Trees waking up early...

just.wing.it

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I have a few trees with some buds opening.
These trees are in my garage, which does have south facing windows, that let some light in.
It's a maple or 2, elm, hornbeams...

Just wondering what some of you guys and gals do in this situation, when the tree in question is due for repotting??

The trees are opening a handful of buds in several different places, but the whole tree is not looking like its ready to grow yet....I'd say 5-10% of the buds are swelling and opening now, and the rest look dormant.

Repot now is OK?
I actually did have this issue with one tree last year, and I did the early repot and all was OK...but I was concerned.
I have several trees doing it this year, and I'm looking for advice!
 

StoneCloud

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I'm in the same boat but it's not too early. Once the first few buds break start to repot.

I've got it a little easier down here though, not so many nights below freezing left in the year compared to where you are at.

The deciding factor to ask I think is "am I willing to shuffle these bastards until until the frost risk is gone" haha!

Last week I took 95% of the roots of a yaupon, and repotted it. Still kicking.

Last week I also took 75% of the roots off a spruce and did a partial repot......had one open bud, now it has 4 open buds so doing well

I have some sweetgums, oaks and american elms I was going to dig out and pot up very soon as well. Here even my trees in the landscape are slowly starting to get going already.
 

Dav4

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Pics please. When I overwintered maples in my garage in MA, my goal was always to keep the trees dormant as long as possible. Still, I'd occasionally have maples start to move 4-6 weeks too early- usually in mid March. If the buds were still tight when I noticed them swelling, I'd move them outside and heavily mulch the pots to keep the soil from re-freezing. They would sit there for another month without moving, and then I could re-pot at a more appropriate time.

Your situation is different in that it's only the second week of February. Personally, I'd still try to slow them down as much as possible... in N GA, we don't have any freezing weather forecast over the next 10 days, and I assume you're have fairly similar weather? Perhaps, moving them outside into a protected, shady area will slow them down for a few weeks... frosts are fine, short freezes are fine if the pot is mulched, but don't let the soil freeze solid again, and re-pot when the buds are turning into leaves.
 

sorce

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Do you keep vehicles in the garage?

I wonder if Carbon Monoxide or other pollutants have an effect on what a tree wants to do.

It's funny when it snows you can see who uses their garage for vehicles, and those who use it for storing a bunch of shit they don't need!

Speaking of snow....

When Cali Doesn't have winter. ......
20180211_075128.jpg

We finally get one again!

#bonsaisnowman

Sorce
 

just.wing.it

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Pics please. When I overwintered maples in my garage in MA, my goal was always to keep the trees dormant as long as possible. Still, I'd occasionally have maples start to move 4-6 weeks too early- usually in mid March. If the buds were still tight when I noticed them swelling, I'd move them outside and heavily mulch the pots to keep the soil from re-freezing. They would sit there for another month without moving, and then I could re-pot at a more appropriate time.

Your situation is different in that it's only the second week of February. Personally, I'd still try to slow them down as much as possible... in N GA, we don't have any freezing weather forecast over the next 10 days, and I assume you're have fairly similar weather? Perhaps, moving them outside into a protected, shady area will slow them down for a few weeks... frosts are fine, short freezes are fine if the pot is mulched, but don't let the soil freeze solid again, and re-pot when the buds are turning into leaves.
Sorry, had to switch to my work phone... Time for a new personal cell...

The hornbeams are just swelling...

Here is a picture of some of the buds on the elm and one on a maple.

KIMG0093.JPGKIMG0094.JPGKIMG0095.JPGKIMG0096.JPG
 

just.wing.it

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Do you keep vehicles in the garage?

I wonder if Carbon Monoxide or other pollutants have an effect on what a tree wants to do.

It's funny when it snows you can see who uses their garage for vehicles, and those who use it for storing a bunch of shit they don't need!

Speaking of snow....

When Cali Doesn't have winter. ......
View attachment 177443

We finally get one again!

