Need some advice please for repotting Chaenomeles in the UK. Before or after flowering?
Hallo
As far as I know, autumn is the best season. Charnomeles is susceptible to a bacterial disease. Infection pressure is lower in autumn than in spring. Or you have to disinfect the cuttings.
I agree. September is the best time. This avoids the chance of it getting root galls which look like nodules on the roots.
Does this not go against everything Ryan teaches for repotting, Olives aside?
It goes agains the general rules of repotting but he actually mentions flowering quince root galls in one of the streams.
I’m pretty sure he says he still repots in spring as he has not experienced this himself.
I had to burn my Chaenomeles last year. I got it 2 years ago in early spring, while in blossom but not in leaf. I repotted it right away. Last spring I noticed a root gall just below the soil surface. That probably came from repotting in spring rather than waiting for the fall (which I didn’t know at the time unfortunately). I tried to air layer it, but when I opened the layer bag, it had tons of roots, and an even bigger gall than on the base of the parent. Into the chimnea it went. I loved the orange flowers 
I did find the stream. Here it is:
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/library/video/flowering-quince-design
At 33:50 and he talks about the root knot nematodes. He did repot this particular tree in the spring, but had to take care of the root knot nematodes.
Where abouts are you Bob?
I’m in southern Ontario… Western GTA. I just watched the video. I wish I had seen this when I got the tree. We can’t get the chemical he named here in Ontario, but I would have waited until the fall to repot it. I found out about the issue when I consulted one of our club members who’s got a degree in forestry after discovering the root gall when I removed a sucker from the base last spring. Thanks for the link. 
As always seems to happen, I repotted my quince last year a week or two before that stream 
Thankyou all for your advice, I watched the stream and it appears your advice was spot on. This is very frustrating as I left this tree to repot in the spring and I could have done it last year. Plus side is the flowers will look amazing in the spring as ever.
There was an article in Focus on how to treat them. I have a Nivalis which I’ll be trying it on this year when I repot. So fingers crossed.
I have a whole slew of chaenomeles japonica. Ryan says best time is to do it in fall. But occasionally he has to do it in spring for various reasons. But if you have to repot in spring, be prepared to repot 1.5 years later and address the root knot.
Fair enough. Thankyou
So, someone take a best guess as to which is safer, spring or fall, for lifting a quince (older sucker…) from a urban-dori tree?