Re: hydrengea roots

[Stuart Hunt <sphunt@agt.net>]

robert schuler wrote:

> Got merrit supreme in 10" pots three 4" three cane plants per pot
> there big, dark green,and leafie with 2-3" buds , recieved plants
> out of California 1/8/98. held 2 weeks, pot up 1/23/98 peat lite+
> 25% sand, drench 3336, clf 150-200ppm, ec.< 1,ph.5.6 but the problem is
> the plants as of 2/26. never sent roots beyond original root ball.
> whats wrong.?
> Bob, sunny meadow farm,
>      Bridgeton, NJ.

 We found that the root ball has to be disturbed before planting into the
new container. We squeeze the rootball quite firmly all the way around to
make sure the roots are loose and some are broken. We have found that this
encourages the roots to go into the new media, however they are never
rooted into it as if they were originally planted into that pot. I hope
this helps you for next year.
Stuart Hunt
Oyen Greenhouses Ltd.