Conifers are probably sold by the height because they can't get to the trunk of the larger ones. To many sharp needles... so they can't measure the caliper. I'm not sure why other trees are sold by the caliper size... I would much rather know the height and width of the tree than the size of the trunk.

I don't have the answer for if they establish faster... but I treat all my conifers, trees and other plants with the same amount of care... I water for 1.5 - 2 years regardless.

I think the easy answer is a) soil type, b) size of rootball, c) growth rate of that Genus/species - even when/if grafted.

Root pruning is excellent.......so is root-maker.

Dax

Not really. It really depends on the species.

Rootmaker definitely helps a lot.

Here's the picture of Montezuma Cypress root system grown in the rootmaker container. It got killed immediately by a neighbor's dog after being planted in their backyard.

I'm going to include a link about the difference between rootmaker root system and smooth sided root system...

Here is a link that might be useful: Root system difference

"It got killed immediately by a neighbor's dog after being planted in their backyard"

It isn't necessarily dead yet - if you replant it quickly before it dries out, the stump will coppice.

Resin

Maybe. The bark was completely stripped off all the way to the root level.

I'd say in general they establish slower, tho there's always exceptions.