AusBonsai

Hey all,

Thought I might mention something or even ask the question, it has bee predicted that this spring is meant to be earlier & warmer than usual. In this case should we anticipate or at least keep an eye on our trees in case early re-potting may be required. I'm mainly thinking of my Maples here.

Whats your thoughts, should we keep a close eye on our plants & the weather?

Hey Ryan,

I am also in Newcastle and have done most of my repotting in the last week or 2. Its been a mild winter so far locally and some of my trees havent even gone dormant. Others are starting to push new buds so had to be done.

In general you should observe each tree and repot when it tells you its ready... ie just as the buds start to swell but before they break. Tho i have never had any issue with doing all of my deciduous trees at the same time using my earliest mover as the guide.

Matt

I never pay any attention to long term forecasts, last summer was going to be the hottest on record and it turned out cool and quite wet, the best way to gauge you deciduous trees is to keep an eye on the buds and if they start swelling hit them fast.
Craig

As craig said let your trees tell you when is the best time.

Are you heading down to the snow? , i have done 1 trip last month and leaving tonight for the 2nd, its so bad i dont want to go realy, even NZ is having a shocker.

I will be waiting until the leaves are just poking their tips out of the bud this year

yeah its defenately wamer up here with all the rain and humidity hapining, but still my maples havent exploded with new growth yet.

G'day Ryan,

Looking at each tree individually is the way to go, but my trees are also suggesting an early spring. In the last two weeks I have observed swelling buds on a lot of my trees - these include Callistemons, Chinese Elms, Maples, Banksia and a Jacaranda. I have 6-7 different types of Eucalypts and they've all started growing and I also have noticed new growth on my Swamp Cypress too. Come to think of it, the only tree I haven't noticed signs of growth on is my English Elm and my Fig.
I wonder whether it has anything to do with their age though because all my trees are young pre-bonsai (5 years or less) and the younger they are the more lively they seem.

Yeh I'm heading down the snow for a week, which is looking terrible by the way & don't really want to miss any major milestones with my re-potting. Most trees are still looking fairly dormant but I know my maples will change fairly quickly. I want to do some heavy root work on my maples, so timing will be the key to success i guess. Am I better to do premature root work than waiting till first growth hardens off?

Could'nt agree more!!!

craigw60 wrote:I never pay any attention to long term forecasts, last summer was going to be the hottest on record and it turned out cool and quite wet, the best way to gauge you deciduous trees is to keep an eye on the buds and if they start swelling hit them fast.
Craig

Ryan1979b wrote:Hey all,

Thought I might mention something or even ask the question, it has bee predicted that this spring is meant to be earlier & warmer than usual. In this case should we anticipate or at least keep an eye on our trees in case early re-potting may be required. I'm mainly thinking of my Maples here.

Whats your thoughts, should we keep a close eye on our plants & the weather?

Hey Ryan
I have finished my maples now. Did the last one on Tuesday nigh
I have tridents on my bench in full Bud Burst too, but they are somewhat sheltered where they are

Ken

Edit. You are better off doing a tree early rather than late if you have to