I pulled the tree out of the ground yesterday, May 2014 and the root pruning I did in 2012 and 2013 paid off big time. I dug around the tree with a pick ax and it popped right out of the ground with a nice tight root ball consisting of many tiny roots. IâÂÂve also made the decision to train this tree into a formal upright shape so the dual trunks had to go. I was very nervous about this step but it had to be done: I cut the tree in half⦠And I think it looks great! The remaining trunk has nice taper as a result of cutting off the second large branch (itâÂÂs about 6â diameter at the base and 30â tall from the top of the soil). There are no mature branches left so it will take a long time before it evens out but I think the trunk has a good start. IâÂÂm looking for any advice on where to go from here. How do I shape it? When do I re-pot it? Should I cut the trunk shorter or is it a good height? Have I screwed up completely or is the right path?

Since they are still new plants I'd wait until the soil has really warmed up before planting them outside. Remember that the air temps are going to be warmer then the soil early on. I'm a zone warmer then you so I'd likely wait until mid to late May to plant them outside by you. I'd also just sink the pots instead of planting them directly in the ground. It will make lifting them in the fall so much easier. You can sink a small pot, no need to use a large container. I seal up the bottom drainage holes and cut several new holes into the sides of the pot about halfway up. This allows you to just use a sharp spade to sever the roots that have grown outside the pot when you lift it in the fall. Glad to hear that your cuttings have done well.

I'm hardly an expert on transplanting them to the ground, since I must keep mine in the pots, but in general it used to be said that saw dust may rob soil of nitrogen as the bacteria trying to digest that saw dust will rob nitrogen from the soil instead , and if used supplemental nitrogen in the form of some chemical fertilizer is recommended. I'd guess it's fine to mulch with raw wood chips , but I'd not mix them or use as ammendments unless they've been composted, for the same reason as with using saw dust ! A well drained loamy mix should be sufficient I'd guess, with little in the way of extra ammendments. Since magnesium defficiency with some plantings may be a problem you might add some of that in some form as an ammendment, though just a top dressing would be helpful!

Hi Jennifer, Are you absolutely, positively certain they knew you were just an Ordinary Person who was bringing a few of your Ordinary Plants with you---rather than a nursery or some sort of a commercial operation who was planning to "import" plants into the state? I've done several searches and I can't find anything at all regulating INDIVIDUALS who are bringing plants into the state for their own personal use! All that stuff you posted above sounds VERY much to me like something we would have been dealing with when I was still in the Green Industry! Maybe I'm wrong, but I kinda suspect if you call the Colorado Dept. Of Agriculture and tell them you want them to "inspect" the plants you dug up in your yard they might--well--have you locked up! ;-) Go to the site I'm linking and look at the Oregon Word document. That's ALL about commercial operations. I did find info about not bringing pot (not potS, POT!) into the state---guess you're gonna have to start all over again with seed! :-) And there's information about Noxious Weeds--which are included on that document. And while WAY back when, there used to actually be "guards" stationed where you went "into" California to check for Illegal Contraband, even CA doesn't do that anymore, so to whom are you supposed to show your Colorado DOA inspection certificate? I'm not sure how you'd go about checking further! Maybe you should call the Colorado DOA and try to explain to them what you were told to see what they say---and be sure you tell them you're just an Ordinary Person who's planning to dig a "few" plants up in your yard--and will be potting them in a soilless mix, and taking them with you when you move to Oregon. Be sure they know you have NO intentions to either propagate or sell them. And, whatever you decide to do to check further, PLEASE come back and let us/ME know what you find out. With all the people moving here, there, and everywhere these days, I just can't imagine that either the Oregon DOA OR the Colorado DOA is running around people's yards inspecting a few plants here and there. Now, having said all that! The plants you got from me at the swaps were all grown in Sunshine #1. I'm guessing you're gonna use a fair amount of soil to pot the things you're digging up, so I recommend getting a bale of it (30-some dollars) at Paulino's and use that. Bales are by far the cheapest way to buy soilless mixes since it's compressed and you're getting a lot more than it "looks like." Sunshine mix is also what ALL of Paulino's plants are started and grown in (they sometimes use a different # mix for propagation). I'll repeat this one more time! DON'T buy Hyponex---if you want them to still be alive when you get there! And I don't recommend Miraclegro--WAY overpriced, and extremely inconsistent quality. For the perennials, as soon as your soil is workable, I'd dig up small divisions (they'll get big again!), knock/wash the soil off of the roots and pot them in the mix, keeping them in the appropriate light conditions till you leave (say it ain't so!!!). You can probably plant many of them in pots that are smaller than a gallon to save space. I can't imagine you're going to be successful getting a rose that's been growing in the ground into a one gallon pot! Even the roses that are planted up at Paulino's, which all come in bare root and which have the roots pruned significantly before being potted, are put into two gallon pots. If you're wrong about the regulations, you could put them into bigger pots. And you CAN prune the roots when you do them, but I'd definitely recommend doing it while they're still dormant--a/k/a, as soon as possible, and I'd cut the canes down pretty short too. The other thing you could try--and I've never done this--is to take cuttings and root them. I can't tell you how, but there have been a couple threads around here over the years telling how to do it. Now! About the 'Cherry bells'!!! You know I warned you about growing that--even in Nederland! If you really want to take a chunk of it with you, I'd recommend potting it up just like everything else--and then putting it in a BIG POT in it's new home! I very very, veryveryvery strongly recommend you don't plant it in the ground out there. If you plant that stuff in the ground in Oregon it will probably wind up being added to their Noxious Weed List---and it could very well get YOU banned from the state! ;-) You mentioned on another thread that we should get together before you leave! Darn right, girl! Your place or my place, doesn't matter to me, but I definitely want to get together with you sometime over the summer before you leave! Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: State summaries of plant protection laws and regulations