first .. pull stock out of the pot at the store.. and look at them.. and then decide if they are worth it ... and of course.. if its this time of year.. and they are a huge bargain .. go for it ... when timing is perfect ... like now.. in dormancy.. you can probably cut 80% of root mass off.. plant.. and succeed with a good success rate ... sounds extreme ... but its no more or less .. than if you bought field grown trees that were field dug and ball and burlapped ... see link specifically about timing: https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub if you buy in the wrong season.. hold the pot over to the next proper time for root surgery and planting ... anyway ... get your hose and pistol grip out.. pull it out of the pot.. and just hit that thing with the water .. dont worry about how hard.. short of disintegrating a root .. get rid of all the potting media ... and go to town with the hand pruners.. and get rid of the problem roots ... plant on a mound of soil.. spread out the roots ... water it in good.. and be done with it ... see link on proper watering and mulching .... with heavy root pruning.. you will be responsible for watering the first hot season ... and in drought the second hot season ... pretty much free range after that ... there is a reason to buy a bit smaller... the process is just that much easier.. and the stresses are that much less ... sometimes its just not a bargain to buy bigger.. with all the attendant bigger problems ... small plants.. with less stress often outgrow larger transplants.. in tree time .... [not to mention smaller usually means cheaper ...] ... channel your inner surgeon .. lol .. ken

Wow, this site has been here for 11 years. Every complaint under the sun and not one real solution to the problem of companies like HD and Lowes getting by with selling trash for what they call "Top Soil". I own a resort where we have no less than 2 acres of landscaped flower beds and 80 foot trees. I have been buying "top soil" from the two companies mentioned as well as from Walmart and one or two feed stores. I realize that top soil is not garden or potting soil, but I have been using it for planting and bedding material for over 35 years. I have gotten buy with using it in a mix of approximately 1/2 topsoil, 1/3 cow manure, one or two 2 lb coffee cans of peat moss and a can or two of vermiculite. This has given me tremendous success in planting everything from maple trees and crepes to using it to "enrich" the soil around a bulb. I have seen a great deviance in quality of "Top Soils", but have never seen anything like is being offered over the last 6 months. I usually buy 40 - 80 bags at a time, several times a year. I have used some for filling holes and dispersing it over soil that needs a little help with creating runners in the likes of Bermuda. But it is mostly used as stated above. In the last 4 months I have never experienced a "top soil" that has actually tainted the surrounding soil to a point that you cannot even grow a rye seed mix with fescue in it. Everything it touches gets killed or at least strained to the point of withering away. At first, I thought it might be one lot of soil that came in, but subsequent lots were contaminated as well. If you go back an read one lady's complaint about her Top soil smelling like gas, it tells me that the main problem with today's soil has been around for sometime. It has been mentioned that decomposition of manure and products like moss, or wood shavings may play a roll. Maybe so, but I suggest all you have to do is to wonder what is happening to the thousands of miles of road surface that has been hauled away during the repaving of our black top roads? Could it be that the petroleum odor is coming from ground up tar. Same color and everything. Most important, have you ever seen grass seed grow on the blacktop surface? Poor a little oil over your fresh seed and see if it grows. One final observation. Someone said to cut open the bags and let them dry out. Try it with todays "Top Soil" and you will end up with a brick. I used some to freshen up my Xmas poinsettias. When it dried, water would not penetrate it. When customer service was approached and aske to take it back, the answer was the same as it was years ago. Bring it back in the bag it came in and they will refund it. Right!! Beware, the "topsoil" you may be buying today is not suitable for use in a planting mix. I doubt you will be able to use it with out your skin burning and your nose running. I wish I had an alternative. Lowes did.....buy the mix already in the bag at a cost of 3 - 4 times the cost of today's Top soil. Captainjim

no definitely not Moni!In fact it is extremely outdated, it's really important to keep updated java, adobe reader and other adobe product, including flash on every browser,which is mentioned in the second link for Corrines blog. You are definitely at risk. Shirley do you have the latest version of Firefox if not update it, 18 is current. Some sites do use java, most are moving to newer safer technology. YouTube shouldn't be a problem. Firefox yesterday disabled java in their browser which is why you are not seeing it now. It sounds like you are ok. According to recent info supposedly there will be a patch Tuesday, we shall see.

Thanks for the heads up! Will keep that one in mind.