Probably the vital question is how big of a tree and how large of a pot.

For what its worth I bet if you went to the garden center two months from now the same tree would be in the same pot.

Um....keep the pot out of direct sun. That will heat the roots oddly. Who knows how the drainage will be. Use your finger and water appropriately.

tornado38, The size of the tree is proably about 5 or 6 feet tall so not extreamlly large, and the size pot is proably a 1 gal, or 2 gallon, somehere in there, but that is exactly what I was thinking the at the nursery it proably would have beeen left in the same pot until they sold.

Ken, I have way more kinda of plants then my screen name represents, and my favorite plants are actually spring bulbs! Red maples are not nearly as aggresive as sliver and sugar maples, Besides I want this tree to be a nice shade tree. There are no trees in the backyard of the new house and I'd like there to be at least 1 tree

P.S Sorry about the name of the post typo, I wish I would have caught that before I posted it!

If it is 5-6 feet tall and in a 1-2 gallon pot then it is likely root bound. I could not leave it that way in Georgia because it would keep drying out too fast. Wisconsin may be different! So at my house I would probably pot up to 3 gallon size, not really disturbing the roots a whole lot as I did it, but just giving it a bit more room.

I'm with esh - that size pot is too confining for a tree of that size and intended growth rate. I'd probably even go for a larger container myself (5G?) - reduces both the soil heat issues and the too frequent watering required for a smaller container.

And this from someone who grows 75% of her garden only in containers :-)

Take Ken's advice with a large grain of salt - he has noted aversions to both maples of any kind as well as growing anything in a container!

you all miss my point ...

moving a household is insanity ...

moving a household plus a garden is double insanity ... been there.. done that.. what was i thinking ....

especially in the high heat of summer ... [i moved when it was all dormant in january]

so your plan.. as i understand it.. is to move everything you own.. into a new house.. and abandon the house.. while you plant a garden ... and i am presuming the tree is not the only thing you are taking ... maybe i am wrong ... i was glad to have 4 months to put the household back together... before i had to start messing outside .... painting.. cleaning.. unpacking .... etc ...

so all i am trying to say.. is this tree really a priority ...????

now.. why do you know about the house and all already ... building??? .. is there an option to go plant it now... are there facts we dont know ...

when i moved.. between the accepted offer in oct. .. and the closing in late dec ... we were allowed to deliver 1500 potted hosta to sit outside the barn ... also i had many local friends who adopted garden plants ... plant sitter if you will .... which gave me the luxury of 'time' ....

at least it sounds like your move is local .... mine was 65 miles ...

this is not a rare tree.. and there are much higher priorities in moving... sacrifice the tree if need be ...

BTW... you cant plant it in august... it will have to be held ove, until the next proper planting time.. in fall

good luck.. whatever you decide ... ken

PS: just cuz the nursery would leave it in the pot until sold.. does not make it right.. they most likely have hirelings to water them 2 or 3 times per day ...

Woody plants should be moved on when the root tips are merely approaching the pot walls. We are seldom offered stock that has been kept potted on with anything near that level of diligence, making opening up and cutting back of roots at planting time pretty much a routine procedure.

Ken, The move isn't quite as drastic as you think and the move is not a huge concern. I'm only moving from my dads house to my aunts house to go to collage. The move is over 100 miles, but the there is no entire household to move, just a few of my things. I will be taking a few of my favorite plants, but moving them all isn't an option. My aunt already has established gardens I will be taking care of.

I will be going down for student testing as early as I'm finished with studies at home. Which could be as early as mid June possibly. So yes planting at an earlier date is a possibiltiy, but with gas prices the way there are, I would need more then just the reason of planting some plants to go there.

I'd pot up into minimum 5g and double the pot for shade. The more soil, the more buffer. It won't last long in the current pot - likely already unhappy and set back if info accurate.

Dan

What kind of maple are we talking about here (hopefully I didn't miss it)?

If its a fast growing commmon maple like a Freeman just plant it and leave it behind instead of tending to a potted plant that puts out an insane amount of roots.

That way you can drive by someday knowing you had a hand in planting it.

If its a Acer griseum or something more interested repot it!

i posted last night ... but its not here???

can i ask.. why are you taking a tree to college????

plant it at dad's house ...

ken

The poster already told us what kind of maple it is. It's a red maple. The poster didn't ask us whether it 'should' be taken, just how to keep it from being compromised until the move. ;-)

What the poster did not tell us is how the roots look to him/her. I have seen many potted trees and shrubs potted up into containers and taken to retail lots prematurely where they could be sold for three gallon prices when they really needed to left to grow on awhile. There are actually legal specs as to relation of container size to root ball size and release for sale.

What the poster did not tell us is what size container the maple is in now, and has he/she even checked the status of the rootball to see if it has any wiggle room.

I'd suggest that first and bump up if necessary...... and then suggest that the tree be heeled in temporarily at its present location, in the pot if necessary and mulched over so that it receives the protection moist soil and mulch can give it from temperature extremes and then moved to the new location when they leave. As bboy says, they may have to do a little root surgication when put in the final planting spot, but with a modicum of care I suspect the maple will do just fine, thank you.

Actually the poster did say:

The size of the tree is probably about 5 or 6 feet tall so not extremely large, and the size pot is probably a 1 gal, or 2 gallon, somewhere in there

but no assessment of roots.

Thankyou, calliope That is an answer I was looking for! I did check out the root ball right away and It's definitively very root bound, I'll be potting it in an old container I got from a previous tree planting. That pot is 5 gallons. My brother did give me an idea I think is a good one, but I'd like second options on this as well. What if I sink the tree in the new pot into the ground for the summer months? This way it would take care of heat and most water issues, and it could even begin to grow a bit I believe. My main concern is would the roots grow too quickly and start coming out the bottom of the holes before the summer is over? Let me know.

Also to clear things up and answer some more questions, my name first name is Derek.

That's what I meant by heel it in, and even leave it in the pot if necessary. I wouldn't go hog-wild sizing it up to too large a container, I'd just bump it up to the next size perhaps a three gallon.

I'm an nurseryman, but I don't do that many trees other than for personal use, and there are a lot of folks on this forum more knowledgeable than I on tree care, but I don't lose too many. I believe red maples do not have a strong or large tap root. They do have vigorous laterals. So, I don't think you'll have to worry too much about any root loss from where it's grown through the bottom of the pot, should you lose some. They're pretty forgiving trees for the most part and we're only talking a few months here.