Winter root pruning

[Arizona_Alex]

Hey everybody! I am new to bonsai (<1 year) and in need of some advice regarding root pruning of my two junipers; a procumbens nana and a San Jose. Currently, both are in clay pots as I bought them last summer/fall and only did some rough top pruning.

Here in Arizona, we are having a very mild winter (mid/high 70s during the days, mid 40s at night). Typically, we get these temps around March (beginning of Spring). I had planned on root pruning and putting them in some Vance Wood-style grow boxes (for trunk thickening) this Spring.

My questions are:

Do you think it would be safe to carry out these root prunings now given our temperatures?

If the temperatures should drop to normal winter temps (low 50s-mids 60s day, low 30s-low 40s night) or even a frost here and there, would my plants suffer from the root pruning and the low temperatures?


Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[jk_lewis]

If Green Valley is where I think it is -- near Tubac -- you should be OK if you don't take off too much.

 

[Arizona_Alex]

You are correct. Green Valley is near Tubac. We have had some particularly cold winters and I am afraid that my overzealousness will come back to bite me if we get a cold snap in February.