Try looking at the link below, then if you have more questions ....... Al Here is a link that might be useful: More about root work

Hi Kate, I've found that if you can move most of the anchor roots during dormancy, the rose really doesn't seem to mind the move. Removing the soil allows me to get rid of the invasive tree roots and carefully examine the plant. I find that a plastic shovel works great for removing soil around the plant so you can locate the anchor roots and carefully remove them from the soil. A bare root plant is much easier to move than one with a heavy root ball. The Plantsman's advice may be extreme for our climate--our growing season is just six months--shorter if you lose sun due to trees and other obstructions. It doesn't matter what you do for extremely vigorous roses--I think Carefree Delight will grow a large root system as long as it gets enough sun and water. But, losing a month or two of growing time may make a big difference for own root HTs in climates with harsh winters.

No, I did not neglect watering the tree. It along with about 11 other pots I have in that area are watered regularly, and this tree is the only one out of them that came in an exposed B&B rootball form. All the other pots seem to drain better, than what I ended up with after putting this tree in a pot, and none of those others are looking like too much or too little water has stressed them at all. Also, when I poke my finger down into the rootball, yes I do feel moist soil that my Wada Memory Magnolia's roots should be able to take up. The root ball is still covered within it's orginal soil. When I poke my finger into it I can tell that it is not clay soil that the tree was grown in and that the orginal soil seems to not have been displaced from it's rootball. The potting soil I described adding around that rootball only fills the extra 2 inches all around and beneath the root ball that I put in to fill the pot. I cut the string that wraps around the top of the root ball, and rolled back the burlap; just enough so it could not be seen once I finished filling the pot to the correct level. I also brushed off just enough soil on top of the root ball to expose only the top of the tree's root flare; from that, determined that none of those topmost roots could easily be seen to have grown improperly. Hopefully this tree is not so temperamental for that small amount of disturbance to it's rootball to have bothered it enough to respond as it has. Last night when I did my regular water routine on all those potted items, I did notice that the tree has finally begun to push a few of its dead leaves off. Seeing that ecouraged me just enough to give me a little hope that the tree still has some life in it. Guess I need to do a scratch test to make sure. Haven't done that yet, because I have been feeling very unsure about what I should and should not be doing for the tree at this time. Currently all I am doing, is to make certain the pot's drain holes do not get blocked, and during my regular watering times for the other potted items, I'm sticking my finger in the tree's rootball to determine how much moistness I can feel. I am not watering that pot as long as I can feel moisture in the rootball of that tree. Maybe if the tree keeps dropping its dead leaves I will get the courage to do a scratch test to see just how much green still can be seen. Certainly hope this tree pulls through, because it is a grafted tree, and I do not think any root sprouts could be expected to produce a new 'Wada's Memory' Magnolia tree. At least the last 5 days' high temps turning out to be another period of execessive heat with the shade temperatures reaching the 100 degree F. mark each of that excessive heat, for our area, period is forecasted to have ended: starting today. Hopefull that turns out to be true, so all my other trees that seem to be, just, enduring will get a reprieve. Maybe not though because, I just now saw a severe weather notice pop-up on my screen which in now claiming that the high today is expected to be 101 degrees F. Certainly hope they are wrong, but not likely since it has also just now at 10am, local time, reached 90 degrees F. in the shade.

I think that this issue bothers me more than most because of the area I am in. The majority of people here don't have enough dispensible income to buy plants and it is a difficult climate to grow a lot of different plants, so most people don't even care about plants. The nurseries around here have the same attitude and seem to not really care of the quality of their plants. It is very difficult to find plants that don't have problems. It's probably a 50/50 chance trying to find a plant that has a problem. In fact, I worked at a landscaping business here and I have heard my boss talk about plants that have been in the same 5 gallon container for their 4th year. The large nursery I worked for was in Oregon and it was much different there than here. People had the money, they had more knowledge, and there was also much more competition. Repotting was a problem at that nursery but the majority of our plants were excellent quality. Also because people were more educated about plants, any plants that weren't up to quality weren't bought. The plants that weren't up to quality just didn't sell. Like I said, I can't speak for every nursery but I know at this nursery I worked out, we had a large enough staff but there were problems w/ organization that even the owner would admit. I was able to visit many nurseries while I was in Oregon and I noticed that the most organized nurseries seemed to have the least amount of problems. I don't pull the plant out of the container either for the same reason you don't. What I have had luck with though is I have found a nursery where basically any plant I pick is going to be perfect. The only problem is, its two hours away but its worth it to me in the end. I agree with you about the label on plants also AND how some nurseries don't have the label or price on a SINGLE plant. You have to talk to someone at the front desk, then they have to look it up for every single plant!