Help: Hollies Transplanted with Very Small Root Balls
Bob DiBenedetto
last month
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Japanese Holly - transplant
Comments (6)So to help this topic along, as mentioned above I have transplanted 6 holly all approx 4foot wide by 4 foot tall on average. I have seen the majority of the root balls to be quite extensive. We had a tap root actually running horizontally and on one holly actually was 7 foot long while other taps were 4-5 foot in length. The ball again extensive but majority of the ball was under the drip line. Or in other words the ball extended only 3 foot from the trunck. Now this could be because of our mountainous, Rocky, red clay and concrete like soil properties. Tough as nails to dig! I would assume with more loose and far better soils the tap would do its typical vertical run below the ball. We saw bigger root balls when after the 2nd transplant we pulled them out rather than digging out. At first we dug at least 2-3 foot outside the drip line and found after we pulled the rest there was a whole lot more to the root ball. So the remainder of the Japanese Holly we used my truck, wrapped the trunks in a slick and thick black plastic so as not to tear the bark and ended up with far more of the root ball using this pulling process than the digging process. But that's just the way we did it. Not everyone will chose this method. We found this to be far less time consuming and far more effective in getting more of the root. So, using a tow strap we did a slip knot with plastic wrapping the trunck then put the truck in low gear and with ease (1/2 ton F150) slowly creeping pulled 95% of the ball right out. So if possible I would try to pull out rather than dig out with a spade. But that's just how we did it. If you can't get a truck in that area and or the tow strap won't reach them your only bet is to use a spade, yes. But keep in mind like we have witnessed, the tap can sometimes run horizontal and be 3 times longer then the holly is wide or tall. Our holly was 4 foot wide by 4-5 foot tall and its tap was 6 foot and some were even 7 foot long. But I live in western North Carolina. Soil content is different here than most. I hope this helps some....See Moreholly transplant shock (or death)
Comments (5)If the roots have been too damaged, then it will be difficult for the holly to recover. In some instances, it might be wiser to do a sharp root pruning so that you have less of a root ball to wrangle with but a better opportunity for the plant to regenerate new roots. If this shrub was shaded quite a bit by its companion tree and is now planted in the sun, it will be sun scorched almost certainly. That would be adding insult to injury. It sounds like you've done what you can; patience is important at this point....See MoreRoots! Roots! Roots everywhere! When do i transplant my Pachyclada
Comments (4)See, my problem with a "loose" mix is that i feel it needs more attention. Where a heavier mix can be aloud to dry out. I worry about having to constantly water when they are outside in spring and summer and it is very hot. The mix it is in now is about 1 part perlite to 3 parts miracle grow. The pachyclada i got from gardinos is in a loose mix and it also has clay balls. I will probably keep that one inside at all times. I just have to be careful in the winter timewith watering in a heavier mix. And it is definitely top heavy for that small solo cup....See MoreHolly tone for Small transplant blueberries
Comments (14)Well Mrclint you have had excellent results, so you may be right. I didn't know dose was so low with Dr Earth, that makes it affordable. I will try it next year. I'm all set for this year. I have had great luck with ammonium sulfate and have no plans to stop using it though. I'm super happy with results. I like to use both a slow acting feed, and a quick boost. Steve I will try it. Yes I like to use Neptune's Harvest products also. It does become expensive though. When I need a quick boost for other plants it works well. Probably my favorite fertilizer though is soluble Dyna-Gro. It works so well, and ensures all trace minerals in forms easily taken up. Too me it is the very best, but to each his own. I only really use it on seedlings. Once bigger I switch to organic products. I also really like dynamite slow release. It lasts 9 months, they make an organic form too, but never tried it. These products make it a lot more affordable for me as I have so many edibles. Like I said earlier I thought to switching to grains, but making sure plants have everything they need products like Dyna-Gro come in handy. I thought of switching to all organics, and was heading that way, I'm just not impressed so far with results when I have tried it. So now I decided not to go that way. I know it can work, but I know products like Dyna-Gro not only feed but have a perfectly balanced NPK ratio, and that seems to really increase productivity. I have not been able to achieve this so far with organics, although I'm not totally given up on them just yet. I will try a few more techniques to see if I can get the production i expect. The key to using solubles is to use low amounts. People tend to way overdo it. Small amounts are very effective. Sometimes too I need to change direction of a plant, like to boost flowering like yesterday, or increase vegetative growth, or slow it down. I just cannot do that with organics. Yet it's super easy with soluble products or lack of them to slow growth. I would miss having that much control. I can speed ripening of tomatoes before winter, this kind of stuff is essential, so I doubt I will totally stop using solubles. I can force plants into dormancy by cutting them off. At the end of the season I switch back to solubles so I have this control....See MoreBob DiBenedetto
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