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Moving Acer from a bed to a pot - advice

MilpipMilpip Posts: 2
in Plants
hello, new to this site and to gardening.  My mother recently passed away and I want to keep four of her acers that she had in the garden. Her gardner has put them in plastic pots for me to transport to my house but I want to know when the best time would be to transfer them to proper ceramic pots with the right compost. I think I read somewhere to do this in April but really need expert advice. 

Posts

  • Keith92Keith92 Posts: 7
    Hello Milpip, I am very sorry to hear that your mother has passed away but what a lovely thing to be able to have some of her trees with you. To be honest I think there is nothing to lose from potting them up now. They have already been lifted so you are not going to damage them any further by giving them a nice comfy pot. They will probably have had a wee bit of root damage from being dug up but shouldn't yet be in leaf yet. Ideally you want the roots to settle down and start recovering as soon as possible so that they can take up water and nutrients as they come into leaf.

    If you can I would put them in fairly large containers (up to a third of the height of the stem) with some good drainage at the bottom, use ericaceous compost (this is for plants that like acidic soil) and maybe top dress with a bit of small bark chips if you like. If you can then put them in a sheltered spot out of harsh winds and heavy frosts. They like rainwater which shouldn't be a problem this time of year but come the summer it helps to have a source of rainwater and water maybe once a week depending on the weather. Acers are beautiful at any time of year but especially on autumn days with the sun shining through them and I hope they bring you some comfort.
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    Agree with Keith92.  We dug up three of our Acers in October, and put them into pots.  We had to be quite brutal with the roots of the larger ones, and I feared they might not survive, but all are showing early signs of leaf buds.  Although watering could be a problem in pots, if you let them get too dry, the advantage is that you will be able to position them in conditions in which they will thrive.  Ours were getting too much sun, hence the decision to move them to pots, which can be put in shade. Best of luck with them.  Maybe give them a liquid Ericaceous feed in Spring, to help them get established more quickly.
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