Hello Everyone, I am very new to this forum. I just got as a birthday present a Skeeter's Broom in a 3l container and the maple is about 80cm tall.. I love maples but I am new to gardening them myself. I want to keep the maple in a container since I only have a balcony. My question is : should I repot it now ( even though it does look stressed to me) or should I wait until early spring ( so that the maple has the fall and winter to get accustomed to my balcony)? Thank you in advance for the help.
Any photos ? If you can pull out the tree from the pot and take a photo of the roots, without disturbing them, the people here can help you better. And "Germany" is big : you should be more precise in your location, I don't think that the winters near the Baltic sea are the same as close to Silesia... For a potted tree, that could be a big difference.
Hi, 3 litres is a little on the small size for an 80cm Japanese maple, so repotting would be a good idea; something like 7-10 litres would be ideal, big enough to make a difference but not overly big (they don't like to be overpotted). In mild, oceanic climates September is an excellent month to repot JM's and I see your location now says Mainz which I think is in this broad category. At the risk of telling you what you already know, the three most important aspects when repotting a JM are drainage, drainage and drainage! Amend the potting medium with bark chips and/or perlite and/or grit/gravel, make sure the container has plenty of holes and never stand it in a saucer.
Thank you maf and AlainK for the advices. I should've guessed that Germany is big enough to have different climate zones :) As to the photos - I totally forgot about them. Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow to send them. Maf, yes- I also thought that 3 litres container is on the small side. Thank you for giving me tips about the repotting of my JM. I'll keep them in mind. All the best to both of you. I'll pist those photos tomorrow.
Hi @Maple_fan , welcome to the forum. I'll just add that nursery soil is often very unsuitable for maples in other environments. It is (usually) optimized for rapid growth under shade in warm or hot conditions as may be found in a greenhouse. So it may hold a lot of water. I typically get maples transplanted asap after I get them, regardless of season, unless they are actively putting on growth. Cheers, -E
Hello All, Here are photos of my JM. @emery, thank you for the advice. I will repot my maple this weekend. Kind regards to everyone.
perhaps set the original pot inside your new pot without removing the old pot for now. I would wait until it is dormant (leaves off) as @emery mentioned soil is often not ideal and it may all fall apart (soil) when you try to remove it. Just a precaution..
I agree with Otto : it doesn't look "that" bad, slip-potting it until a proper repot in Spring seems a good idea.
I repot all my newly bought ones in a proper pot that can handle some wind. These store containers for small plants typically dry out quite fast and are very light. I repot them in a larger one but not too large. After 3 months the trees will have grown significantly. See this picture for an example of my own Skeeters Broom handled this way in March. Started out the same as yours. PS: I love Skeeters Broom. It's such an elegantly growing tree. Small upright with waves in the branches. Just perfect.
