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Root ball texture
Some horticulturists working in clayey soil prefer planting trees with a clayey root ball. They feel that a sandy or loamy root ball dries out quicker because water is drawn from the ball into the landscape soil by capillary action. While this may have merit and makes sense in theory, there is little scientific data to support this notion.
Sandy or loamy root balls may dry out quickly when planted in any landscape soil, clayey or sandy, simply because sandy soil holds less water than clayey soil.
Clay root balls planted into sandy soil perform fine. There is no scientific evidence that the interface presents a problem.
