Root bound pin oak

[tazz001]

Hello all...and thanks for any info in advance!!

We have recently purchased 2 8 foot pin oak from the "plant store" I knew these were root bound to start with as they have been there (YIKES) 3 years.

OK...so we dug 2 holes....nice sized (at least 2xs the size of root ball) mixed up some nice soil (well composted manure and other composted grasses from a nice wet spot) deposited trees with utmost love and care and then started reading here...HELLO...you should read first and ask questions 1st...saves a ton of work!!

Anyway...I have learned about girdling and trunk flare and discovered that *gasp* we have been planting trees wrong forever...bad me!! bad hubby!!

So todays project has been to dig up the trees and take pics and get the pros opinions!!

in the ground...no visible root flare

Still looking for roots flare!!

Oh gee...it's out of the ground...lets get the pros opinion!!

OK...since pin oak are not common in our area (Oaks have been logged to almost extinction here) we really want to save these trees and I so look forward to how to care for the very overgrown rootball!!

Hubby is currently out there babysitting his beloved trees and trying oh so hard to uncurl the roots with a minimal of cutting...

 

[tazz001]

Here is same tree after hubby spents some time untwisting the roots and of course, some broke off but that couldn't be helped

 

[jrizman]

take that massive balled up root and spread it out. pull it apart and get it to fill the hole you dug. those roots are bound very badly and need to be trained to grow correctly. just pull them apart as you would a tangled fishing line. spread it out over the hole and the tree should take care of the rest. You MUST stake those trees or they will fall over in the wind (no root structure to keep em upright). you can use 2 or 3 stakes with some soft webbing to secure the tree. keep an eye on them and make sure your not damaging the trunk by abrasion or wetness.
good luck!

 

[jrizman]

here is some info too:
cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1402.ppt

u really should get your money back on the trees, thats poor practice and maybe even complain to the BBB about this nursery. those are is some really 'shaddy' materials they are selling.

dont worry too much about some of the roots breaking off, its not that big of a deal.

 

[scottbaker]

Classic pictures!

You have discovered the secret....a lot of plants that are sold are junk when they leave the garden store and perhaps were junk before they received them.

Many arborists and horticulturists understand how bad a problem this really is.

Don't be shy. Cut off all of the root mass that is above the first real root that branches off the trunk. Plant with that root at or very near the surface.

Sorry but digging the hole and filling it with amended soil is not recomended either...may not hurt but often creates a very different soil form the native stuff and causes problems with water movement...soil in hole saturates...and root development....roots curve around the edge of the hole.

Water and muclh on surface turn out to be the key to successful planting...once you get the depth right!

A method called root washing is catching on out here. All of the "package" soil is removed in a big container fuli of water using a hose. Roots above the flare or girdling roots allready present are pruned off and then plant in unamended native soil. This makes a tree that took two people to move easy to pick up with all that soil weight gone. This method is used successfully in Spokane in hot weather with trees in leaf. (BUT THEY WATER)

One other side effect of root washing is that the size of the hole that gets dug is usually much smaller that it would have been with the ball soil still there.

Good luck and pass the word as many of us arbos see this problem as epidemic! www.treesaregood.com for more planting info

Scott

 

[treeseer]

Scott, root washing is catching on here too, at least with some of the people I've talked. to. That's how I learned to deal with potbound roots back in 1991.

Like Dan I'm kind of leery about all this disturbance of the roots now, but we are southern boys; less of an issue in PA and as you say it's all about moisture. If the roots dry then the plant dies.

Amending an entire bed of soil is a good thing (unless your native soil is Perfect), if it is blended so there is no sharp interface. Proper Planting = Aiming Roots into Amended Beds!

 

[tazz001]

Thanks for the help gents!!

Just wanted to let you know that I did buy these trees cheap but the "plant store" is in no doubt not a nursery...mostly vege plants hence the fact they were there 3 yrs!!

tree is back in the ground with a nicely loosened root bed. Our soil here is not to bad but definately needed some sort of organic material added...tree will be watered regularly.

We still have one more to do...waiting on another fairly cool evercast day. i will do pics of that one as well

 

[Sprig]

Wow, great addition to me learning curve! Thanks for the good pics too! Hope they survive with loving care and nice (not too) damp soil, I love oaks and they are so very rare here as well as the native Gary Oak population slowly dying of a type of black blight. The layer of mulch seems like a very good idea to help those little plants along too, good advice imho. I think I'd find out what type of soil they do best in and try to get it as close as possible ph and acid wise, just my very noob opinion.
Speaking of root-bound girdling I just transplanted with gentle care my two fig trees into slightly larger pots, they are two years old and I really hope that with some nice summer weather they will thrive. As they are a tree that enjoys (?!) being root-bound I didn't do much more than a slight loosening around the first few inches after making sure there weren't any large mains strangling them, one is almost six feet high and its sibling is still a stick. They like sweet soil so we added some lime (just a bit this time) and gave them a good drink. Today they are in the bright sun and looking happy. Sorry for an almost highjack on the thread, just really glad about my figs (ya I need a life lol).


Serge

 

[tazz001]

We did the other tree today...it is now in better shape than it was before. Hubby did the root washing to remove all of the remaining bark mulch from the nursery.

This one was not in as bad a shape as the 1st tree as it is a bit smaller in size but was still root bound and girdling.

Sorry no pics as the camera batteries were dead (thanks kids!!)

I appreciate all the help and have learned quite a bit from this sight!!