noissee

I was offered this for a very good price, and I couldn't pass it up. The roots were neglected this year, and something has to be done. I would like to do some decent work to it, but I'm not sure if I can still do it at this point. Is it too late? If not, how much could I get away with taking off?

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treebeard55

I would wait, unless there's some reason to consider it an emergency. The leaves are almost full-sized, but still new; this means the tree has used the reserves stored from last year, but hasn't had a chance yet to replenish them.

If it really needs to be done this year, I'd let the leaves mature, then wait a month. But remember that I'm not familiar with the climate in north Florida, or how hot it gets when.

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Treebeard 55
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noissee

thanks, I am going to wait. I'll just have to keep an eye that it doesn't stay too soggy.

Dav4

It's almost too late to do meaningful root work on maples way up here in the frozen north, never mind in FLA. You can bare root this guy next year...I would assume some time in February, when the buds are beginning to swell. You could do a form of slip potting now...cut away the bottom 1/4 of the root ball and lightly shake away some of the existing potting soil before potting it up in better soil. Then keep it in the shade...I guess you need to do that as a rule with Palmatums in Florida anyway.

Dave

noissee

yeah the leaves tend to get a little crispy around the edges in the summer. I'm thinking about constructing some kind of shade cloth set-up this year so I don't have to worry about that.

JLDoggett

Dav, you have budswell already? What a difference a short distance can make.

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Dav4

Yeah, we had snow on the ground until early March, and the maples I overwintered in my garage were still frozen solid when I moved them outside in Mid March. They are all beginning to wake up now, though most won't have completly open leaves for another 2-3 weeks, I would guess.

Dave

treebeard55

We had snow flurries a couple of days ago -- and the following day were out in shirtsleeves.

I think the best word for our present weather conditions is "schizophrenic."

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Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

Ml_work

The weather here in Bama is nuts...we had frost 2 night last week! Had to move all my trees inside or under carport. Tonight I was in shorts..........

ML

Dav4

We can have frosts well into May up here, but usually our last one is around the end of April. I've got 2 maple stumps I dug in December (I thought I was moving...not yet). They weigh 30-45 pounds apiece, and have since leafed out. I was moving them in and out of my garage almost nightly, but now I'm just throwing a tarp over them...my back hurts.

Dave