Dana, M.N. and S.C. Blessing

1994

Post-transplant root growth and water relations of Thjuja occidentalis from field and containers

In: The Landscape Below Ground. G.W. Watson and D. Neely, eds. Proceedings of Int'l Workshop on Tree Root Development in Urban Soils. Savoy, IL: International Society of Arboriculture.

Post-transplant root growth and shoot water relations of Thuja occidentalis were studied. Shrubs were either transplanted from the field as balled and burlapped or from 7.6 liter (2 gallon) plastic containers. Container-grown plant roots were either left undisturbed or mechanically disrupted by vertical slashing or "butterflying." Root expansion was increased by mechanical disruption. However, post-transplant roots of container plants, whether mechanically disrupted or not, were less uniformly distributed around the root ball than those of balled and burlapped plants. Water stress was most severe on balled and burlapped plants immediately after transplanting, compared to the container plants. The maximum stress level was reduced significantly by an irrigated establishment period preceding the imposition of moisture deficit. Mechanical disruption had no significant effect on moisture stress levels of container plants.