repotting a scot's pine...too late??

I have recently acquired a Scot's pine raw material.
The pine seems well established in its current terracotta pot, but the pot has lots of cracks and may split open anytime.

1. Is it too late to re-pot the tree now? I'm from UK - London if it helps with the location.

2 the tourniquet method to create better root system, can it be applied to a tree regardless of its age? or only works best with younger trees where the bark is still smooth?

thanks.

vincent0309 wrote:I have recently acquired a Scot's pine raw material.
The pine seems well established in its current terracotta pot, but the pot has lots of cracks and may split open anytime.

1. Is it too late to re-pot the tree now? I'm from UK - London if it helps with the location.

2 the tourniquet method to create better root system, can it be applied to a tree regardless of its age? or only works best with younger trees where the bark is still smooth?

1. You can slip it from one pot to another, keeping the root ball of soil intact, anytime.

2. In general, as tree's age it becomes more difficult to create adventitious roots. But regardless of age, adventitious rooting is most likely at the base of the trunk (as opposed to higher up the tree). If you have a valuable old tree, grafting seedlings to build nebari may be a better course to pursue.

If the candles have not started to extend into needles you can do a standard repot. If you do a slip pot, I suggest loosening the outer part of the rootball to encourage the new roots to extend into new soil and not having the new soil be dramatically different from the old soil. It will often be more porous than the old since you would not bother to repot otherwise, but if it is too porous compared to the old soil it will be impossible to avoid having one very dry while the other is wet. I have found that with Scots pine I can even cut off the bottom couple of cm of the rootball when doing this type of slip pot.

I have found that when root grafting pines that it is critical to make the grooves for the seedlings nice and deep. Grooves that are deep enough so the middle of the seedling is aligned with the cambium of the main tree is about the minimum. Otherwise, the main tree heals and pushes the seedling out.

Marty

Thanks guys for the information.

I have repotted the tree and was horrified when i found a base of another pot and some pieces of broken pots,
chicken wire and potting mesh buried deep in the soil .

Lets hope the tree is not as shocked as me and recover quickly

regards.