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Good timing to put in larger pot
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Posted by drj9 (My Page) on Wed, Jul 1, 09 at 20:54
I currently have 3 White figs that are in 3 gallon pots they are getting about 2-3 ft high and a about 18 in in diaminter. the trunks are still the thinkness as when they were cuttings I do not see any roots comming out of the bottom holes yet but I plant to transfer them to 5 or 7 gallon pots anyone know when a good time is to do this. right now they have leaves and figs and lots of new growth so I am aprehensious to start to repot anything right now but also know I will winterize them in late fall.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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The best time to transplant is usually when the trees are dormant. However figs are very hardy plants and will likely survive and thrive no matter when you transplant them.
However if you transplant them now there may be some transplant shock and you may lose the figs and some leaves. This does not always happen but it is common. If they were mine I would wait until after the figs are harvested or until they go dormant this fall unless you have to transplant for some other reason. |
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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drj9
best time is when dormant in winter.
I have transplanted them during spring and summer with no ill effects this way.
I have pot prepared with potting soil, i make sure i water well the plant to be transplanted the day before then i grab base of trunk and pull gently straight up, the rootball MUST come out fully intact with roots not being disturbed what so ever. I gently put plant onto new soil in pot that was measured so base of trunk fits in pot accordingly and fill the sides with potting soil and gently with finger tips massage soil down and snug around the sides.
The trick is not to disturb the roots at all and water lightly just around the rim of pot for soil to settle in and top off with more soil. If you very careful doing it this way plant will not know it was ever moved as long as it comes out whole from original pot without roots being disturbed, when pulling plant striaght up out of pot the rootball MUST be tight without falling apart.
Martin |
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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| One week ago I transplanted a fig tree four feet high with a dozen golf ball sized figs on it and lost nothing. In fact it is still pushing figs out. I put planting medium, barely moist in the new pot and then put an empty pot, the same size as the one I am transplanting from, into the new pot and fill around it. I gently firm the new medium and then lift out the middle pot, leaving an exact pot size hole. After knocking the old pot off the fig and exposing the roots, I gently put the complete rooted plant with no loss of soil, in the exact hole that it fits. I then gently water around the edge. Nothing is disturbed. It doesn't even know its been repotted. I have used this technique for the last year and a half and it works. |
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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There ya go Cuddy just as described "nothing disturbed it doesn't even know its repotted".
Perfecto ! |
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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- Posted by bjs496 9/Houston 7/NJ (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 4, 09 at 12:15
| if you are simply potting up the tree (without doing root work), it can be done anytime with little immediate risk to the tree (ala Cuddy). However, I wouldn't recommend doing this to a tree very often. The trees should be periodically bare rooted, root pruned and repotted. There is a fixed volume in the containers. When a tree is planted, the growing mix and the roots take up that volume. Over time, the tree grows new roots and the original roots get longer and thicker. There is more roots and the same amount of growing mix in the same space. The growing mix starts to compress and becomes hard. The compression puts pressure on roots and reduces their ability to move nutrients up into the tree. Doing root work on your tree not only prevents this from happening, but pruning older, thicker roots allows the tree space to grow new, more efficient roots. ~james |
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Sat, Jul 4, 09 at 14:43
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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| i've re-potted figs dormant, sprouting and in full leaf without missing a beat by doing it quickly and with a minimum of disturbance to the preceeding rootball (as Cuddy described). Today, however I was removing a fig which has done nothing and whose bark was worse than just not green, it was slimy and slipping off to the ground in big pieces. I flipped the pot, dumped the dirt and started teasing out the rest of the rootball. The roots were light-brown and seemed healthy (which makes no sense as the plant was obviously dead to the root). I cut back the plant and have repotted, but I am not overly optimistic (which is a shame, because this is the plant which I paid the most for, not that its a variety that I will miss much) I'll water and feed with MG and see what happens. ~Chills |
RE: Good timing to put in larger pot
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| Thank you all I am a bit more confident to repot perhaps next month. Iwant to store in garage a cool, dry, dark place by OCT 1st and I think I will go with Mircle grow potting mix as this is the soil it has now. I am glad to hear that the figs are resiliant. This is what I was afraid of, I want to do it next month so I can see them if they go into shock. Should I let the soil dry first before pulling them? or wather them heavily. I am scared to have the extra weight in the roots breaking them during transfer. |
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