Should I do this when field growing?

[Carapace]

Hi, I wanna start field growing some trees and I've had this idea of planting the trees in a shallow plastic crate (like the one attached) with holes all over, so that it will be easier for me to dig them up and cut theirs roots every few years.

I've been wondering if this is a good idea or not.

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

in the ground the roots grow thicker and faster. I would imagine that the roots could potentially fuse together and engulf sections of the crate, making it a pain to separate the crate if you wait too long to dig them and work the roots.

 

[Carapace]

in the ground the roots grow thicker and faster. I would imagine that the roots could potentially fuse together and engulf sections of the crate, making it a pain to separate the crate if you wait too long to dig them and work the roots.

I dont want trees with huge trunks, I was thinking maybe leaving a trident maple in the ground for maybe 3 - 4 years. I think it will be alright.

 

[jradics]

I dont want trees with huge trunks, I was thinking maybe leaving a trident maple in the ground for maybe 3 - 4 years. I think it will be alright.

I think a trident would completely absorb a crate in 3 years if planted in the ground

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I use pond baskets in the ground because they - in my mind at least - should constrict roots that grow too fat.

 

[BobbyLane]

The roots will escape the holes and many will grow downwards through the crate, it will be a bitch to dig up. When planting on tiles in the ground, ive often only had to cut around the edges of the tile with secatuars, which is easy enough.

 

[rockm]

I think a trident would completely absorb a crate in 3 years if planted in the ground

Not in Romania. It's roughly the same growing zone as here around 7a/b and down to 5 in some spots from what I've seen. Winters slow them down a bit.

This crate will work fine for what is being proposed IMO. I'd let them be for four years at the least.

 

[Carapace]

The roots will escape the holes and many will grow downwards through the crate, it will be a bitch to dig up. When planting on tiles in the ground, ive often only had to cut around the edges of the tile with secatuars, which is easy enough.

I was thinking on adding tiles on the bottom of the crate except maybe for a few slits for the water to escape more easily, the soil here retains quite a bit of moisture.

 

[Carapace]

Not in Romania. It's roughly the same growing zone as here around 7a/b and down to 5 in some spots from what I've seen. Winters slow them down a bit.

This crate will work fine for what is being proposed IMO. I'd let them be for four years at the least.

The winters will slow it down, but I have like the most fertile soil you can have soooooooo yeah, they might still grow really quickly

 

[rockm]

The winters will slow it down, but I have like the most fertile soil you can have soooooooo yeah, they might still grow really quickly

Tridents grow quickly period. If you think they're going to grow so aggressively, you might rethink using this. The crate will be very hard to extract with overly aggressive roots that extend out of it. If you don't have a rechargeable reciprocating saw, get one.

 

[Cajunrider]

I have planted numerous trees (tamarind, bald cypress, crepe myrtle, rainbow eucalyptus, poinciana, mayhaw, guava) in plastic tray with a mesh in the bottom. In each case the roots quickly get outside the mesh and grow quickly. Inside the tray, the roots don't develop much since they already found better conditions outside the tray. When I repot the trees in less than two years, the trees suffer a lot because all the roots they rely on are outside the tray. Pulling the roots through the holes damage them.

I still grow trees in plastic trays with mesh in the bottom but NOT in the ground.
Doing it as proposed brings nothing but headache in my experience.

 

[leatherback]

The crate is not going to help.

-> All roots will without effort grow through the holes.

So EITHER the maple does not grow big enough this to be an issue, and the crate does not limit the growth
OR the maple does grow big enough and the roots are limited by the create, which will mean you have to cut all roots on the outside, and partically on the insde of the crate, creating a lot of work.

Put something below the roots if you want to encourage a wide rootspread. But leave it at that.

 

[yenling83]

Hi, I wanna start field growing some trees and I've had this idea of planting the trees in a shallow plastic crate (like the one attached) with holes all over, so that it will be easier for me to dig them up and cut theirs roots every few years.

I've been wondering if this is a good idea or not.

Hey!

I've experimented with this before, here's some things to think about. You'll likely need to use mesh on the inside of that crate to keep your soil medium from falling out. I think it could be a good idea to try this, but you don't want to allow it to grow for two long before you dig it up, then put it back in the ground. At a certain point it's a real pain to get the tree out of the crate. It was way harder than I thought and I had to destroy the crate, probably took me an extra several hours to cut the crate out of the root system.

After trying this, i'll rather just sit the crate ontop of another pot, or on some type of growing medium that's not great for growing trees. It's going to be a game of balance. Most important thing is that you don't let the tree go too long before digging it up. Work on the nebari and then replant it every 2-4 yrs. I'd say experiment with this technique on a few trees, and another technique with other trees to see the pro's and con's. Good luck!

 

[pandacular]

For similar goals, what do folks think of grow bags/root bags? I've seen both canvas ones and fine mesh ones.

 

[Carapace]

Well, judging from what you guys have to say, I'll make the smart move and listen to people with experience and NOT use the crate on any good quality trees, I might just test it on some random sapling I have growing around.

Thanks for your advice!