Putting the tree into a regular pot with proper drainage and soil is needed if you want to encourage significant growth.
My question, and I defer to the more experienced here, is whether repotting it now is appropriate? As you are not dealing with normal circumstances, repotting it right away may be of greater importance than my question, but I wonder what is facing the tree after it is repotted.
For instance, I live in the Pacific Northwest, and nights are already dropping into the 40’s (F) at night. My Chinese Elms are temperate, and will remain outdoors for the winter with their roots protected when temperatures drop too low. In my area, it would not be the best time to repot and add stress to these trees as they are preparing themselves for winter, and drawing energy back into their roots. But that would be under normal circumstances, so I again defer.
I would point out, just so that you are not surprised, that if you do repot, you will likely see additional leaf drop. This is not unusual for even a vigorously healthy tree after repotting, and some species are more prone to it than others. The bright side is that the Chinese Elm is pretty resilient (as long as it doesn’t continue to get over watered!) and you should see signs of new growth within a few weeks if it is happy.
So that brings to mind one more lesson that I found was essential to my beginner’s learning curve. I am still learning about the importance of timing in relation to maintaining the health of the trees, and encouraging the most possible growth. When is the best time to hard prune, or repot, or fertilize, or wire? (Also, how much time does a tree need after one of these in order to recover, before doing additional work?) The answers are different for different types of trees. Ignorance of this was just one of the reasons that my little juniper should have died. (In addition to others!) Thus I am still learning, and I freely admit that have a long way to go! To me, growing these trees means growth of self also. I am as hungry for this knowledge as I am to create art. I find the idea of working with a tree that has as far to go as I do to be very fulfilling, even if it does require a lot of patience! Buying a “finished” tree just doesn’t appeal to me as much.
