Root Bound Apple Trees

[Ikeman]

I was lucky enough to be given 6 “Winesap” Apple trees yesterday by a friend who works at a local landscaping nursery. They have had them in inventory for a year, but I’m guessing the less popular variety name is what kept them from selling. They told the staff that if they didn’t find a home for them by Monday, they were going in the dumpster.
So, their loss is my gain!!

I have ordered larger containers for each of them, but was wondering how to try to fix the root bound issue.
With garden plants, I would usually do vertical cuts around the football to sever the circling roots and force the too tips to re-grow straight out. I have never done this to a tree, however, and wanted some advice.

The trees look AWESOME! They are currently in 5 gallon containers, have a 1 inch to 1.5 inch caliper, and all are over 6 feet tall. A couple of them are over 10 feet and almost top the gutters on my house.
My plan is to baby them through the year after transplanting into larger pots, and then planting them afield next fall.

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[Smokegobbler]

Winesaps are one of my favorite eating apples. They bear heavy loads yearly that hang into November.

 

[Angus 1895]

I would be inclined to plant a few now.

Congratulations, they look wonderful!

I have a small sample expierience, I planted a weeping willow with very little root ball disturbance, the second one I planted later after going to an extension agents class.

I really worked the second ones roots over and spread them out. Like the agent emphasized was needed.

The first tree struggled the first year, but is now coming into its own.

The second died within months.

 

[Kdog]

Any reason you would not plant them now or in the spring?

 

[Ikeman]

As far as planting now, I don’t have a watering system in place yet, nor protection. The property is an hour and 45 minutes away from me, and I would probably not even be able to make weekly visits in the summer to water, since it is my heaviest season at work.
I’m trying to devise a watering system that will help keep them alive, but wasn’t planning on starting fruit trees for a couple more years.


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[jsasker007]

I would just plant them now. All the other trees that are growing in the same area you are going to plant are somehow still alive and didn't need watering. What do you have to lose? jmho

 

[Ikeman]

I would just plant them now. All the other trees that are growing in the same area you are going to plant are somehow still alive and didn't need watering. What do you have to lose? jmho

There is a BIG difference between native, grown in place trees and container transplanted fruit trees…
This is Texas, and a typical summer will see 4+ straight weeks around 110°, and often times 50-60 straight days over 100°. This heat usually coincides with dry spells. This summer, the farm didn’t get a drop of rain from June 6th until September 9th.

I would be sentencing the trees to death planting them into those conditions without supplemental water for a few years.


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[b116757]

I would plant them now cut the circling roots and get them in the ground this fall. This still gives you until June to get a watering system in place. I would get some cheap ibc totes for water.

 

[Telemark]

I would plant them now with cages and mulch and vertical watering pipe. A 36 inch length of 8" pipe can hold almost 8 gallons. Burried vertically next to a tree, it will let the water leach out slowly into the soil and subsoil each time you fill it.

 

[Angus 1895]

Like I said hedge yer bet, plant some, pot some. Then report back your results!

 

[Ikeman]

Since I had already ordered 20 gallon Rootmaker ii pots, and currently don’t have water, protection, or final placement figured out… I went ahead and transplanted all 6 free apples into their new 20 gallon pots. Between the pots and the potting mix, I am at about $40 each in investment, which is still $18 less than they were listed at in their original 5 gallon pots.
I’m thinking that I am 2 years out from planting, which should be about perfect for this size pot.
That will hopefully put me with fully filled 20 gallon apple trees for less than the price of a nice 5 gallon.
I was a couple cubic feet shy on potting mix, so after this picture, I went back to the store and got enough to top them back off.

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[homerj]

^^^you'll need to put those fabric pots on something roots can't go grow into. If they sit on the ground, roots will go through the fabric and into the soil. You don't want that to happen, since they're air pruning pots.

 

[Ikeman]

^^^you'll need to put those fabric pots on something roots can't go grow into. If they sit on the ground, roots will go through the fabric and into the soil. You don't want that to happen, since they're air pruning pots.

It was my understanding that the “RootTrapper ii” series was a root tip constriction method and not air pruning. I’ve seen several nurseries with these specific pots have direct ground contact..

They do have a “Grounder” version specifically designed to allow roots through, but this version has the tightly woven fabric on all sides.


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[bigboreblr]

Id only do 1 year of growth in those 20 gal pots.

 

[Ikeman]

Id only do 1 year of growth in those 20 gal pots.

That’s kind of what I’m thinking… only alteration to that I might do is if the bags don’t seem to be well infiltrated with roots, I MIGHT give them another year.

I need to figure out a couple good crab varieties to put between them all for pollination. I’m thinking 3 apples and 2 crabs per food plot.

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[RGrizzzz]

Consider some oscomote in the pots. It wouldn't hurt to put some weed barrier under the pots.

 

[Ikeman]

Consider some oscomote in the pots. It wouldn't hurt to put some weed barrier under the pots.

Ya, the potting mix I used had a 3 month slow release fertilizer in it. I plan on fertilizing on a regular schedule starting February/March after that initial fertilizer has been used up and/or washed through.

As far as the weed barrier… I don’t know that I can lift the pots right now. With the root system still in the main root ball from the original pot, and not infiltrated into the new mix, I can’t lift by the tree trunk. And, the pots have no handles. I doubt I can pinch the fabric side hard enough to lift 20 gallons plus a 6 foot tree. I wouldn’t mind having a weed barrier on the whole bed just to avoid weeds growing between the pots. But it isn’t a priority

The bottoms of the pots are knit root trapping fabric, and also have the white lamination layer on it that the sides do. They are designed for direct ground contact. The only part of the pot without the white lamination is a 1.5” ring around the bottom of the sides so that water doesn’t pool in the bottom of the pot and go anaerobic.


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