Safe to plant P. nana in ground now?

[Paradox]

I got a couple of small potted procumbens nana a couple of weeks ago and was thinking that Id like to put them in the ground on the 10 year plan. Is it safe to plant them in the ground now?

 

[JudyB]

Ground planting is pretty safe summer and fall if you are not working the roots, or doing any chops or big pruning at the same time. Just be careful with this year's heat that you are able to protect it from full sun while it settles in. If you can wait till fall, that's a great planting time, as that's when a lot of root growth occurs on trees.

 

[Stan Kengai]

Don't plant them now because you won't be giving them a head start, you'll probably just weaken them. Spring planting is always the safest, and in most areas fall planting is acceptable. I plant my stuff in the ground religiously in the late summer (early Sept for me), and have had nothing but tremendous results. Most plants have an explosion of root growth in the fall. But in my climate, we don't have to worry too much about the ground freezing more than an inch or two. In your climate this might kill the tender new roots, so I'd advise asking someone local.

 

[Dav4]

You can plant whenever you want, though later in the season is a bit safer...maybe late August when things are cooling down. The most important thing you need to do is water weekly until the soil freezes. Placing a 2" layer of wood chip mulch around your planting is always a good thing to do, too.

Dave

 

[Paradox]

Thanks for the replies. Ill wait and try to keep them watered and hopefully they survive the heat. One more month to go.....

 

[Bill S]

Dav4 echoed my thoughts, remembering that plantings now will need to be regularly watered, the ground won't keep them from needing watering until the root system grows to undisturbed earth. P nana has no trouble surviving winters up here, so LI should be fine. Planting later has the same requirements. Heeling the pots into the ground for the winter is different as you do this watered, and look for them to freeze, keeping them that way til spring.

 

[Paradox]

I was more concerned with the fact that they are in half gallon pots and seem a bit rootbound. I'm not worried about overwintering or having to water them. I'm concerned that they aren't getting enough water to them because the pots are so small for them at this point and their roots are stuffed in there. In any case, Ill wait, try to keep them watered and plant them in the spring.

 

[jkd2572]

They have been root bound in those pots for a long time. A couple more months or even six wont matter that much.