Can you repot over the span of a couple days?

[Prismile]

Hello! I'm attempting to repot a nursery stock coast redwood (5-7 gallon pot), but was not able to complete it today. I've cut off the matted roots at the base, and teased through maybe 3 inches from the top not hitting nebari yet before stopping. Will the tree be okay if I don't finish repotting till 3 days later? I don't get freezing temperatures here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TrevorLarsen]

I would worry about the roots drying out.

 

[Prismile]

I've put it back in the nursery pot for now and layered paper towels at the top. Any recommendations on preventing them from drying out?

 

[vp999]

I have done it before with tropicals and didn't seem to hurt anything, what I did was cover the old soil over the roots and water it well so it wouldn't dry out.

 

[Asymetrix]

If there is any concern of the roots drying out you can mist it periodically with a spray bottle and keep it covered in damp towels as you have.

It should be fine. I have caused far longer delays in repots with no repurcussion.

 

[Weta]

MOSS

 

[SeanS]

There are photos floating around the internet of Ebihara repotting Japanese maples over a few days, covering the roots with wet towels between sessions. His extensive root work couldn’t be completed over a single day.

 

[Shibui]

Roots don't dry out as quick as some people fear.
Just put the roots back into a container and pile soil around and over the roots. The soil that came off it should be fine for this, use fresh stuff if you want or use damp sawdust or damp sand, etc.
No need to worry about air pockets at this stage. The soil will be enough to stop any roots drying for a week or more if necessary.
Next session just pick the tree up, shake off the covering soil and keep working.

Trees for sale survive for months through dormant season at nurseries down here. Growers have not used ball and burlap for around 50 years here so the vast majority of deciduous trees are sold bare root in winter and live for more than 3 months with roots covered in damp sand or sawdust.

 

[vp999]

I have done it before with tropicals and didn't seem to hurt anything, what I did was cover the old soil over the roots and water it well so it wouldn't dry out.

I meant cover the roots with the old soil.

 

[SeanS]

I’ve had to cover and uncover the roots of trident and JM seedlings multiple times during repotting season while doing root grafts on other trees or creating new projects. Each time I need some seedlings for a particular task I grab a few and yank them from their loose soil covering, pick out a few I need and then haphazardly cover the rest up again. They don’t seem to mind at all, so I suspect larger trees can survive as @Shibui stated above with having their roots treated in a similar fashion.