Any reason why I couldn’t put these spruce seedling cuttings into forest arrangement as long as the roots aren’t touched?I grew them from seeds (~year and a half old) and in 4x4 plastic containers. I can easily remove these from mini pots without disturbing roots. Or, do I simply wait until early 2026? Please note: Trees are wintered in an unattached and unheated garage, surrounded by mulch to top of containers, with thermostats keeping temperature between 32 and 36 degrees F. Much thanks…
I would wait until spring so you can work the roots a bit for the following reasons. 1) They are probably a root bound and you want to make sure the roots spread in the forest. In addition, you probably want to be able to get them into a shallower pot than the current 4” pots. 2) If they are out of the pots you will be able to place some of them closer than possible in the current pots. Planting with the current untouched root balls will probably result in some very uniform spacing which will look unnatural unless you are doing a Christmas tree farm. 3) Even with care you will disturb the roots some and they will handle it better in the spring. I do some repotting of seedlings this time of year that are kep under similar conditions to those you describe, but I still loose some.
Wow. Thank you for such a thoughtful and specific reply. Great points and stuff I did not think about. Definitely not going for the Christmas tree farm look. Points well taken. I will sit tight until spring.
Points well taken. I will sit tight until spring.