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Container Gardening

Watering dormant trees in pots?

12 years ago

Hi,

I have some mesquite trees that I started from seed in tree pots this summer. I'd like to leave them in the nursery one more year before planting them out. I've never cared for deciduous trees in a nursery setting before.

Is there some risk of rotting the plant if you keep it too wet during the winter after it's lost all its leaves and is dormant? Should I try to keep the pots on the drier side? Or keep them moist?

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Comments (3)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
12 years ago
Where do you live? You might consider adding your state & USDA zone to your user info, even a large city near you would be helpful.

Barely moist is the order of the day for trees dormant and quiescent. I over-winter a lot (150+) of trees in an attached unheated garage, and I usually just toss a little snow on them every 4-6 weeks.

Al
insipidtoast
Original Author
12 years ago
Zone 10a - Coastal Mediterranean Climate.
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
12 years ago
In a med climate the rain is in the winter. I have trees in pots that go through a winter of 30 to 40 inches of rain with no problem. Of course I also use a good soil less mix that drains well. Al

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