FYI Ken, I actually have seen them basically grow back together on these vigorous Red-Silver Hybrids from a very thin saw cut. Cutting out a section helps to make manipulate the remaining root easier. The root needs to be cut back to a bend, where the cut end is pointing away from the trunk, and not across it. If you leave the root pointing across the trunk of the tree, new roots from the cut end in the same direction i.e. back across the trunk of the tree, and you can end up in the same boat again. Arktrees

Sorry Donn! I must've overlooked your answer from yesterday. I'll go check now. It's not actually plastic. It's fabric, but I'm sure it will get very hot as well. I'll open the holes up a little. I ran out so the other two beds don't have any. May try them without any barrier to see how it goes.

I plant in EARLY spring. Thus the crazy lady with the shovel in her snowsuit with scarf and hat. If we have thawing in late March, I am out there. Sometimes I can only dig a shovel deep a day, and then have to wait a bit to let the dirt thaw. I then plant the biggest roses I can find which are Austen roses from DAR, either grafted or own root. The rose comes up like it was planted the year before, not knowing it was ever out of the dirt. For those who don't know, I plant my roses deep. Rebecca

Old dirt that is what I found when I had to remove all my hosta under the maple. Appeared to be attached and were just choking out the really white hosta roots but wrapped as tight as if it were part of the plant.