You have gotten a lot of advice here, some of which may seem a bit contradictory, so I am not surprized that you don't have a clear idea of what to do. First, let me say that as I have read this thread I have not jumped in because what I have seen here has generally been good advice. But I see now that you need a referee or something, so I will try to help. One of the problems is that all trees are a little different. Not only is the degree of root "congestion" in the pot different, but different kinds of trees respond differently to different treatments. But I can't see--and feel, etc.--the roots you are dealing with, and I am not familiar with all the different species of trees and how they may react to different treatments. But let me give some general advice that will help you. First, if you do any of the things recommended, it will be either good or OK. Slitting the rootball in thirds will keep any of the encircling roots from strangling some of the roots later. But undergropund roots generally don't strangle the tree--roots generally graft over themselves. The real danger is a root that encircles the base of the trunk (girdling root). These must be removed. But better than slitting the root ball is as much as possible to "tease out" some of the encircling roots so they can be extended a bit. But often the root ball is so tight with the roots crossing each other, both in and then outside, that this is virtually impossible. In this case slitting the ball in three places is about all you can do. If you can tease out/unwind some of the roots (and you can both do this and cut some larger/longer encircling roots) you will need a big hole to allow them to spread out a bit. But some of the roots you are able to tease out/unwind may be very, very long. In that case it may be beST to shorten them a bit, or a lot, because if you don't, they will still encircle the root system or make a tangle. But if that happens, it is not really fatal. Sometimes with some kinds of trees in pots the root ball just seems like a dense fibrous mass. It is hard to find individual roots to tease out/unwind. In that case three slits and then some roughing up of the root mass to loosen it a bit is about all you can do. If you do any of the things recommended here, you will be doing more than most people do when they plant these root bound trees. Have confidence and go ahead and do the best you can--use your common sense. A lot of this will be intuitive as you start working with these root balls. Just see what you can do to undo some of the tangle, one way or the other. But one warning--these root bound trees will need more watering for maybe up to three years than a tree not so root bound. The roots will need time to get into the native soil--water that gets to the root mass that was originally in the pot will not last more than a day or two in hot weather. The more roots you can unwind/tease out and get into the native soil, the more drought resistance the tree will have. --Spruce

Sept 28th works great for me - gives me 2 weeks to get my new acquisitions sorted after my plant trade, which is scheduled for Sept 13th in Olympia. I'm already sorting through my trade offerings, so whatever doesn't move on Sept 13th will get an encore on Sept 28th. So far, I have: (12) Escallonia 'Apple Blossom' (20+) Primrose, fragrant, red w/yellow eye, on short stalk (30) Impatiens auricoma 'Jungle Gold'(unusual perennial type) (4) Bergenia (15) Acer palmatum, seedlings of 'Atropurpurea' (12) Geranium 'Orkney Cherry' (12) Abutilon (3) Alstromeria aurantiaca 'Orange King' (5) Heuchera villosa 'Caramel' Plus clumps of shasta daisies (cultivar unknown), daylilies(cultivar and color unknown), Jupiter's beard, and yarrow. Also, some rooted cuttings of forsythia and some hellebore seedlings. Anyone see anything they want? Tammy

Hi No Clue, I would agree with James... Water the Jm since you have it in the gritty mix... It is so fast draining that within several days it is bone dry..like James said it is on its way to root faster than a normal "fresh cutting" sice it had established roots and it is ready to produce more... As far as the newly planted barerooted cutting potted up into the gritty mix. I water when they are dry..it depends on your heat , humidity, etc... but i have to water my newly planted trees around every three days. You are not going to cause any major problems by watering these rooted trees in the gritty mix. You can use a wooden skewer to check for moisture or start to get the feel of the container when it is dry. I don't hesitate to water my trees in the summer when i think they are ready for some water... People think of rot it they are watered to much, but the real problem is when they sit in water. They don't like wet feet, so if you use a fast draining mix, you have started them on the right track. Plants/trees need water. So let them dry out just a bit, then water. Bill always comes to my mind when he would say... Don't "mother Hen' your trees. Give them some space to grow and dont fuss about with them to much... LOL He is right. You repotted the new trees.. Wonderful JOB!! The one with the roots missing, that really isnt to much of a problem...that actually happened to one of mine from Fuzzy. I emailed him and he said to watch it and if i had problems email him back. It is doing fine and growing well. i think it had one root on it when it arrived... Relax... This is fun ... :) ALL will be fine.. Remember when you think they need water wait a day or two, except for the new planted (rooted ) trees. I give them extra attention. I like to keep them from direct sunlight as i had mentioned.. Just to give them some break from all of the stress... It will be fine... Take care, Laura

firsthouse, I still don't know if I've figured this out. I have learned that the drawers are NOT ideal for bottle drinkers because then you have to identify the bottles by the cap and they all knock against each other when you pull the drawer out, because it takes a good tug to get those babies open. And, the unit should really be kept closer to 34 to 36 degrees, so a "combo" unit that has wine up to 45 degrees is not ideal either. I'm looking now at an Electrolux IQ Touch Beverage Center - the two glass shelves are adjustable and pull all the way out on ball bearings. The rack at the bottom can be removed - or my hubby drinks those IPA high-proof beers that are as big as wine bottles so he'll lean those there to "show them off" (my words, not his!) That's top contender right now. The other option that was suggested was the Marvel Professional Beverage Center/Glass-Door Refrigerator. All the shelves are cantilever placement and roll out. DH isn't sure about that little top shelf though - it doesn't pull out and how many limes/lemons can you store? I'm worried about noise because a lot of people complain about Marvel - I'm going to post about that so you can see if people reply. Here's the link: http://www.marvelrefrigeration.com/products/marvel-professional-series/24-refrigerator-beverage-center.aspx Last one that has been suggested to me is the U-Line model but the new 3000 series. That line is very expensive - so, not sure that we're going to go that direction. Anyway, I'll let you know what we end up doing! Thx! Here is a link that might be useful: Electrolux IQ Beverage Center