Viewing post #3001378 by tapla

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Sep 17, 2023 12:16 PM CST
Name: Al F.
5b-6a mid-MI
Knowledge counters trepidation.
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Current convention is that when planting woody material out (in the landscape), the plant should be bare-rooted and all root issues corrected at plant-out time. The planting hole gets backfilled with the same soil that came pout of the hole.

The bare-rooting and correction of problem roots should be done in any case. The back-filling with native soil is most important when the soil has a high clay/silt component ..... less important if/when you are planting in sandy soil. Reason: When we backfill planting holes with soil amended with OM in silty or clay soils, there is danger of creating a bathtub effect. The planting hole with it's greater porosity than clay or silt tends to fill with water after as heavy rain, and can drain so slowly it impedes root function or causes issues with root health. Back-filling with native soil eliminates that issue because once the soil has been watered or it's rained enough to settle the soil around the roots, the planting hole returns to being a homogeneous extension of surrounding soil in the landscape.

Root pruning before planting out eliminates issues like these:

This tree will soon succumb to the stress of the encircling or girdling roots; or, the stress will so weaken the plant that it has no defense against insect herbivory and/or disease pathogens.
Thumb of 2023-09-17/tapla/187151

Ultimately, this is how the tree above will end up.
Thumb of 2023-09-17/tapla/4d690a

Al
* Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for. ~ Socrates
* Change might not always bring growth, but there is no growth without change.
* Mother Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

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