Tree Roots in the

Nursery

By Edward F. Gilman, professor

Department of Environmental Horticulture
University of Florida
http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/planting
 Topics covered in this
presentation

 Introduction to tree root growth

 Root growth in containers
 Root growth in field grown trees
 Root growth in fabric bags
 Introduction to root growth
 Roots are generally not as deep as
you might think
 Some trees have deep roots under
the trunk and canopy
 The majority of roots are in the
top two feet
 Roots are typically above the
water table and above any hardpan
or compacted soil layers
 Many of the small diameter roots
are in the top 12 inches
 Topics covered in this
presentation

 Introduction to tree root growth

 Root growth in containers
 Root growth in field grown trees
 Root growth in fabric bags
 Containers

Root growth in a container nursery

 Roots in their natural environment grow to
well beyond the edge of the branches
 Without specially designed containers, severe
root defects can develop as roots are deflected
by container walls
 Some of these specially designed containers
will be illustrated and described here
 Containers
Many roots are circling the
container wall
 Maple planted from a 1
gal. container into this
15 gal. container 15
months ago
 It is past time to move
this tree to a larger
container or plant it
 Slice the root ball from
top to bottom about 1
in. deep in four places
before planting
 Containers
Poor root system
 Circling root 3 years
after planting a 1 gal.
liner
 It was much smaller
3 years earlier and
should have been cut
then
 The 1 gal. liner was
also planted too deep
 Containers
Large girdling root
 This large root (arrow)
was circling the one
gallon container 18
months ago
 Tree was potted into a
larger container
without slicing the
circling root
 Now the tree is a cull
 Containers

Container type examples

 Shown above from left to right: wood box with

Spin OutTM, wood box, low profile plastic, plastic
with Spin OutTM, plastic, low profile air root pruned
(Accelerator), standard air root pruned (Accelerator)
 Containers
Trees from different container types

 These red maples were grown in seven different 15-gallon

container types; note the varying shapes of the root balls
resulting from the different containers
 The tops grew identically as they have in many other
demonstrations and studies
 Roots on the wooden boxes, air root pruned containers, Spin
OutTM treated containers, and low profile containers had less
circling roots than trees in the standard black plastic containers
 Containers

No roots on outside of root ball

 This root ball is firm
and does not fall apart
 There are very few
circling roots
 These two factors
combined indicate
good quality
 This was accomplished
by growing in a
container treated with
Spin OutTM
 Containers
Many roots inside but few on the
edge of root ball indicate quality
 The media has been
partially removed on
this 15 gal. container
red maple to expose the
roots
 This high quality root
ball has many small
diameter roots
 There were few circling
roots on the outside
edge of the root ball
 Containers
Air root pruning containers reduce
number of circling roots

 Plastic (shown above), metal, or fabric containers with holes

in the sides reduce incidence of circling roots
 Air dries the media on the outside edge of the root ball
preventing root growth there
 There are several manufacturers of these specially designed
containers
 Containers
One-sided root system from high
container temperatures
 High temperatures
within the container
caused root death
 Few roots are able to
grow on the hot side
of the container
 Trees can become
unstable after planting
into the landscape
 Topics covered in this
presentation

 Introduction to tree root growth

 Root growth in containers
 Root growth in field grown trees
 Root growth in fabric bags
 Field grown

Root growth in a field nursery

 Roots will extend twice to three times the edge
of the branch tips on many trees unless
manipulated by cultural practices
 Root growth can be manipulated by genetics,
irrigation, fertilization, and root pruning
 The next series of slides illustrates the impacts
of these cultural practices on the quality of the
root system inside the root ball of field grown
trees
 Field grown
Field grown trees should be lifted by
the root ball
 Moving field grown
trees into the landscape
requires machinery
 Trees are gently lifted
by straps or ropes
secured to the root ball
as shown here
 Lifting by the trunk can
result in trunk damage
that will cause severe
injury to or kill the tree
 Field grown

Root system on a field grown tree

 Once dug, field grown
trees have a reduced
root system compared to
when they were
growing in the nursery
 Appropriate irrigation
must be applied to
maintain health
 Field grown

Root systems vary

 Roots systems vary from
one tree to the next and
from one soil type to the
next
 These oak trees were grown
from acorns
 The roots of the tree on the
left were more dense than
the one on the right
 Cutting propagated trees of
oaks and perhaps other trees
have more uniform root
systems
 Field grown
Root density differences due to
nursery irrigation
 Oak root systems on the left
were from trees that were not
irrigated during nursery
production
 Those in the middle received
irrigation only on the soil that
was to become the root ball
 Those on the right received
the same volume of irrigation
as those in the center but
water was applied to a three
foot diameter circle around
the trunk
 Trees in the center had the
most fine roots in the root ball
 Field grown

Root pruning field grown trees

 Root pruning can increase root density in the root ball

 Pruning roots on two sides of the tree as shown above
can ensure that the tree will not fall over should a
storm strike after pruning
 Field grown
Sample root pruning protocol for
nursery production
 Spade root pruning was accomplished by slicing a square
tipped balling shovel 36 cm (14 in) long into the soil at an
angle similar to that of a mechanical tree spade
 North and South one-eigth circumference segments (12.5
percent of circumference each, totaling 25% circumference)
were pruned in April 1999 20 cm (8 in) from the trunk and
East and West one-eigth segments were root pruned in May
 Root pruning was repeated in August (NW and SE segments)
and September (NE and SW segments) 27 cm (11 in) from the
trunk
 The bottom of the hand spade did not reach far enough into the
soil to overlap adjacent slices so any roots growing directly
down under the trunk were not cut
 Field grown
Root pruning increases root density
in the root ball

