Repotted my Juniper in freezing weather!

[edro]

I have a large juniper that I just repotted this weekend.
I have repotted pines in February before and they are doing great.

I don't know why I decided to repot my juniper... I guess I had a free weekend and wanted to get it out of the way.

The center 1/3 of the root ball was frozen solid, so I could only root prune what was unfrozen.
I then took a hatchet to the center 1/3 frozen block to reduce the overall depth of the rootball.
I then potted it up in my standard 1/3 turface, haydite, bark soil mix and fully soaked the soil.

I put it in my unheated garage and am now having second thoughts.

Why the hell did I repot it so early!?!?

Any suggestions on ensuring it's survival?
Should I put it in the basement with my tropicals and force an early spring for it?
Just let it ride out for another month before I move it back outside?
Or put it back outside in the shade so a warm spring day doesn't kill it?

It will be in the 30s and 40s all this week.

 

[cmeg1]

I have no experiance with Junipers,but I do know that it would be better to keep it stored at proper dormant temperature and just SLIGHTLY MOIST so the fresh cut roots will survive till warm weather.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Don't let the pot freeze again this winter...unheated garage until nights are predictably above freezing in your area. Junipers are tough, and just because the soil froze, that doesn't necessarily mean damage. Roots don't automatically freeze at the same temperature as water, and damage is based on how quickly it freezes first, then how cold it gets.

It looks like it is in a huge container, so be sure you are using a chopstick or dowel as a moisture meter so you're not overwatering it while it's establishing itself. You might get lucky, but proper care will be important for the next few months.

No doubt, lesson learned for next year...and maybe you spared someone else some heartburn who was considering repotting something a little too early. Good luck.

 

[edprocoat]

Thats a nice looking Juniper man, I hope it survives for you.

ed

 

[edro]

Yes, the pot is large, but the pot it was in was at least 2x as big, volume wise.
This tree was originally a 6ft tall topiary that I got on clearance for $5.
I chopped the top 4ft off and left the bottom pom-pom of foliage.
I have been styling it and letting the roots get used to a more porous soil for the last 2 years.

This year I wanted to reduce the root-ball again, which is what you see.

The 1/3 of frozen root-ball directly under the trunk was 90% peat and had no roots in it.
I chopped most of that out.

 

[treebeard55]

I lost a yamadori ponderosa pine by repotting in late winter and then not letting the tree break dormancy for a month. I'm not sure if the same thing would happen to a juniper; but if I were you, I'd put it someplace where it can start the year's growth.

 

[amkhalid]

Frozen is fine. You are in zone 5, and everything you have should be frozen solid right now unless you have some sort of elaborate overwintering setup. I am in zone 6 and all of my trees freeze solid for about 4 months, despite the pots being buried and mulched. Junipers have no problem with it.

But yes, I would listen to the others and keep it from freezing too much after repotting. Keep in mind that junipers should be the last thing you repot. In zone 6, we repot junipers from mid-late may into early june. They love it.

Cheers

 

[PagsMuny]

Frozen is fine. You are in zone 5, and everything you have should be frozen solid right now unless you have some sort of elaborate overwintering setup. I am in zone 6 and all of my trees freeze solid for about 4 months, despite the pots being buried and mulched. Junipers have no problem with it.

But yes, I would listen to the others and keep it from freezing too much after repotting. Keep in mind that junipers should be the last thing you repot. In zone 6, we repot junipers from mid-late may into early june. They love it.

Cheers

So protect it the winter that you repot? I am basically trying to figure out how long after a repot does the tree need to be protected?

thanks,

 

[PagsMuny]

Thats a nice looking Juniper man, I hope it survives for you.

 

[Dav4]

So protect it the winter that you repot? I am basically trying to figure out how long after a repot does the tree need to be protected?

thanks,

A few thoughts... don't re-pot in zone 5 in the dead of winter if you have no means of keeping the soil from freezing again... and... there is no need to excessively protect a a tree that is hardy in your climate if you re-pot at least 3-4 months prior to the soil freezing... and with that being said, I have always re-potted in spring as the tree has broken dormancy, and with consistently predictable and good results., even when I lived in zone 6 MA.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Curious if tree or "Bonsai" person survived incident 8 years past?