Oh, now that things are getting back to me; after clean-shaving all the roots and treating with bleach, I also scrubbed the root-stub with a tooth brush under running tap water... As I mentioned many times before, PREVENTION is the best cure! Do examine ALL rooted figs you get from who-ever. If RKN ever get into ones garden soil, it is extremely difficult to eradicate them, no matter how many RKN- trapping-marigolds are planted, RKN-eating-good- nematodes (expensive) are applied, or chemicals used. There is one chemical that nukes the soil (it practically kills everything!). I forgot the exact name. But it SO toxic, that it is now illegal and not available any more.

And follow the standard rules. if your plant is in a medium that is different from what it's to going into remove it all and only use the stuff in the new pot, or ground. No matter how much better the soil on the roots is the tree would rather have the crappy soil so all of the roots are in the same stuff. Google bath tub effect for more information. You can use the soil that was in the roots to top dress. Do not amend the dug up soil. Unless your willing to dig very deep and amend every single inch of soil that the tree will eventually use. All the way to the max drip line. Even then you will have to be aware of the rain and watering so you don't get the bath tub effect. Well worth it if you live where it's dry and have poor quality soil. If your interested in this please post a new thread here for advice first so we can help you not make mistakes. I really want to help people do this as I'm confident if done right will be a significant boost to the tree. More than any fertilizer or watering program. Much more. It's an extreme amount of work you want to get right the first time. Leave the soil as is no matter how crappy if you don't want to amend it ALL as deep and wide as your plant wants and top dress once it's planted. Much easier and the worms will eventually mix it for you. Always have the roots point out into the new soil. Cut off all circling roots. Water well when establishing but don't go crazy. Create a ring around the tree made of dirt to make sure the water goes down and not out those first few weeks. The ring will disappear on its own. If it's hot and sunny, shade the tree until it's established. Try not to leave fruit on it while transplanting. It's just not worth stressing the tree while it established itself in its new home if it's going into the ground. If it's potted the tree will not be as stressed and can support fruit if big enough. if I think of anything else I'll add it to the list.

I agree with Sheila - most of us use the opportunity of planting a rose to do some spot enhancing of the organic material in our soil. I agree that top dressing with organic material is the best long-term solution to improving the soil, but as a short term boost for the soil mixing in compost or something else organic has been very effective for me. I contrast beds where I have been planting roses this way for some time, and the soil in the entire bed becomes this lovely textured and rich soil that I can dig in with my fingers, while beds that I only top-dress haven't worked in that organic material very deeply yet even though they've all been planted the same amount of time. Having said that, you don't have to amend with anything if you start out with good loamy soil like you describe, so there's no particular need to do as much as you've done or certainly to add anything more. For me, the second set of additives is a bit more effort than I want to put in but it sounds fine being all organic and slow acting. The one thing you don't want to do in any new planting is add fast acting fertilizers which for me include most granular fertilizers. Biotone and other organic fertilizers break down more slowly and don't run the risk of burning sensitive feeder roots. I simplify your latter list and add just manure, alfalfa hay, and something to lighten the soil that I can buy in large bulk and relatively cheaply (lately it has been cotton burr compost). My preference is to add no more than 1/3 other substance to the existing soil, since you want the rose to get used to the conditions it's going to expect from here on out rather than getting hooked on any particular amendments at the outset. You've obviously been successful with 1/2 supplements so go with what works for you. I always soak bare roots and you'll find a majority of us do the same, and a majority of the vendors specifically recommend soaking the roots. The principle is to make sure the rose is adequately hydrated to handle the transition to the ground. One look at dried out husks of body bag roses indicates how important hydration is for bare root roses. Cynthia

I routinely prune (using a bread knife) about 1/2" to 1" off the entire root ball, scrape any soil off the top that is above the root flare (sometimes that is 4-5"!) and loosely untangle the roots. if there are serious girdling or j roots, I cut them off. I only plant in this fashion when the trees are dormant. This is the most recent 'best practices' - the folks at SF Botanical Garden taught me this and the research coming from the universities seems to support it. I used to just rip down the sides but this is easier and seems more effective. When I find woody girdling roots on trees already in the ground I take them out with a hammer and chisel, again when the trees are dormant.