woody root systems resemble pancakes rather than carrots
June 5, 2021 11:27 AM Subscribe
Unearthing root truths. The Garden Professors have a lot to say about roots and the appalling condition of most root balls. Some extol the benefits of washing and pruning root balls before planting. Horticulture professor Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott had to remove close to 70% of the root system of this tree due to poor root quality, a widespread issue in containerized and balled-and-burlapped trees.
Bonus tracks: My soil is crap (part I, part II); why grass thatch is a root problem.
PSA: The common advice to put gravel at the bottom of containers actually worsens drainage.
Bonus tracks: My soil is crap (part I, part II); why grass thatch is a root problem.
PSA: The common advice to put gravel at the bottom of containers actually worsens drainage.
Roots are the jump-off, but I'm loving these here garden professors and have a mind to click through them a bunch today, what with a lazy afternoon and a baseball game on the radio.
From the post title, I immediately thought of the times I've seen an uprooted tree while in a forest and the striking "wall" of dirt and roots that is pried up from the earth. Sure enough, the article has a photo of that.
Related: a laboratory built to study roots is called a rhizotron. Years ago, when we had just moved into our house, I remember watching a nature program with Mrs. Johnson that visited a rhizotron in Michigan and showed off some of the research they were conducting. I loved the science involved, sure, but I remember thinking the word "rhizotron" sounded so cool and laughed that the semi-underground design of these labs was similar to our new basement.
A few days later Mrs. Johnson presented me with a gift that I still treasure: a new sign for the basement!! You can have your man-caves, my preferred retreat is proudly advertised as "The Rhizotron".
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 12:19 PM on June 5, 2021 [15 favorites]
From the post title, I immediately thought of the times I've seen an uprooted tree while in a forest and the striking "wall" of dirt and roots that is pried up from the earth. Sure enough, the article has a photo of that.
Related: a laboratory built to study roots is called a rhizotron. Years ago, when we had just moved into our house, I remember watching a nature program with Mrs. Johnson that visited a rhizotron in Michigan and showed off some of the research they were conducting. I loved the science involved, sure, but I remember thinking the word "rhizotron" sounded so cool and laughed that the semi-underground design of these labs was similar to our new basement.
A few days later Mrs. Johnson presented me with a gift that I still treasure: a new sign for the basement!! You can have your man-caves, my preferred retreat is proudly advertised as "The Rhizotron".
posted by Theophrastus Johnson at 12:19 PM on June 5, 2021 [15 favorites]
The best view that I've ever had of uprooted trees was in Memphis after a big windstorm; I remember thinking that it was the thin soil and clay substrate of the ground that let some of these large, mature trees--the kind that look like they could stand forever if they weren't cut down--just get blown over like a top-heavy weightlifter who kept skipping leg day getting tripped. They definitely had the pancake of roots.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:05 PM on June 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:05 PM on June 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
What the local weatherman told us is it’s the combination of a lot of rain over several days, weakening/loosening the soil, followed by high winds.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:33 PM on June 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:33 PM on June 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
What a great find this blog is! Added to my feed reader.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 5:01 PM on June 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 5:01 PM on June 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
I have discovered this a a couple of days too late! But thank you, this is fantastic :)
posted by kitcat at 8:39 AM on June 7, 2021
posted by kitcat at 8:39 AM on June 7, 2021
Anyone who's dealt with a silver maple or tree with a similar root system knows about the horizontal spread. We had one in my home growing up. Not only did it manage to lift and crack the pavement in our driveway next to it, but little sprouts could be found a quarter acre away as it tried to become a one-tree forest. (Some trees "reproduce" by letting some of their root spread surface and start growing a new sapling/trunk/ which is how you get things like Pando.)
Of course, our carrots didn't look like carrots either due to a layer of dense clay not far under the topsoil. The taproot would hit a barrier and so the poor carrot would try another taproot a little off to to the side. Repeat this a few times, and you got something that looked like a hand or maybe Cthulhu. They tasted wonderful but could not be served to guests without being well chopped first.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:12 AM on June 8, 2021
Of course, our carrots didn't look like carrots either due to a layer of dense clay not far under the topsoil. The taproot would hit a barrier and so the poor carrot would try another taproot a little off to to the side. Repeat this a few times, and you got something that looked like a hand or maybe Cthulhu. They tasted wonderful but could not be served to guests without being well chopped first.
posted by Karmakaze at 6:12 AM on June 8, 2021
I can't stop spotting badly planted trees in public spaces now!
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:09 PM on June 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:09 PM on June 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
i_am_joe's_spleen, I also have a whole new appreciation (or set of worries?) for street trees, especially all the spindly staked trees in my neighborhood that are ailing. Dr. Chalker-Scott has a whole bunch of handouts on her personal site, including The Myth of Staking (pdf) and the Myth of Root Snorkels (pdf).
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:06 AM on June 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by spamandkimchi at 12:06 AM on June 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by spamandkimchi at 11:36 AM on June 5, 2021 [2 favorites]