Hi guys, new here thks for having me. I would like to borrow some of your expertise in this small dilemma I have. I bought this tiny (less than 2 feet) Acer Shiwarasanum Autumn Moon in a one gallon (perhaps half) in the very end of the season, heavily discounted. I planted it in the ground to overwinter (zone 5a) and covered it with a rose cone for protection. The root system was small (2 feet diameter tops). Question: will this little tree appreciate some babysitting in a big container or I better leave it alone in the ground. Please any opinion is highly appreciated. Thanks guys for your thoughts!

reyderrs, my Autumn Moon has been in a 14"x14" wide X 17" deep pot for 3+ yrs. Current trunk diameter about 1 1/4" at 1 ' level and its about 5-6' tall. When I annually remove it from pot, there is no sign of roots on outside of soil. I am in zone 8b. The only problem I have had was top leaves/branches died due to lack of water, my fault.
The only possible problem I can think of is nights with negative temps. When living in zone 5a in Colorado, my temps would go to -18 f; my smoke bush was planted in the ground and it would freeze to ground killing all above the soil. It would then regrow in spring from the roots. I learned to protect the smoke bush by using plant blankets. If it was in a pot, I could have moved it into the garage that stayed above 32f.
Hope this helps.

Do you plan to keep it in a pot? Or plant it in the ground? If in the ground, its already there so why move it. If in a pot, why did you plant it? Containers of dormant trees are easily stored in the garage or shed. Or, just bury the pot.

Moving it back and forth between a pot and the soil will take its toll on the root system, something JMs don't really appreciate.

Hi BrooklynStart, thanks for your answer, looks like I did not explain myself clearly enough, the idea of the potting was to babysit it a little or give it a boost but never to leave it there permanently. I live in Montreal (zone 5a) and winter temps go below -9F quite often. No JM will survive that in a pot, even if it is big. What I meant is to pot it during the growing season and then back to the ground before the freeze.

Hi DaisyI, thanks for your answer. Final destination is the ground, in Montreal (zone 5a) a container staying outside during the winter is a no no and I have no such garage or shed. when I got it it past October 2020 it was in a very small pot (1 or half gallon). I carefully untangled the root system and spread it a bit and then plant it below a thick layer of mulch to overwinter it. but it was quite a small root system (no more than 2 feet diameter). What I was wondering if that perhaps the little tree could root and grow faster and easier while being in a big pot with extra care during our short growing season (May to October) and then back to the ground. Do you think this little tree could get rootbound in a 20 inches pot in just one season? Also, the spot I placed it is not bad but I could certainly find a better spot given the chance.

Did you do all this root untangling before it went dormant? I hope its still alive. JMs don't like a lot of root manipulation when they aren't completely dormant.

I don't think you will gain anything by moving it to a pot every summer and back to the ground for winter. It would be constantly having to grow new roots.

I have JMs in smaller than 20 inch pots and they haven't filled the pots in 30 years. The root system (and so the canopy) will be larger if you leave it permanently in the ground.

Thks a lot DaisyI, so your answer is not such a great idea moving it to a pot and then back to the ground. Got it, I appreciate it. As for the domancy no worries, it was completely dormant, it was the very end of the season and it had taken a couple of cold nights in that small pot. It was for sure dormant: most leaves fallen, a few about to fall and the buds already formed. I was very careful and it was not terribly tangled (I've seen most worst and managed to carefully open it). I'll do as you say, it stays where it is. Finger crossed it likes it there and thrives. Thks one last time. For the sake of knowledge and the community I will come back with pictures in the spring (assuming there will be something to show

Hi again, as you guys advised I left the small thing in the ground. As you can see in the picture it is coming back pretty well. It is caged because squirrels decided to eat all the buds of a Green Cascade Full Moon JM that I had. It is re-growing from secondary buds but it is in a very unsightly state right now. I would not want this happening to the small thing. I also had it covered with a rose polystyrene cone and a generous mulch layer all winter. It was a nice winter. I have been washing away aphids and ants with a water hose for a couple of weeks but I think it is over now. Overall I think it will make it. These end of the season deals are always risky. Thanks again for the advices, I'll keep you posted

Hi pals, for the sake of knowledge an update on this. The plant made it through the season. Sorry about the weeds on the picture, with that protection I installed over it weeding is a bit hard to do.

Its looking good!

