Avoid Transplant Shock
By Bill Hirst, Tue Jan 10th
Transplant Shock
Is transplant shock is unavoidable? Not really! Transplant shockcan continue for years while unacceptable, is very common. Treesthat have had their roots cut during the transplanting mustreestablish an adequate root system before the entire plant canbegin normal growth. This can take years. During this period"shock" is normal and you may observe stress symptoms.Typically, field-grown threes that are B&B or machine harvestedretain on 10% of their original root system in the soil ball orless. As a rule, the transplant shock period lasts one year forevery one inch of stem caliper. Thats why you may get betterperformance with smaller trees over time than planting largecaliber trees.
Even trees that have been container grown and could retain 100%of their root system suffer some transplant shock. These treesare also susceptable to root girdling. They have been grown inpotting soil and now are placed into the harsher environment ofthe new landscape.
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Bare-root harvested trees usually have a higher percentage oftheir roots dug with the plants, and often experience mildertransplant shock. But sometimes the roots are twice as long asthe height of the seedling out of the groundand thus requireroot pruning. However, bare-rooted trees can dry out faster andthus can have transplanting problems of their own. Causes ofTransplant Shock a.)improper handling, dropping rootballs,rolling balls around long distances instead of using acart. b.)allowing the roots to dry out. c.)transplanting theplants to a poor quality site d.) excess removal of roots inharvesting which hampers the plant from taking in water andnutrients.
What You may See a.)overall growth stunted or wilt b.)earlyleaf drop c.)early leaf coloring d.)marginal flowering and twigdie back
Other facors that have effects on plants in transplanting isthe new location and how different is it from where the plantcame from. If the plant came right out of a greenhouse and istransplanted into your landscape it will not have the samelight, wind, watering,protection and drainage. Always try to buyplants that appear to come from similar surroundings. Thats whyI always prefer field grown nursery stock. I feel that theseplants have a better survival rate because more plantingvariables are not present.
You can see more gardening tips at my web sitehttp://www.seedlingsrus.com
About the author:Bill has been growing trees,plants, and shrubs for 45 years andwrites on methods and ways to improve you success in improvingyour landscape. Bill has the following web siteshttp://www.seedlingsrus.com http://www.highlandhillfarm.com andhttp://www.zone5trees.com and is located in Doylestown Pa. 20miles north of Phila. Pa. His phone # is 215 651 8329