 Root pruning can increase root density in the root ball and can
help prepare the tree for survival in the landscape
 More small diameter roots and fewer large diameter roots
result from root pruning
 This has been shown (Watson and Gilman) to increase
transplant success compared to non-root pruned trees and
compared to trees grown in containers
 Field grown
Trees are dug with a variety of
machines

 A 32-inch tree spade is

mounted on the front of
this skid-steer vehicle
 Field grown

Digging the tree

 The spade blades sink into the soil cutting all roots
prior to lifting; then the tree is lifted with the spade
 Field grown
Materials needed to secure the root
ball of a field grown tree
 A black sleeve of woven
ground cloth manufactured
to fit the outside of the wire
basket is slipped over the
basket
 Strapping or rope is secured
to the wire basket and the
basket is lowered into the
hole dug by the tree spade
 Then the treated or
untreated burlap is placed
inside the wire basket
 Field grown

Tree is lowered into the basket

 After the treated or

untreated burlap is
placed inside the wire
basket, the tree is
lowered into the basket
 Field grown
Burlap is secured tightly around the
root ball

 The burlap is pulled

tight and pinned into
place
 Field grown

Wire basket is tightened

 Various devices are
used to bend the wire so
the basket is firmly
securing the soil in the
root ball
 You do not want any
movement of the soil
and roots during
handling and shipping
 Field grown

Finished root ball

 This finished root ball
has black woven cloth
on the outside, burlap
inside the wire basket,
white string securing the
five basket loops, and
green rope tied to the
basket for lifting
 Field grown

Irrigate fresh dug trees regularly

 Freshly dug trees in the
warmest climates
(southern US) require
irrigation several times
daily
 Many growers provide
water with a low
volume mist or spray
system as shown here
 Field grown

Finished field grown tree

 This tree is hardened-off
and ready for shipping to
the landscape
 A good indication of when
the tree is ready for planting
into the landscape is when
roots have grown through
the burlap; this typically
takes several weeks to a
couple months depending
on the time of year
 The black woven ground
cloth must be removed (as
shown) before planting
 Field grown

Hardened-off field grown tree

 Notice the white root tips
growing through the burlap;
this indicates that the tree
has survived the digging
process
 The survival of this tree is
now dependant on the
irrigation and handling it
receives in the landscape
 A tree with roots growing
through the burlap in this
fashion is said to be
hardened-off
 Topics covered in this
presentation

 Introduction to tree root growth

 Root growth in containers
 Root growth in field grown trees
 Root growth in fabric bags
 Fabric bag

Root growth in fabric containers

 Some nurseries produce trees in fabric containers in
field soil
 The fabric restricts, but does not prevent, roots from
growing into the soil outside the fabric container
 Root balls of field-grown trees are similar to those
grown in fabric containers except that the fabric
container root ball is smaller
 Applying irrigation and fertilizer only to the top of
the root ball can help increase roots in the ball
compared to applying it to a larger area around the
container
 Fabric bag
Tree in fabric container
just dug from the field
 Fabric containers can be used
in the ground or above ground
 When used above ground
roots remain mostly in the bag
except for those that grow
through the fabric at the bottom
 When used in the ground (as
illustrated here), roots grow
outside the fabric but they are
mostly girdled by the fabric
which prevents them from
getting too large; roots outside
the fabric and the bag are
removed from the tree when
the tree is harvested
 Fabric bag

Tree in a fabric container

 Fabric container (arrow)
keeps many of the large
diameter roots inside the
bag
 Small roots are located
inside and outside the bag
 This oak tree has circling
roots close to the trunk as a
result of growing in a
smaller container for too
long
 Fabric bag

Tree in a different fabric container

 This is a fabric
container from a
different manufacturer
 Many roots are shown
growing through the
fabric and into the soil
outside the fabric
container
 This is normal and is to
be expected in this type
of production system
 Fabric bag

Roots passing through fabric

 Roots branch as they pass
through the fabric container
 The fabric is designed to
girdle large roots so they do
not become large on the
outside of the fabric
 Note how the one large
diameter root branched to
become many smaller
diameter roots on the
outside of the fabric
 Fabric bag

Removing the fabric

 The fabric must be removed
before stepping the tree up
to a larger plastic container
or before planting into the
landscape
 Remove the fabric with a
sharp implement such as a
utility knife or sharp
pruning tool
 Disturb the root ball as little
as possible so roots remain
more or less intact with the
soil
 Fabric bag

Finished crop in fabric containers

 Do not allow trees to grow too
large in the fabric containers
as shown here; the root ball is
way too small to support this
large top (note the dead tree
on the left)
 Appropriately sized trees
handled correctly have no
problem surviving the digging
process from in-ground fabric
containers
 However, taking freshly dug
trees directly to the landscape
almost never works because
irrigation cannot be managed
correctly
 Summary

•There are many methods of producing trees

• Many of them work well, and growers have
chosen to use those they are most
comfortably with
• Choose or devise a system that minimizes
root defects
 Tree Roots in the
Nursery
By Edward F. Gilman, professor
Department of Environmental
Horticulture
University of Florida
http://hort.ufl.edu/woody/planting