong with that. I KNOW I can get twice the growth from plants if I put them in a medium that requires watering several times per day, but I don't want to be a slave to watering, so I compromise and use a medium that allows me watering intervals of up to 5 or 6 days. If I'm really pressed for time, I might skip a repotting I know is needed so I have time to repot another plant that is in more dire need of a repot. There is a price to be paid for the delay; but, if the plant languishes for another year with roots tighter than the plant would prefer, I know all will be well when I get to it at the appropriate time during the next growth cycle. The best 'tell' for whether or not the plant needs a repotting is to lift it from the pot to see if the root/soil mass remains intact.

Now, if you know the plant needs repotting but you don't want to do it or can't until next year, remove the bottom several inches of soil/roots from the root ball, then cut some vertical slits in the root mass and tease out the roots, then pot up a size/ This will not offer revitalization to the same degree as a full repot, but it will be better than simply allowing Mother Nature to side with the hidden flaw, because she always does.

Al

Meaning...? I apologize, but I don’t follow.

You were vacillating between whether to repot or not, so I offered some comments and perspective you can skip or incorporate into your musings to help you come to a conclusion.

Plants don't die or decline severely over the course of a few days or a month because we suddenly discover they're rootbound. Onset of limitations begins somewhere near the point in time when the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact. From that point forward, the degree of limitation gets more and more severe in a direct relationship with how severe the rootbound stare becomes. The grower isn't bound by any law or social stigma to repot as soon as the plant becomes rootbound, even if it is best for the plant. Knowing limitations increase as the congestion increases is pretty close to all you need to know in order to weigh what's best for the plant against how badly you want to wait to do the work. Too, as vitality (health) declines with the increase in root congestion, there is the eventual danger of plants getting so close to the brink they can't be pulled back.

Fully repotting a plant is temporarily stressful, but habitually potting up is perpetually stressful, even if potting up does offer a bit of temporary relief. If you compare the development of plants regularly repotted with plants regularly potted up or ignored, the difference is almost always remarkable.

Al

Al thank you or your comments and good to see you stopped by as always.

This just proves the opposite that plants need to be root bound in tight pots to perform well, or even bloom. Many actually believe that. Some even believe that cutting roots back decrease top growth while the roots focus on growth , or at least I use too)

Im sorry Al, my “I don’t follow“ Comment was for Steve. I should have clarified. What you say makes sense.

Seeing as I have all the time in the world at the moment, it seems that maybe I should just move them up a pot size now. I don’t mind the work, in fact I quite enjoy it. The only part I don’t enjoy is waiting to see how shocked my trees will be after fussing with them.

So here are my next questions-

-Is root pruning always necessary (specifically if one is going up a pot size)

- Any tips to limit stress from repotting?

Keep out of direct sunlight? For how long?

Root pruning is not nessessary unless the tree has roots that circle around the perimiter of the pot Those roots should be removed. This tree was transplanted before it was necessary

Thank you for sharing! Let’s hope mine look more like the first tree!

Wonderful information, Al.

Thank you once again for taking the time to respond. It sounds like I will be doing some studying up on root pruning/maintenance while I wait for my materials to arrive. Hopefully they don’t need major work!

Do you have recommendations for video demonstrations of root work? I’m guessing there are many different opinions and methods out there, and I’m also guessing some are “less correct” than others.

Thanks again!

This thread sure helped me out too Al. Thanks for sharing! :-)

Little update for anyone who may be Interested-

I ultimately decided to go up in pot size this season and to move them outdoors, and I’m glad I did. The trees were not root bound yet, but I think they would have been soon. I gently teased the roots to loosen them up, but I didn’t do any major work to them.

I may regret this later, but I was just a little too chicken to do more than that. . They spent a couple days resting in the shade, and are looking perky and happy. Now back to my regularly scheduled program of acclimating them to outdoor conditions.

Thanks to everyone for the advice!

Sounds to me like you're right on. No need to get too carried away with roots this time of year and your's weren't too bad anyways.

Thanks for the update.

:-)

Of course! Happy growing!