AusBonsai

I was just wondering, can you put a tree in the ground at any time, or should you wait until it's the appropriate time to repot it (for the species)

I have a cedrus deodar and am planning on putting it in the ground for some trunk thickening but I'm not sure when is a good time, thanks!

you should be ok to do it now. No root work, just dig a hole and drop it in, AS IS! Just like slip-potting...

Yeah I've been meaning to ask this too. Could you still do it in Summer or winter?

I have a blue spruce I want to put in the ground but won't be able to for a while....

Raymond wrote:you should be ok to do it now. No root work, just dig a hole and drop it in, AS IS! Just like slip-potting...

Thanks! Should I prune it regularly once it's in (like trunk shaping every winter kind of thing)?

The problem with dropping an existing rootball into the ground is that all curled and tangled roots will just get bigger and thicker and end up harder to deal with in the end. If you are going to go to the trouble of ground growing to create a great tree might as well do it properly to give best opportunity to get good results.

A few years ago I slip potted some JB pines into the grow beds. When I dug them a few years later I found a large woody mass of fused roots under the trunk. Great you say, wonderful nebari? Maybe not. All of them were the exact shape and size of the pot they were in before going in the ground ie a great woody base with inverse taper

If you are still determined to go ahead then at least break open the rootball from the bottom into 3 or 4 pieces and flare the bits out to direct the surface roots outwards. This should only break a few roots and will not usually compromise the tree.