Acer

[stevie-p]

I have an acer 12 foot high in a large pot,trouble is i think it is already getting pot bound,i cannot plant it in the ground,but have heard that you can cut the roots down to stunt the growth,is this true,and when is the best time to do it.....thanks

[horty]

Hi Stevie-p, try this http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/maple/ msg1223090628537.html?7

[WendyS]

I have one - much smaller than yours - which is in a similar condition. I plan to wait until autumn when it has shed all its leaves and is dying back for the winter, get assistance to ease it out of its pot onto a tarpaulin sheet and tease away up to one third of the rangled roots and compost. Then I'll put some fresh compost and fertiliser (probably poultry manure pellets which I swear by) in the bottom of the container, relocate the acer back in the middle of the pot and pour more fresh compost around the edges, wedging it down until the plant is secure.
I don't want to keep repotting my acer and in view of the amount of water it has needed this dry summer, I'm also going to mix in a generous helping of water retention crystals which help prevent the compost from drying out. You can buy them from any good garden centre.
Good luck. Hope it works as obviously you have quite a specimen tree there and it would be a shame to lose it.

[stevie-p]

yeah,i had it about 12 years ago when it was around 10 inches high,i bet its worth a few bob now.
Thats the gamble with cutting it back root wise,im scared to death of losing it.