#bonsaisnowman

Sorce
My wife's care usually goes in and out once per day.
Other half of garage is mine....;-)
 

just.wing.it

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It's super hard to give you advice on this as I have no idea what the weather is going to be like near the moon...:D
Looks like you'll be shuffling some of these.
Lol!
Thanks!

Well, in Mid Maryland, I see nighttime lows in the 20's in the near future...
And I assume that winter is at least 5 weeks from really ending.

I will say, last year, when I had my one hornbeam wake up early, and I repotted it, I just left it in the garage, didn't do any shuffling... It was a gamble, but no harm done, tree did fine...fwiw...
 

StoneCloud

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With the wife's car going in after being hot this I think its the temperature difference that could have an efffect......kina like what sorce is saying about the pollutants.....
 

just.wing.it

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With the wife's car going in after being hot this I think its the temperature difference that could have an efffect......kina like what sorce is saying about the pollutants.....
Not worrying about "pollutants" from the car.
Usually the garage seems to hold a cooler temp than outside.
Today for example, the garage is noticably cooler than outside, where it's a balmy rainy day....
 

StoneCloud

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Not worrying about "pollutants" from the car.
Usually the garage seems to hold a cooler temp than outside.
Today for example, the garage is noticably cooler than outside, where it's a balmy rainy day....

Same here, its humid today 70 and it's 60 in the garage. It's the concrete

I actually have some free time today and itching to do something haha!
 

WNC Bonsai

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Is the garage under or next to a heated portion of the house or is it free standing? Mine is under the huse so it stays in the mid 40s most of the winter unless the temps drop into the teens. Here in WNC we are now in a warm spell with projections near 70 by mid week. My Japanese maples outside have swelling buds and my Va sweetspire in a nursery pot looks like it could pop buds any time now. I think the extreme cold gave us enough chill hours so that it won’t take much warmth for things to pop early. I have moved the trees outside for now but am ready for the two step if weather dictates. The nice thing about the warm days is it makes sifting pine bark and pumice in the driveway a lot more pleasant .
 

just.wing.it

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Is the garage under or next to a heated portion of the house or is it free standing? Mine is under the huse so it stays in the mid 40s most of the winter unless the temps drop into the teens. Here in WNC we are now in a warm spell with projections near 70 by mid week. My Japanese maples outside have swelling buds and my Va sweetspire in a nursery pot looks like it could pop buds any time now. I think the extreme cold gave us enough chill hours so that it won’t take much warmth for things to pop early. I have moved the trees outside for now but am ready for the two step if weather dictates. The nice thing about the warm days is it makes sifting pine bark and pumice in the driveway a lot more pleasant .
Same here. Attached garage, mid 40's.
 

Velodog2

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Since we are practically neighbors, I ran to check my trees in cold storage when I saw this. All good. Last year I had many wake up the second week in feb, did the shuffle, and got long internodes.

It’s been colder on average this year, especially at night. I make an insulated cave for mine in the outside stairwell (concrete) to my basement which are buried below ground and have doors on the topside (those slanted ones you lift up. They have a name ...). Below those doors I add 2” rigid foam. I keep a remote thermometer in there and they haven’t gotten above 41 so far this year.

I suspect the occasional warm days we’ve had are your problem. I’ll bet your garage gets fairly warm then, with a south facing window.
 

just.wing.it

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Since we are practically neighbors, I ran to check my trees in cold storage when I saw this. All good. Last year I had many wake up the second week in feb, did the shuffle, and got long internodes.

It’s been colder on average this year, especially at night. I make an insulated cave for mine in the outside stairwell (concrete) to my basement which are buried below ground and have doors on the topside (those slanted ones you lift up. They have a name ...). Below those doors I add 2” rigid foam. I keep a remote thermometer in there and they haven’t gotten above 41 so far this year.

I suspect the occasional warm days we’ve had are your problem. I’ll bet your garage gets fairly warm then, with a south facing window.

Probably yes...
I don't like keeping them in there, as it is an attached garage...
I'd love to have a shed, or barn for them...
Hopefully we can find something like that when we move this year...fingers crossed.
 
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