Here comes the pain

Velodog2

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The longer term (10 day) forecast keeps varying up and down, like it will. I stick with forecasts based on the national weather service and they are usually accurate to a couple degrees for the next 24 hrs at least.

10 days out they are saying 3/2 will get down to 30, maybe not a hard freeze if it doesn’t go lower and last very long. The only trees I have at risk are in my protected cave. That is covered with Bilco doors (I looked up the name!) so I can just open and close them as needed for a little protection. Trees don’t quite get full sun when they are open but better than leafing out in the dark and if I’m energetic I can move them in and out. I got this.
 

theta

Mame
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I'm in full blown repot mode right now. 4 down, 8 more to go! One of my JM buds are extending, like right on the verge of opening, I hope it's not too late to repot it, I'll have to squeeze it in today I think.
 

BillsBayou

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My forecast for this weekend is SNAKES.

A friend has land up near Monroe, Louisiana. His own personal swamp. We're going up there to dig bald cypress. Our schedules kept us apart until this weekend when the forecast is in the mid 70s with a 50% chance of rain.

Why did it have to be snakes?
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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I'm in full blown repot mode right now. 4 down, 8 more to go! One of my JM buds are extending, like right on the verge of opening, I hope it's not too late to repot it, I'll have to squeeze it in today I think.
You can re-pot safely up until right after the first few buds have formed leaves... with highs in the upper 70's this week, everything is moving fast so get 'er done soon! All my A. palmatums will be done this weekend.
 

GrimLore

Bonsai Nut alumnus... we miss you
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All is quiet in PA so far, but if things are breaking bud in Maryland I guess it's only a matter of time

Oddly mine are acting normally with no special treatment. Our weather has been odd for certain but the plant placement itself keeps things normal.

Grimmy
 

Nybonsai12

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Crazy @LanceMac10 !!!!

Although not 100% ideal, I've completed nearly all my re-pots. I'm headed out of town for a bit and was concerned about missing the window to do all of them. On top of that it may difficult to find the time upon my return to get them all done right away anyhow.

Coming back to see I'm too late is not an option for me this year as I have many trees i skipped repots on last year. So everything will be in my insulated garage where they will get dappled indirect sun through a skylight and no temps below 40 til i get back. Then I will likely be shuffling for an entire month due to mid 50's during the day, mid 30's at night.....Bonsai is stressful. OH and I need a greenhouse!
 

theta

Mame
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You can re-pot safely up until right after the first few buds have formed leaves... with highs in the upper 70's this week, everything is moving fast so get 'er done soon! All my A. palmatums will be done this weekend.

Good to know, on that tree there's some buds on the trunk that are JUST slightly open already, but in the majority of places the buds are still closed. Freaked me out when I saw that this morning, so the plan is to hopefully get to it today or tomorrow.
 

augustine

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I am @ 10 miles east and a little south of BWI airport, close to the Bay. I don't have any leaves breaking bud yet however the flowering quince flower buds are getting color and flower buds on winter hazel and blueberries are big and fat. No green from leaves visible yet, even on Kiyohime maple. (My trees are on the ground buried in mulch.)
 

miker

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New Hampshire?! Sheesh, it is darn certain your winter is nowhere near being over.

Whatever factor is keeping the trees around here deeply asleep, while trees in every direction (north, south, east and west) spring to life, I am thankful. I am just not up for dragging a bunch of leafed out stuff in and out and having to set a heater in the shed because it is supposed to drop into the mid teens.
 

Timbo

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If freezing after bud break killed trees up here we would have no trees in Michigan.
It hurts the flowering of fruit trees for sure though.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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@cbroad - Amur maple are extremely winter hardy. I am in zone 5b, and I leave mine all outside, on the ground, no extra protection other than being against a fence to cut some wind and cut the sun from full to just a half day. 5 or 6 years now, no problem. Sometimes buds start to move, but then stop. If any buds have been killed by late frosts, the tree produced a new set quickly enough I never noticed.

However, my Amur maples are all in either 3 gallon or 5 gallon nursery cans or in Anderson flats that hold more than 3 gallons of media. This is a fair amount of thermal mass. I would not leave a bonsai pot out in our cold brutal weather, simply because I don't want freeze that cycles to break the pots. Bonsai pots are too small, do not have thermal mass, so trees in bonsai pots should have at least some protection.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Late freezes and having dozens of trees all wanting to be repotted in the same week of spring was, rather is my motivation for learning when to repot in late summer or autumn, depending on species. I do a lot of repotting in August and September, some in October and even later.

You just need to learn which trees will adapt.
 

Timbo

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That's tricky, it's often too late once conifers slow down up here. I've been trying to time re-pots in late Aug.
 
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Late freezes and having dozens of trees all wanting to be repotted in the same week of spring was, rather is my motivation for learning when to repot in late summer or autumn, depending on species. I do a lot of repotting in August and September, some in October and even later.

You just need to learn which trees will adapt.
.

Leo, as far as species and late summer repotting, are there many deciduous species in that group like maples or elms?

I'm a few miles north of D.C. and, fortunately, it looks like my trees didn't quite take the bait. The buds are about ready, but certainly no leaves yet, so I am hoping they'll chill for at least a few more weeks. Well, except for my privet. It has leaves, but I am getting the feeling it is a like the cockroach of bonsai; unless I really try to kill it, it is going to pull through.
 

Solaris

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Only three trees broke bud, all three came from Japanese Maples and Evergreens. I just set them up with a light in the aquarium room; they'll be fine. Everything else is still quite thoroughly convinced it's still winter.

If freezing after bud break killed trees up here we would have no trees in Michigan.
It hurts the flowering of fruit trees for sure though.

It's not the top growth that's at risk, it's the roots. Trees in the ground are protected by the ground, whereas the pot has only air around it to insulate.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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.

Leo, as far as species and late summer repotting, are there many deciduous species in that group like maples or elms?
Japanese maples seem to dislike summer repotting. Amur maples seem fine with it. Flowering quince, all varieties seem to do well with late summer repotting Chaenomeles. Diospyros, all species prefer autumn repotting. I've repotted hornbeam, Carpinus and Ostrya, in summer. Pomegranate, and most of the sub-tropicals I repot in early to middle of summer.

Warning - my summers are relatively cool, compared to most living south of me. We rarely have more than 10 days a year over 90 F, some years we have zero days over 90 F. This is part of what makes out of season repotting possible.
 
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