i have no clue how to remove such from those peat pots ...

there is a conifer forum ... which they are.. i dont know if you will get any better info there..

but there are some peeps in the pest and disease forum.. that have lots of experience.. with all kinds of things ...

its the pot itself which is the problem ...

you would do it.. when they are large enough to handle ... which is probably not for 6 months or so ...

pine seedlings are nearly indestructible .... and can take a lot of abuse ...

what i recommend.. is potting it into a quart pot .. even a gallon pot.. and letting them grow ...

if there is a plastic or net thing holding the peat together.. see if you can remove that first ... once the roots grow thru it.. it might be hard to remove ...

and most important.. is what media you put in the bigger pot.. and i suggest a cactus mix.. trees.. which conifers are ... NEED very high drainage.. and a media that hold a lot of water.. will lead to root death ... and that is why the PEAT is a problem.. it holds too much water

i have hundreds of free range pine seedlings all over my drought ridden mineral sand yard .. and they NEVER get watered or anything .. just about the only way to kill them.. in my estimate.. IS WITH TOO MUCH LOVE ....[so do not 'feed' them either]

good luck

ken

Soak the little peat pot until the peat is soft and gently pull the seedlings apart. Have ready five four-inch pots with a light, porous potting medium and just transplant them and gently water them in well and return them, sitting on a tray to the lights. Then leave them alone until they catch. If you have indirect light on a porch where they won't bake or fry, you may then want to move them outside. They can be moved into the ground pretty early to a temporary protected spot where they won't be overwhelmed with weeds and can be monitored and should be happy there until it comes time to plant them permanently.

They will not grow much in the first year, I would leave them alone, just plant the whole peat pot into a larger pot and put outside, shade first for a couple of weeks. Let them overwinter outside, bury the pot about half way in, or above, somewhere with good snow cover. In spring when still dormant and wet you can shake all the peat/dirt loose and replant. Some will have very long tiny roots. The reason to do it in the second season is because the little trees are very strong, including roots, easy to work with, without injuring them when pulling the inter mangled roots apart. I've done thousands of various evergreens for my little forest plantation.

i say wait ... calli says go for it ...

i will try to say what i meant.. lol ...

i said.. they are bulletproof.. somewhat ...

but if they are so small.. that you crush or break them.. thats it ... they are too small to recover ...

so i wanted them to be big enough to handle ... to take the physical stress ....

and konrad is probably right.. what you see.. is probably what you will have for the rest of this year ....

ken

Their little roots are tough, don't think you are going to hurt them either way. You see them volunteering all over the place if you use pine bark mulch. We usually just let them grow in situ a couple of years like Konrad says and then pot up or move. Most of the trees I start are not conifers, and some have aggressive and early tap roots (oak and buckeye) so I separate early because it's necessary. He could probably teach me volumes on conifers. Listen to him.

Once the little trunks have started to harden off, they can be separated by wetting as mentioned. I am not sure how soon that occurs, probably end of summer or could be next year. Til then they are too tender.

The general consensus is to wait, so I'll wait. :) They look really fragile at present.

It won't be long before the peat pot breaks down so I'll have to stick them in another pot before too long.

Looks like I have a 6th one starting to germinate, so it's going to be rather crowded. This peat pot is only maybe 3 inches in diameter.

Thanks everyone!