Make sure the mulch doesn't touch the trunk.

Here is a recent picture of our half moon (Acer Shiwarasanum Autumn Moon) in its beautiful fall colours. It is approx 15 years old now, in the garden and trimmed each year to maintain the space and surrounding we have created for it.
We can get temps. of -20C ( -5 F) and does not effect the tree at all.

OttoBjornson said:Here is a recent picture of our half moon (Acer Shiwarasanum Autumn Moon) in its beautiful fall colours. It is approx 15 years old now, in the garden and trimmed each year to maintain the space and surrounding we have created for it.
We can get temps. of -20C ( -5 F) and does not effect the tree at all.

Wow OttoBjornson, your tree is so beautiful, I envy you right now, I really hope mine gets to be this beautiful one day, thanks a lot for sharing!

Hi guys, again, an update on this for the sake of knowledge. Here it is the little thing this year. I removed a cage I had over it, I think it is strong enough to face the squirrels. I understand that rabbits do not usually eat maples.

If the buds were eaten up near the top, it probably was not rabbits but how about deer?!

BigBill said: If the buds were eaten up near the top, it probably was not rabbits but how about deer?!

There are no deers here (luckily!!) Also my backyard is fenced. Squirrels are very playful around here, not sure why, they take tulips down, chew the trunk of young trees, eat Magnolia buds, etc. The other day they even took down a Conifer candle (that is a premier). I think the reason behind this is people feeding them.

You are not supposed to feed wildlife. Perhaps this is part of the reasons why not.
I have tulips that I planted 3 years ago and I have never been able to see the blooms because squirrels take them down before they can open. Luckily they left these ones alone. Variety is Banja Luka

I don't have any idea of the rural ness of the area that you live in but, white tailed deer have been known to jump over a 12 foot fence!
I am in a very commercial/residential area here 30 miles west of Detroit. I have seen deer on my property just once but I find piles of raisins in my yard from time to time.
I also have squirrels, opossum, raccoon, rabbits, Fox, skunk and woodchuck. Here my woodchucks climb trees.

BigBill said: I don't have any idea of the rural ness of the area that you live in but, white tailed deer have been known to jump over a 12 foot fence!
I am in a very commercial/residential area here 30 miles west of Detroit. I have seen deer on my property just once but I find piles of raisins in my yard from time to time.
I also have squirrels, opossum, raccoon, rabbits, Fox, skunk and woodchuck. Here my woodchucks climb trees.

Oh my God, BigBill, you do have all kind of critters threatening your garden. I can not even start to imagine how much damage they can do. I have only squirrels and rabbits here and they are driving me crazy. Not so rural around my house. I have never seen any kind of deer anywhere around my house. It is really an urban environment, they would get hit by cars if they would venture over here. There has been some debate in the city of Longueuil for some years now about some Virginia Deer that are overpopulating the regional parc. They are eating away the parc's vegetation and causing car accidents. But animal rights groups are fighting for the deer so the matter has become extremely difficult to settle. But luckily for me, that is not close to my house

You would be shocked if I posted a video here regarding me driving around the neighborhoods showing just how urban it is. Yet deer are extremely common as are other critters.
The fact that we have open woodland, residential areas and industrial area all interspersed together is what creates these ideal situations for animals to thrive.
If you take 100 square miles of one dimensional woodland with all oak trees or all beech trees, that does not hold very many deer. Back in college around 1970, it was known as uni-culture.
Take that 100 square miles, make it diverse with open, business and residential areas and the deer populations explode. That seems counter intuitive! But it is the mixed culture, the mixed habitats, that cause deer to be common.
Food becomes available, flower gardens, vegetable gardens etc. provide a varied deer menu.
Just this spring I had two near misses with turkey. One where three were standing by the side of the road like they were at a bus stop. As I neared them, they flew. The second time a turkey ran across the road 50' in front of me.

I had two deer run across that same stretch of road two weeks ago. They went from garden apartments to a single home section and then back to the garden apartments. They were not hit by me but it was odd that they seemed frightened a bit but yet stayed out near the road!
I use this analogy that to deer and other critters, humans have put up a "free food sign" up with this biodiversity. We can't keep them out.
For comparison, put a sign up " free hamburgers" in the middle of Livonia at a MacDonalds and sit back and watch the chaos!!!
Both deer and humans get hungry.