"#1 Field-Grown Plant"what do they mean by this?

Brand-new to gardening, I'm trying to learn everything I can and finding that it's a bit like drinking from a firehose. I've caught on to a lot of the terms, but this one I haven't figured out despite reading and Googling it to death. Can anyone tell me what the catalogs/websites mean by "#1 field-grown plant"?

Thank you!

Field-grown is kind of like B & B (balled and burlapped). The plant is grown in the ground and then dug up (harvested) before being sold. The number sign is a reference to the size of the root ball. In this case, a #1 should resemble a 1 gallon container-grown plant.

THANK YOU, plantfreak! I didn't realize anyone had answered this until I set up my custom home menu. ;) That's exactly what I needed to know.

I'll also add that field-grown plants aren't that great in our area because it's so hot in the summer. If you're going to try buying plants that way at least wait until mid-fall. In general though, when you plant something that's been grown in a container it says "yea! I've been set free". Plants that have been dug up and replanted say "why'd you go and do that?" :)

LOL--that makes a lot of sense, plantfreak. And it'll be the kind of phrase that will stick in my mind as I garden! LOL

The kind of plants that are normally lifted from the ""field / open ground" are fruit trees, large shrubs, Ornamental trees etc, this is because they are large plants, if they were all pot grown they would need potting almost every year, the growers have to provide the larger pot, new compost, feed and tend the plants till they are years old, pay the staff to do all this and have the space / area large enough to fit (size wise) for sale / survival, etc, etc. In an open fields, the saplings (Small Trees) are planted, usually by a Mechanical planter, or by hand, they are watered when hot, checked over say once per week, and generally tend to themselves, so you can imagine the difference in cost goes without saying, pot grown are much less costly than field grown, the difference in quality of plants is to me personally, not much different other than pot grown can wait a while before I can plant them but field grown trees, I have the planting hole ready for arrival so I just stick the trees in a bucket of water for a day and plant then with the kind of support required. I have to admit that field grown plants seem to be sturdier for me in our climate and are already cold hardy, pot grown are more protected at the roots etc. Now you have had a garden class by 2 different people, go out and garden your own way, that is the beauty of gardening, everyone follows the same rules but, we just interpret them to suit our own conditions, climate and needs. Good Luck. WeeNel.