duplicate

This post was edited by wannabeGardnr on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 16:23

whole tree for reference

What I can tell you is you'll have to work every single root, and that means all of them, free - prior to planting. It's done exactly the same for roots that aren't as woven/rootbound in other containers. That's fact.

You dig a hole and with the backfill soil you make what looks like an orange cone in a construction zone right dab smack in the middle of the hole. The "point" should be about 2-3" above your soil line. Next and with pruners at your side, you're going to meticulously open that woven semi-mess (I've seen worse, much worse....) massaging the roots free and any roots that will not stay straight and are in the shape of a "J" you're going to cut off the part that is going sideways so that you now have a straight root. All of your roots are going to go straight down the side of that cone that you built.

To hold a root in place to keep it straight, pack soil against the root and the cone mound. Continue working your way thru it until every last root is leading down. Dig a nice big hole so you have plenty of backfill. For that rootball I would dig a hole no less than 36" wide and no less than 24" deep. When you're finished, have some mulch ready and put on 2-3". You should have a small mound shape of soil (berm) that you'll have covered with a dressing of mulch. That's why you made the cone 2-3" above soil grade.

Water it deeply once you get the mulch on. Don't let it dry out. You want moisture to those new roots until winter sets in. Stick your finger to the 2nd knuckle of your index finger into the prepared soil to see if it's moist. If it isn't, it's time to water. Stay on top of it.

You have a lovely tree. Those roots are workable. I've planted thousands and thousand and thousands and thousands and thousands of trees in both the ground and into pots. It's the same process. You do it right - the first time. Get that rootball real wet and massage those roots loose. Open up the middle meaning you equally distribute the roots in all directions away from the middle and set it over the cone you made and begin the work of heading the roots in their right and now correct direction. Remember no "J" s.

Dax

and dont be afraid to cut some of the worst ones off ...

think of it this way.. if it was ball and burlap... 90% of all that would have been cut off ...

its the fact that you do it at all..

not how scientifically precise and perfect you are ...

i would take the garden hose.. with a pinpoint type nozzle.. and blast sucker clean .... short of scarring the roots ..

ken

ps: still looking for my lost reply.. lol...

Here is a link that might be useful: a sweeper nozzle with a turner offer/oner ...

Thank you soo soo much Dax for the very detailed instructions. And Ken, you too, thank you for the encouragement and your links and guidance.
I will be honest. I'm scared of messing up. But I will do it, with your encouragement, I feel you two will be behind me guiding me.
One more question. How do I keep the big tree upright on the cone made from loose soil while I work the roots over the cone?

No warranty, large root bound tree, severe root surgery, big bucks...not adding up here.

Are these plants you're showing us on sale or something? Do they all not have a warranty?

No sale and no warranty. Nursery owner said warranty would apply if they plant it for me. The Gold Drift is fresh stock. He did take off for the omorika because it was looking bad, I paid $50, still not cheap.

I am new at this. I don't know if that's normal for nurseries around here.

One reason I prefer container planting during or near the dormant season, so I can root wash and do exactly as the others have described. It's late enough in the season that you should be fine with good watering. Be diligent, it's been ridiculously dry in most of MD (except possibly the far eastern part of the state) the last month or so (after a ridiculously WET late spring/early summer).

Hairmetal, is the warranty situation (no warranty) the norm in our area? And the root quality I got - is that what I can expect on average locally? Can you suggest any other nurseries in the area?

What you are seeing on the outside is the results of the most recently used pot being too small - trees in the ground may often have a bigger root system than top. Think about that and then look at the size of the top of the tree you bought and then look at the size of the pot.

Ironically, stock offered to retail shoppers in more adequately sized pots may be rejected as having too small of a top.

In my experience the spoiling problem with grafted conifers is already corkscrew/kinked/j-rooted root-stocks being used at time of grafting, so that the finished specimen purchased by the end consumer has deformities at the base of it going back years. To check your spruce for this you will have to get into the center of the root mass, below the main trunk. If you find a turnip of tight main roots below the trunk - as is very often the case - then you will be left with either planting the specimen with these in place - or not planting the specimen. There is usually little scope for pulling these open or making any cuts that will not take whole sections of smaller roots along with them.

No sale and no warranty. Nursery owner said warranty would apply

==>>> theres a guy who cant see a live fish on the line ... find a better seller ..

that said... one of my sellers gave 20% off and no warranty .... and i used that.. on the guise that if i could get 5 one gals for the price of 4 .. i didnt care if one died... they were around 20 bucks each back then ... and if one died ....i still had 4 ....

bboy said: Ironically, stock offered to retail shoppers in more adequately sized pots may be rejected as having too small of a top.

==>> which is back to what i said in one of the other posts ... mail order ... smaller.. cheaper stock ...

when it comes to trees... of which conifers are.. instant gratification is lacking.. its all so much easier... if you watch a babe grow to adult-hood.. rather than buying the teenager ... you really miss.. the good years.. lol ...

ken

I wish some locals would suggest some local nurseries. Did not get any names in the question I posted about this. Mail order it will be in the future, if I can't find it small enough locally.

Different local outlets will often all be getting stock from the same wholesale companies; which particular conifers each got will vary somewhat, along with markups. It all depends on who each retailer is buying from, what they order and what they end up getting - there is certainly still a great number of growers in different parts of the country.

An alternative to wholesale > retail is non-mainstream growers who are producing their own stock, selling it to end consumers themselves. These can have offerings ranging well outside of what is usually seen on the general market.

Although as it happens in the case of grafted conifers specifically there are wholesale nurseries in Oregon and elsewhere servicing the garden center market that offer hobbyist style varieties.