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Can you repot trees in the summer? 2 years 9 months ago #69099

  • Wes V.
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I was talking to a woman on the phone from a bonsai nursery that offers classes. She said that they would not instruct on repotting since it’s too far into late spring-going into summer. Supposedly the roots of a tree are too active during this growing season, so repotting can be vulnerable. Is this true? I’ve seen videos of people repotting trees during the summer.

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Can you repot trees in the summer? 2 years 9 months ago #69102

  • Tropfrog
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Yes, you can repot some trees in summer, others not. Most species do best repotting when dormant just before getting into growth.

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Can you repot trees in the summer? 2 years 9 months ago #69123

  • Ivan Mann
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The annual cycle for most trees is to be dormant doing next to nothing, then have a burst of growth that sends out roots and leaves, then spend the summer accumulating energy using leaves and roots. If you repot after the roots have surged out, the roots are gone and it is pretty hard on the tree.

Some tropicals grow all year, so you can repot anytime. The video should have stated what kind of tree it was and what time of year it was being done.

I have heard some conifers can be repotted in summer. Since I have managed to kill all my conifers I don't consider myself a good source of advice on them.
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Can you repot trees in the summer? 2 years 9 months ago #69130

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I do usually repot my junipers in late summer/early fall, just when they get out of summer dormancy.
Usually means sometime in September.
At that point they have another 3 months of growing season ahead, and that’s plenty of time to recover.
Usually do the same with my red pine too, but I’m always extra cautious about root work on it so it’s never something particularly traumatic...
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Can you repot trees in the summer? 2 years 9 months ago #69137

  • leatherback
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I have repotted and do repot in summer. Yes it can be done.
If you do not know what the risks are and why it is a good or a bad idea, I would guess you do not have the experience with repotting needed to do this.

This is NOT a way to tell you to go * off. It is more a tiny warning: Repotting in summer IS risky and the benefits do not really outweigh the risks, in my view. I do it in very specific cases AND I do it to learn more about repotting and how trees respond. However, I do no longer have concerns about repotting in the normal time of year, in spring just before growth starts.

Repotting in summer uses the late-summer rootgrowth phase, when the tree starts moving energy stores around.
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Can you repot trees in the summer? 9 months 2 weeks ago #80535

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My tree has roots above soil level, it's a soft plume, and it also has dried leaves, "normal leaves", and brown-tipped leaves. How can I fix this mess? I have no clue what0's going on, I'm desperately in search for help

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Can you repot trees in the summer? 9 months 2 weeks ago #80541

  • Tropfrog
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Roots above soil level is called nebari in the hobby. Make a Google search on it and read up on it.

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Can you repot trees in the summer? 9 months 2 weeks ago #80542

  • Northwood
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Could you add some pictures? You could pot it up in a bigger container without doing any work and put it in the shade until it recovers.

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Can you repot trees in the summer? 9 months 2 weeks ago #80546

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My tree has roots above soil level, it's a soft plume, and it also has dried leaves, "normal leaves", and brown-tipped leaves. How can I fix this mess? I have no clue what0's going on, I'm desperately in search for help


By and large repotting now is a mistake and will kill the tree. (Assuming northern hemisphere)

You can slip pot, which means get a pot substantially larger, at least an inch/2-3 cm all around, but a layer of potting mix on the bottom, put the root ball in the middle of the pot, and fill in all around with potting mix.

You have to be careful watering because the root ball is probably very compact. You want the entire pot to be soaked. In a month or so new roots will have grown into the new soil.

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