When to plant in ground or repot?

[sw1818]

Good day. First timer poster, but have been reading for a year or so. Have a question I could not establish an answer for through the search function. I know this general question has been answered a million times, but can’t seem to find anything I feel comfortable doing without more direct advice.

I am in Kentucky, zone 6b. Recently purchased a few small trees from a nursery in Ohio.


I have 4 Jap. Maple seedlings.

A 2-3 yr Komachi hime.

A 2-3 yr bald cypress.

I’m wanting to get them all in the ground so I can study while letting them grow—my question is: Can I plant them safely this time of year or should I wait until fall? If not to plant in ground now, should they be put in a new pot for the spring/summer? The seedlings and cypress are in very thin (maybe a 2”x2” width and depth) , tall (about 6”) nursery containers. The komachi hime in a one gallon nursery pot.

Thanks for any feedback and patience. Attended an exhibit in Knoxville a few years back and can’t shake my want to learn and do.

 

[NOZZLE HEAD]

You should be able to plant int the ground this time of year as long as you don’t disturb the roots (this increases transplant shock) and just drop em in.

If when you pull the plants from their pots and there are roots circling the pot then these need to be removed, but it would be risky if there is warm weather coming up.

Another option would be to slip pot the trees into slightly larger pots and then place them in the ground after root work at the proper time of year.

 

[Shibui]

There's not just one answer to questions like this.
It is best to set out the roots properly when planting in the ground because existing roots also get bigger when the trunk grows so it you have small tangled roots when planted you will end up with big tangled roots at the end BUT if you must get them in the ground for safety of the tree and it is not good to bare root and root prune you can just slip them out of the pot and into the ground for this summer. Just make sure you do dig them at the next opportunity to do that root work. The roots will have grown a bit in that time but should still be manageable. Certainly not a lot worse than just slip potting into larger pots so either pots or the ground should be OK for the summer.

 

[sw1818]

Thank you all for your info. I really appreciate it.

I suppose that’s why I felt like asking the question—seems like it couldn’t get one great answer from reading, just many good ones haha.

If I were to plant in the ground, would the use of a tile be out of the question considering the time of year/not ideal time to put any stress on roots?

 

[BobbyLane]

if you plant trees in the grown at this time of year, you need to make sure youre able to water them in until they become established, that can take a few weeks to months. one dry spell and the tree could be toast. on trees with good root systems i havnt been shy to arrange the roots and plant on a tile. water in every 2 or 3 days
i mainly deal with strong nursery trees

 

[HorseloverFat]

Thank you all for your info. I really appreciate it.

I suppose that’s why I felt like asking the question—seems like it couldn’t get one great answer from reading, just many good ones haha.

If I were to plant in the ground, would the use of a tile be out of the question considering the time of year/not ideal time to put any stress on roots?

Pleasure to make your acquaintance, fellow Tiny-Tree person!

You are in the right place! There exists here, an enormous mass of experience and knowledge.

I have not personally ever used tiles, so I cannot speak to that point, either way.

Just dropping in to your post, Spider-Man style, to say, “Hello.”

 

[Shibui]

I do not use tiles when planting in the ground. Good root pruning is a far better alternative.
Planting trees with tangled roots in the ground will yield a larger tree with larger tangled roots that are far more difficult to deal with.
Do you really need to plant this tree in the round this year? It would be OK to just plant it out for the summer but I would dig it next winter and do a real root prune then. Any set back would be more than repaid with the improved roots later.
The alternative is to keep it in the pot this summer and do the root prune and plant out next winter.
I can't see any real advantage of any above over any others.