Trading question

Has anyone ever heard of trimming the root system of a plant before mailing it? I'd not heard of this, but another garden buddy I know was telling me to trim the roots to about 3-4 inches of growth and get rid of anything longer than that. I was told it would actually aid the plant in establishing new root growth.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks, Carla

I'm sure it may depend on the plant but yes I have been told that on many occasions. Sometimes I do trim a little before mailing.

I do often trim roots myself. It does depent on the plant. Some plants need their taproot and react very badly if it is cut off or broken.

I'm sure it depends on the plant, but when I dig daylilies and they have a huge root mass I cut away some of it to make shipping lighter as long as it does not hurt the plant. I've had nursery people tell me when setting out shurbbry to cut the root ball in three places after I take the plant out of the black plastic pot and when I put it in the hole to add root stymulator when planting. They said it promotes new growth, and I've never lost a shrub yet by doing so.

When transplanting seedlings in the greenhouse to a larger pot, I trim the roots slightly and like Dayflower, have had success on my transplants. I was taught this technique by someone with alot of repotting and planting experience.

If you think about it, when potting a plant for bonsai the roots are hard pruned. I have pulled out and cut off roots that were too pot bound to encourage spreading. This does not seem to harm the plant.

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm learning a lot. I can't believe this never came up (for me) before now.

I ALWAYS TRIM THE ROOTS BACK WHEN TRANSPLANNTING AND WHEN I SHIP PLANTS, LEAVING ENOUGH TO ENCOURAGE NEW HEALTHY ROOT SYSTEMS WITH MINIMUM TRANSPLANT SHOCK.

"eyes"