Anybody ever done an emergency repot in winter ?

[davetree]

I went into my garage today to throw some snow on my trees. To my horror, my cork bark elm looked like something had been digging in it. There were several holes in the soil and dirt mounded around the trunk ! I clipped the wires and pulled the tree out to discover a really nice mouse den and about 70% of the roots chewed off. Lucky for him that he had already vacated the spot. I did a repot into a training pot with a mix of medium/large pumice and Akadama. Now I have to get through winter without a freeze and hope there is enough energy left in the tree to leaf out in spring. Anyone with a similar experience ?

 

[Eric Group]

Mouse just gave you an early start on the repotting season!

That is a really nice tree I hope it is ok... If anything is bullet proof enough to survive that type of mistreatment, an Elm should be.

I have had to do a couple repots in Winter due to broken pots, squirrel attacks... low surviver rates for me, but those were not Elms. The main concern would be making sure you removed any rough root ends, damaged roots... to reduce concern of disease and die back/ rot.

I suspect the tree will make it through fine but do keep it protected from hard freezes!

 

[davetree]

Yeah freezing will be tough here in Minnesota. Looks like it’s going to be 35 degrees in my garage for the rest of winter !

 

[davetree]

I wasn’t ready physically or mentally for repotting this early !

 

[augustine]

Do you have a dry place that it can sit on a heating mat?

 

[davetree]

Do you have a dry place that it can sit on a heating mat?

Sure, if I have to. The tree still has some fine roots and some big roots. I am not sure I want to try and start root growth this early. Have you done this before ?

 

[rockm]

If your garage stays above freezing it's fine. 35 won't hurt things. What will is adding a heating mat or warming the tree up above 45. that will likely force new growth -- in January, in Minnesota. Unless you have a greenhouse, that means you will have to keep the tree entirely frost free until the spring and deal with the ugly weak green growth the tree will push.

I would just fill in the holes and let it be in the garage. I'd wire some metal screening over the soil surface to prevent the rodents from returning. I'd also check any other trees in your garage for the same issue, if you haven't already do it. ;-)

 

[GrimLore]

Anyone with a similar experience ?

As @Eric Group stated - lucky for you it is an Elm. Many people experience the same problem but I suspect as you noticed no activity the vermin was a Vole, Mole, or Field Mouse - perfect for their diet and generally work away until they need to find more fresh roots...

I strongly recommend you treat it as you would normally. There is no magic here but the plant itself will/should toss new roots without any problems provided it was healthy and it appears it is

For the record there is a resolution to the problem that is very effective for sheltered potted plants used by myself and members here for future reference. There is a product called MoleMax that is simply a granular form of Mineral Oil. ALL digging creatures hate getting in on them and if they do they go into a flipping crazy harmless acrobatic until they feel clean of it. It works in situations other then potted as it gets watered in but is highly effective on the substrate surface in potted plants - obvious they only have top access It works... I even use it on the surface of bulb pots, some rather large that Crystal plants and it stops Squirrels and Rabbits as well.

Grimmy

 

[LanceMac10]

Get that snow you mentioned on the surface and back away from the heatmat......


I imagine you'll still have nasty/worse weather in March around normal repotting time. 2-3 months of dialing in temperature? No thanks.
35 ain't nothing.....finding Varmint Cong is job #1

 

[davetree]

If your garage stays above freezing it's fine. 35 won't hurt things. What will is adding a heating mat or warming the tree up above 45. that will likely force new growth -- in January, in Minnesota. Unless you have a greenhouse, that means you will have to keep the tree entirely frost free until the spring and deal with the ugly weak green growth the tree will push.

I would just fill in the holes and let it be in the garage. I'd wire some metal screening over the soil surface to prevent the rodents from returning. I'd also check any other trees in your garage for the same issue, if you haven't already do it. ;-)

Yeah, not ready for new growth until April. This is the first time wintering indoors I have ever had a problem, other than a mouse making a nest in a box of Akadama. Outdoors I have gotten my ass kicked by all kinds of rodents.

 

[davetree]

By wintering indoors I mean in a garage at 35 degrees.

 

[sparklemotion]

@davetree -- 35F should be fine. If you're really concerned though, I'd contact Lionel Flood through the MNBS (here's their facebook). He rents overwintering space for a reasonable fee, and I'd trust him to know how to give it some TLC for a few months.

That is a really nice tree... did you get it locally?

 

[davetree]

@davetree -- 35F should be fine. If you're really concerned though, I'd contact Lionel Flood through the MNBS (here's their facebook). He rents overwintering space for a reasonable fee, and I'd trust him to know how to give it some TLC for a few months.

That is a really nice tree... did you get it locally?

Thanks I am pretty sure I can handle it. This was a stump I bought from Telperion Farms, great place to buy stock, I recommend them highly.

 

[Smoke]

Your in luck!! A new “winter protection tree camp” just opened in Fresno, CA.


Hold while I find the address!!!!

 

[rockm]

I would add that when you put in new soil to fill the holes, make sure there aren't any air pockets under the damaged roots and water the pot liberally until water runs out of the drainage holes. Then let it be. The additional watering will insure better contact between the new soil and new roots in the spring. Air pockets dry faster than soil. Dried out roots are dead roots...

 

[JudyB]

This happened to my beech 3 times last year, but it was during the growing season. I finally had to make a hardware cloth box for it to live in for the rest of the year. Was the only tree that the chipmunk ( I think) bothered. I will cross my fingers for you, but I'll bet it won't skip a beat.

 

[drew33998]

Yikes. As long as the roots stay above 45 deg they will be growing. I can see why you are concerned. Thats one nice tree

 

[jriddell88]

Nice tree! I better go check all mine !!

 

[Vin]

Them bastards know a nice tree when they see one! I have squirrels that like to dig holes in mine or knock them over. I just fill the holes with more soil and they keep going. Hopefully, yours will be fine.

 

[jriddell88]

I don’t even want to show the back side of the trunk on this one.... they ate some surface roots too