Pot bound tree purchase

[Graham Catlow]

Hi,
Below is a photo of the root ball of a Prunus serrula that I purchased recently. The tree is about 2.5m high.
My question is - do I plant it as it is or do I hose the compost off and release the root ball to allow for a more natural (in my mind) spread of the roots?

 

[Carlo]

I wouldn't consider your tree "pot bound" just yet. If new roots are just reaching the edge of the pot, you're in good shape. Just rough up the outside of the rootball and plant (less shock that way...).

IF anyone knows where I can find Prunus serrula in the US, I'd love to know...it's one of my favorite trees....

[Tristan_He]

Agree, I think that one will be fine.

However, if I can help it I never buy trees in pots these days. Bare root is so much more successful and cheaper to boot. They soon overtake pot grown plants, because there is a much better balance between the root area and the size of the crown.

Best, Tristan

[Graeme]

square planting hole rather than round

I put a lot of big expensive cherry trees in down the road side some years ago - and a couple of cheap B&Q runts I felt sorry for and rescued as infill near the bottom

5 years later the B&Q ones are now twice the size of the big trees I bought and in much better condition

If I was doing it again I certainly would'nt buy big trees again

[Graham Catlow]

Thanks for your comments so far.
I'm interested to know what he difference would be in buying a bare root tree and releasing the roots from this pot grown specimen by hosing the compost away and carefully spreading the roots as I plant it. If I do this when the tree is dormant would that not reduce or remove the shock effect?

Why a square planting hole Graeme?

[johnralphcarpenter]

Why bare root? Because they are usually cheaper! And usually establish better. Square hole does not encourage the roots to go around and around like in a pot.

[Lewis Potter]

Hello Graham

Buying a bare rooted tree is the cheapest way of getting trees and they tend to establish faster. But because of the way they are dug up for sale, the roots are prone to rotting off in the cold, wet, winter soil. Also they are usually available around November.
As for the potted tree, Its probably best to leave the soil  on and plant it, regardless of the time of year you do it. You may be able to get away with leaving it in its pot to grow through the soil its in.

Planting a tree in a square hole encourages the roots to grow beyond the hole. In a round hole the roots will get to the edge, stop then grow around it. As if they where still in the pot. I was taught to fork the edges of the hole before you plant it to loosen the hole. The addition of Fertilizer/gravel to the bottom of the hole depends on the type of soil you have.

Hope that helps

[Hoy]

I think it can be pot bound! If your tree is 2.5m tall the root should have reached the pot much more than the it seems to have. I believe the pot has been changed recently and that you will find a tight mass of roots under a few cm of new soil.

I am just pessimistic you know

[Tristan_He]

Re: hole shape, the theory goes that a round hole can create a 'pot effect' so that the roots become pot-bound anyway, especially if they have been constrained beforehand. Square holes have corners that break this cycle. I imagine a triangle would do just as well 

You're right about planting when dormant. However, the main problem with pot grown is not that they are grown in a pot per se, but that they are top heavy.

A healthy tree should have a root ball about the same diameter as the canopy. Those pot grown garden centre trees have far too small a root ball for their size (top heavy) and so can neither anchor the relatively tall canopy or supply it with enough water. Hence, they tend to grow poorly, even if staked and watered. Bare root trees, though small to start with, have enough roots to support their canopy and so grow away happily.

Although in theory the roots of trees planted in winter could rot, this is only really likely if the soil is waterlogged. It's never happened to me, and I've probably planted 50 odd trees in my garden.

[Graeme]

I would chuck some or the fungus stuff in as well - I also planted 200 foot of hawthorn - first 60' big ones and the rest small awful looking ones - 5 years on the small ones look bigger and better

[Tristan_He]

Any views on mycorhizal fungus - valuable new addition or snake oil? Most soils contain mycorhizal fungi anyway, so does adding more make much difference? I guess it could if the right fungus wasn't present (apparently it was impossible to grow pines in the S hemisphere for years until someone brought over some soil from Europe). But perhaps garden compost is just as good in most cases.

Answers on a postcard please!

[Maggi Young]

I think it can be pot bound! If your tree is 2.5m tall the root should have reached the pot much more than the it seems to have. I believe the pot has been changed recently and that you will find a tight mass of roots under a few cm of new soil.

I am just pessimistic you know

 I must be too- I  bet you are correct, Trond.

[François Lambert]

I would chuck some or the fungus stuff in as well - I also planted 200 foot of hawthorn - first 60' big ones and the rest small awful looking ones - 5 years on the small ones look bigger and better

I grow lots of trees myself, picking young seedlings in the woods or sowing seeds in pots, planting them then in a 'nursery' in the garden to get bigger to be transplanted later to their final spot.  I never let them grow more than 2 years in the nursery because it is impossible to dig out the roots if they get big, in particular in my heavy clay soil.  Digging up larger trees inevitably means that all of the smaller roots are cut off so that basically one plants a tree more like a cutting that needs to make all new roots to absorb water and nutrients from the soil.  Depending on species some trees recover better than others.  Poplars seem to have no trouble at all, ashes also do well, but Alnus and maples are harder to transplant in my experience.

One problem I have also been facing with buying bare rooted trees is that the roots had been exposed for too long, already drying out ... you waste many years afterwards before the tree has recovered to a normal growth.  But it's about the only way to buy fruit trees here.

[brianw]

One point often not mentioned is that the surrounding soil to the hole should be reasonably open and friable or no roots will easily get into it regardless of the shape of the hole. Not always easy of course. I recently had to thicken an old hedge in fairly stoney soil. I ended up using a post auger to cut the holes. Worked fine and most of the plants have survived; well the ones I can still see. Some are under a 20' wide wild clematis that was cut to the ground when I planted the young plants.
I have talked to a couple of nurseries who use air pots for some plants. http://air-pot.com/garden/ They seem sold on them and the blog on this website is interesting. The root air pruning is understood, although I wonder how long anchoring roots take to form on larger plants when planting out. Stagnant air is not likely in such a pot and I would have thought this is an important point with them over conventional pots. They are quite pricey. Anyone tried them for small stature plants?

[Tristan_He]

In much of my garden, I have a podzol. The topsoil (if it deserves such a term) is about 6" deep, about half of which consists of stones. Below that is an iron pan which needs to be broken before planting trees. I generally count on having to add at least 1/2 a bag of soil improver One of my most treasured tools is a 6' crowbar!

Still, it's possible to get trees going nicely. This is Betula ermanii from Stone Lane Nursery in Devon, planted bare root in the early spring. This tree seems very hardy and copes with our windy conditions better than most birches. As you can see they have established well, even though I am not very attentive with weeding!