University of Florida

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Finished 2.7" caliper trees - few defects

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finished caliper

Finished 2.7 inch caliper red maple (above) and elm (below) showing main structural roots close to the surface. Top most root was consistently positioned at .5 inch from the surface when liner when into the #3 container. When subsequently potted into the #15 and into the #45 containers the top surface of the root ball was positioned even with the surface of the substrate in the new container. This shows that even with what we think is correct planting depth some roots grow over the main roots. This should be corrected at planting by the landscape contractor. Note that the large main roots dive into the root ball. We think this is a defect that should be corrected by pruning diving roots at each pot up.

roots diving into root ball