That "rootball" looks stellar. It begs the question, why even grow the container. I mean, what would be the downside of leaving the container as is? I realize a larger container would allow for an even more expansive root system, but if you were to leave the container at that original size, would it really pose an problem for the blood orange tree in the long run?
Is you are a purist regarding Dr. Whitcomb's approach, just because you are using the system doesn't mean you shouldn't expand 4" more from the old to the new. Meaning the diameter of the expanded, new pot, is 8" wider. When the roots terminate they branch behind that termination point approximately 4". I recently went to a 100 gal. pot on a Reed avocado because it's become a big tree with very large ground exposed roots. Here's a picture of the gap I made and then backfilled on the Reed recently.
Opened up, ready for additional panels. Notice no spin out:
Gap created by added panels:
Open this up and you'll see the white roots which were exposed when the sidewall collapsed a bit during my manhandling. This is looking down with the pot about 1/2 backfilled.
Finished and mulched, 100 gal. bottomless pot, 10 panels.
My pots are bottomless as opposed to many of Whitcomb's customers who make up pallets of trees using a fork lift to move them off and plant. He makes fabric circles which are designed to be placed on the bottom before processing which entrap the tree roots. Given one season of growth they form a bottom which can be picked up without any soil loss.
My Meyer lemon is still in its original small pot. I plan to leave it there mainly because I grafted it on Flying Dragon rootstock which dwarfs about 40%. Tree is about 7 years old and still a runt, but bears really heavy.
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My greenhouse hit 18F, this is pure Guatemalan, not supposed to be cold hardy at all and it's not only alive but going nuts!
