Hi, I've been growing some Japanese black pines and Japanese red pines from seed this year, and there now are 2 to 3 inches tall, as you can see in the photos Since that's the first time I do this I was wondering: 1/ Do you think it's time for me to repot or slip pot them into bigger pots? 2/ As Autumn and Winter are coming, what is the best way to protect them over winter? Many thanks, Chris
Bigger pots wouldn't hurt. The pot with 2 seedlings in, it is probably too late to separate them now, you'll have to resign yourself to losing (culling) one of the seedlings. Bristol has mild winters, far warmer than in their native areas, so winter cold won't be a problem. Just keep them outdoors where they'll be safe from animals that might damage them (deer, rabbits, squirrels, etc.).
Thank you Michael Since it's really wet in Winter over here, is it best to make sure they're a bit sheltered from most of the rain, so that their roots don't rot?
While winter is technically the driest season in (fairly large) parts of Japan, there is still plenty of precipitation during this season and would not be that much less than Bristol, if at all. As Michael says, rain draining through a suitable medium shouldn't be a concern.
Thank you @maf and @Michael F for the information! I've now slip-potted them in slightly bigger pots, in a mix of compost and perlite (which is also the same medium as what they grew in). That should now be fine for drainage. Their roots started circling a bit at the bottom of the pots (even if the rest of the roots didn't fill the pots0 I'll have to move them into a safer area as I noticed this morning a squirrel dug again in several of my potted maple trees....
