Container Grown Imposters!

It's mid March and signs of spring are everywhere. Gas stations are selling mulch and your local big-box stores are selling trees that are already in flower and/or leaf. How can that be? These trees have had it hard already in their short life. Because they already have their leaves out you can bet they were grown in warmer climates. A quick check of any trees here in central Ohio in mid-March shows leaf and flower buds still wrapped tight. Here's where they've been... Last fall they were dug from the ground leaving most of their roots behind. The remaining soil was washed from their roots and they were placed in a climate controlled cooler for months.  A few weeks ago they were bundled up and sent as sticks to a nursery that placed them in a smooth sided container and filled with mulch. They didn't even grow in that pot.  These are called "bareroot" trees.  It's a difficult process for the tree to endure complete with severed roots and transplant shock.  It's done this way to save money on shipping.  If the nursery had to send trees with soil still around the roots the weight would be enormous and thus very expensive to ship. When or if the roots do grow back they will begin to circle in the smooth sided container.  This is the beginning of the end for the tree.  You can only see this if you partially pull the tree out of its container.  If the side of the root mass is solid white or looks woody or if you don't see very much potting mix then choose another tree.  Mostly though all the other trees will have this problem to some degree.  The nursery needs to have a different growing philosophy. At Riverside Nursery our trees are grown in a specially blended potting media around the roots.  This media is very light and drains well.  This allows us to push a lot of growth from a tree without saturating its roots.  When you buy a tree from us you will get all the media the roots are growing in.  Minimizing the disruption of the roots helps to avoid transplant shock and allows the tree to establish more quickly in your landscape.  Our trees are grown in special containers that minimize root circling and promote tremendous root growth.  LANDSCAPE HINT:  Don't forget to think fall color when you are choosing trees for your home landscape.  A patchwork of reds, yellows, oranges and purples will make a beautiful show in mid-October.  We have a Landscape Special package for fall color.  It takes the guesswork out of choosing good trees for fall color. Remember, trees grown in step-sided containers offer the best alternative for your landscape dollar. Riverside Nursery trees can be planted any time the ground is not frozen because we have the root to support and grow the tree. Why do most people say then to plant trees in spring and fall?  It's because they don't have the root to make it through the drier summer.  Our trees have all the roots the tree ever grew.