51cg

Hi all,
I often find wild seedlings or saplings in my yard and when I find chestnut (Castanea) or hickory (Carya) I mark the stem and pot them up in late winter or early spring. I try not to damage the roots at that point but the tap root is often hard to get intact, especially for the hickory. As they grow, though, I want to be able to reduce the pot size, especially the depth.
I am wondering how slowly I must progress with the effort. Any guidance and guidelines as to how much root material can be removed any given year would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
T

The first thing to do when digging up is to remove the tap root, then you will be able to have a shallower pot. As for reducing the pot size you have to get the tree to grow first before reducing the pot size. Usually in the ground for 5 to 10 years.

Chestnuts usually tolerate root work a bit better than hickories, but hickories in particular can be extremely taproot-dependent when young, so slow progression is definitely the safer approach. Personally I’d avoid removing more than maybe 20–30% of the root system in any one year, especially if you’re also reducing pot depth at the same time. Once they start developing a stronger network of lateral roots, they become much easier to manage in containers. A lot of people gradually shorten the taproot over several repottings rather than trying to force it all at once, and timing the work just before spring growth starts usually gives the best recovery.