For example, spring day gardeners are happy to market seedlings with one long root-tail. Yawning nakedness of these “tails” naked and substituting the rays of bright sun. Owners of plants happy: fortunate, selected from the mass of the proposed – the best out of what a long and thick roots have every plant.

In fact, nothing good in this root-tail – no. If you look at how a root system of plants, we see that these roots (called skeleton) basically have the function of fixing plants in the soil. But power plants are carried out not by them, and tiny white, very thin roots, which are called rizoidnymi. These roots are usually located on the periphery of the root system. They suck the precious plant moisture.

When transporting the plant, transplant rizoidnye roots inevitably damaged. And while they did not was growing, the plant lives only through its internal reserves, those that it has accumulated during the growing period in the nursery. Knowing this, it is easy to understand from a plant more likely to survive, while a smaller, and sometimes not at all. The plant will survive only if these reserves are sufficient until the moment when the roots grow back rizoidnye able to compensate departing from the evaporation of the reserves.

Hence it is clear that the ideal can feel only plant that has a root system capable of quickly recover. And soon restored, ie obrastet rhizoids, fibrous root system, rather than pivotal, although it seems at first glance a stronger and healthier. It is unlikely that a single taproot and half, as usual, bruised and dried up quickly obrastet numerous hairy roots.

It should be noted that the issue here is not so much about the biological features of the structure of the root system of a species, but about the presence or absence of mold, which should take place in any nursery. Indeed, some species originally on their morphology has tap root system is fibrous part, and part of the surface. But with appropriate molding and regular “pereshkolivaniyah” in the nursery and plants with roots rod may well have fibrous root system.

For example, oak and its varieties have a tap root system. It is for this reason, it does not offer a firm dealing in winter krupnomerami, because when the barbarous digging the roots of plants in nature it does not remain. But in the nursery, we can buy oak, for example, the variety ‘Fastigiata’ c coronal, and not tap root system. It says only one thing that with enviable frequency of its pereshkolivali (transplanted) and at the same molded his roots, turning the rod in branched fibrous roots. Pay attention to this. Do not purchase plants plucked from the earth, which grew a few years without forming not only underground, but often even above-ground parts. Think about how long this plant has been lying in the open vozduhe.Dazhe perfect from every point of view of seedling grown by all the rules in the fruit nursery somewhere near Tambov, can be ruined resellers, who kept it in the sun a couple – three days.

By the way, with all the pros fibrous root system, it dries much faster than the core. Keep this in mind and check whether you buy the plant in fact have no roots, which are simply dried up (it’s easy to check, touch them: let them dry on top, but the elastic – they are living roots, and let the wet and the top, but sluggish and hanging – will be restored only with great difficulty).

Well, if the fouling of the root systems of acquired rhizoids all clear, it is reasonable and there is a question: Is it possible to save these rhizoids without damage? Save them can only be buying plants in containers, or replanting in the short distances from the root clump, with a maximum conservation. However, when buying plants in containers, too, not all as smooth as it seems at first glance. Import to Russia earthen substrates officially banned. Plants come (with a few, in fact, smuggling, exception) in the peat, which can not be used for a long time, and plants, especially the room, preferably transplanted into the ground as quickly as possible. The substrate is, of course, has a supply of nutrients through the inclusion of fertilizers, including long-acting, but it lacks the bacterial basis as before back-filling into containers in most European nurseries, he steamed thoroughly at a temperature around 200 degrees (this requirement quarantine services).

Another danger lies in the fact that the containers are often long periods are at the sales site and the roots do not just sprout through the substrate, and grow it and start helical, twisting the walls of the container. This is a very negative impact on their subsequent survival rate. The plant spends a lot of strength to these twisted into a spiral of roots to obtain an extensive root system. In America, learned to combat this phenomenon, using a system of ‘Spin Out’, when the container walls smeared with a special composition, in contact with the roots of which are fired. It works like pinching, and they start not helical, and branch (in fact an alternative pereshkolivaniyu plants with trimming the root system).

We have this system is not used often, taking a room from the container, we can see just a coil of thick roots, rolled into a spiral. It is clear that untwist a system – it is impossible, but it makes sense to take a wooden peg and stir room, albeit with partial damage to the roots. Rastormoshennye roots, placed in a nutrient substrate in the landing pit, usually very quickly begin to recover.

But remember that the pit should be more coma (container) is three times the width and two times the height. Otherwise, you plant a plant in the same container, and even rastormoshennye roots, stumbled on a more dense wall of the landing pit, than the substrate inside it, start again helical.

I would like to recommend to spare containers, because they are significantly cheaper than the plants in them. Often you can see how the container in order to save it stripped from the roots, which grew through its drainage hole. In this case the roots are often just a scalp, and their shell is stripped from them stocking. Cut the container, do not regret it, pity roots. By the way, they should be carefully examined and cut to healthy tissue.

Not better, and those roots which did not have time to germinate in the container. This container plant with its lifting of the crown should not be pulled out of the soil. If it is so, then you got no container, and plant bare-root, packed in a plastic container. There is nothing wrong, but keep in mind that you are simply a little overpaid. By the spring of this sin, many nurseries, but then, until the plants are waiting for their customers, they usually germinate and become a container. In good, the seller should let you know about this.

Domestic realities marred by the fact that unsold season container plants often remain for the winter at the sites is not insulated and thoroughly frozen. And not for all plants is painless. Each species has a temperature threshold below which tissue liquefies and the root systems of the plant dies. And the most unfortunate in this situation, the spring is not always possible to accurately determine a plant. In conifers and did the consequences of inappropriate storage may occur after a sufficiently long time, and people will blame themselves, not the seller. The plant can continue to live at the expense of its internal reserves or through the remaining living roots, located in the heart of the container. In the latter case you should try to restore the plants, carefully examining the root system and cut off all the affected roots.

In fact, topic selection seedlings – is infinite. Are changing and technology, and ingenuity of vendors and our preferences (currently, for example, not all are ready to wait for flowers or fruit as much time at which were prepared earlier). You and I spoke only of the underground component of the mysteries of plants, that is, the root systems. And how many of them on the surface, in inches …

Often we get the transplant without leaves, and this mystery, which is worth a lot. For instance, bought a Norway maple ‘Drummond’ with white edged leaves, but bought in the leafless condition. It seems to be a good transplant, but the leaves blossomed, and it turned out that it half the return of shoots (with the usual green leaves). They want to cut, otherwise he makes a bush, and as a result of the seedling crop is no longer so formed and beautiful. There you have chosen and formed a beautiful tree! It turned out it eventually so what you could buy three or four times cheaper.

And laying pests, fungi, mechanical damage … But all this is, in contrast to the return of shoots or class, you can see. Look carefully at the sapling. Do not hurry Do not buy a seedling roses with buds (!!!) and the three tiny spines. Otherwise, disappointment is inevitable.