When to repot Maple Palmatum and put it in the ground?

[petr_b]

Hello, I have a question:
I have 13y old Maple Palmatum Aureum potted in bonsai pot and I would like to put it in a root pouch and put it in the ground for better growing and thicker trunk.
Can you tell me please when is the best time to do this?
I live in central Europe (Czechia) so even during April temperatures can go below 0°C occasionally. I can make the repotting process in early March, put the maple in the root pouch a let it indoor in garage or somewhere.. and put it in the ground when temperatures will be above 10-15°C constantly in later April.
Is this a good idea or do you reccomend better procedure? Or is the maple able to survive it and I can make this complete procedure in early March in one day?
Thank you a lot!

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Hello, welcome to the site. You will want to protect the newly repotted maple from frost before placing it in the ground. Good luck.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Welcome Aboard Bonsai Nut! It’s always great to see a new member come aboard.

Thinking one day will work fine. Get organized ahead of time.

Given the ground is prepped and has good drainage all should be well. Trim the top hamper in winter during a dry spell to get it ready. A frost cloth will do fine for protection unless there is a hard freeze afterwards.

Year one growth won’t be anything to write home about. Year three ought be a very different story.

Also, we know where approximately where the tree is from your initial post. However as an active participant it would be best if you put your approximate location and USDA plant cold Hardiness zone on your profile, so we can easily access this information when answering future questions.

To do this, simply click on your icon atop the page then Account details, scroll down and enter these data and save.

btw this is also the access point for changing your icon image if so desired.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[petr_b]

Perfect! Thank you guys

 

[Shibui]

Temps just under 0C at night is no problem for Japanese maple. I routinely repot JM and also plant out in the grow beds through winter with similar temperatures. You should only have problems if the ground freezes. I would save yourself some bother and go straight into the ground.
Make sure you do good root pruning before ground planting. Small root problems before often become big problems after growing.

Beware of Planting good, well drained soil in bags into heavy, clay soils. Any water will collect in the holes and can't drain away easily making your grow bags into bog garden. Better to match soil inside and outside the bags to allow better drainage or, if using open soil mix inside the bags, plant the bags partly above ground level or with soil mounded up around the bags so they do not sit in wet holes.

 

[petr_b]

Temps just under 0C at night is no problem for Japanese maple. I routinely repot JM and also plant out in the grow beds through winter with similar temperatures. You should only have problems if the ground freezes. I would save yourself some bother and go straight into the ground.
Make sure you do good root pruning before ground planting. Small root problems before often become big problems after growing.

Beware of Planting good, well drained soil in bags into heavy, clay soils. Any water will collect in the holes and can't drain away easily making your grow bags into bog garden. Better to match soil inside and outside the bags to allow better drainage or, if using open soil mix inside the bags, plant the bags partly above ground level or with soil mounded up around the bags so they do not sit in wet holes.

Thank you a lot for your advice!
I have fairly good soil around the house, so there shouldn't be a problem with clay. Maybe I'm just being overly cautious and needlessly dealing with something that's completely common.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Gosh, need to weigh in on this one again

Would agree if the ground was sufficiently warm the roots can still push and heal themselves during the winter.

Looking at Prague climatology would think the ground freezes during the winter?

…And comparing to Yackandandah australia and Seattle WA climatology it is even colder in Prague on average than both. This means little or no rot growth or healing.

The reason most folks wait to prune roots until spring is then the roots sit in the soil all winter with cut root tips, increasing the chance for disease.

Once spring hits the tree has the entire year to recover and grow steadily

So would just wait. There’s no up side

Best
DSD sends

 

[petr_b]

Gosh, need to weigh in on this one again

Would agree if the ground was sufficiently warm the roots can still push and heal themselves during the winter.

Looking at Prague climatology would think the ground freezes during the winter?

…And comparing to Yackandandah australia and Seattle WA climatology it is even colder in Prague on average than both. This means little or no rot growth or healing.

The reason most folks wait to prune roots until spring is then the roots sit in the soil all winter with cut root tips, increasing the chance for disease.

Once spring hits the tree has the entire year to recover and grow steadily

So would just wait. There’s no up side

Best
DSD sends

Thanx! I understand, I'll take that into consideration. Sometimes even the ground freezes in Prague, it depends on how many days in a row it freezes.
I would prefer to do this at the end of winter, prune the roots and put in a root bag ø20" x 20" height