dkdive: Just leave your trees alone. They will rise or fall as you originally planted them. Above all, do not ever soak cherry roots in water. Water is not the issue here, unless there is so much water around the tree roots from rainfall that they have drowned. Excess moisture can kill cherry trees. They need to grow in a spot with good soil drainage. Cherries can also be slower to leaf out than other species. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I have a few cherry laurel in our yard also. Have 2 in pots that I am going to play with....one is 5 yrs. old and the other is 3 yr. Does not cost anything to experiment on them, since they seed freely. I am going to try to make a tree and see what happens. I hope you know that the seeds are very poisonous to children and pets. Now if only the crows would eat them! Darlene

First, look at my tools in the picture. I start very far outside with the cultivating fork and work inside with it just to remove the soil to the point where serious root begins. The idea is to find the largest roots without damaging them too much. A hoe can also be useful for this part. After removing soil to first roots up to the trunk I go back outside as far as 3' from the trunk and begin aggressively chopping soil with the cultivating fork. Then I use the conventional shovel making cuts more or less horizontal to the flow of the roots so I can loosen the soil without doing too much damage to the roots. I gradually find the largest roots this way and free them up gradually using the fork and the shovel. I also begin using the solid metal King of Spades spade also going horizontally at first to minimize damage. The idea is to pull away soil without tearing too much root. So yes, I start on the outside and work my way in. The soil is always quite moist here in fall and spring so I don't have to water at any point. I never water transplanted plants in in my nursery or when making installations with dormant plants. I have no fear of air pockets, whatever the lit has to say. I've seen fresh root grow right through open space in the soil. As long as the humidity is about 100% why shouldn't it? The smaller trees that I move after growing for a couple of years are always very crowded as I have them in a fenced area tightly spaced (too tightly, actually). It still is not hard to move them without damaging a lot of root although it can be claustrophobic. I've rarely moved older trees that are growing closely together but you can only do the best you can and the method would be the same. I tip the tree as it begins to loosen- but gentle enough not to tear unfreed root, getting closer and closer to the trunk. Most of the final work is with the spade but loose soil is removed with the regular shovel and fork as I go. I should have my wife come out and take pictures the next time me or my helper moves a big tree to give you better images of the process.

I agree with everything gardengal said, but would add that I wouldn't really say B&B is a "marginal" root system. In some cases, it had been greatly reduced. "Partial" root system seems more accurate for that, while bare rooting can still have most of the roots, they've just been stressed by washing. That sounds more like 'marginal' to me. Also given that the issues with container stock are even more serious than I once believed (knotted roots deep within container root mass) I would almost have to cynically point out that correctly planting a containerized plant briefly turns it into a bareroot plant! I bought a couple Abies firma a few years ago and I knew they had been severely pot bound. I got a good price on them because of it. When I planted them, I very aggressively untangled and cut the roots. There was hardly any soil left. But I was able to spread a few of them out over about 3-5 feet from the trunk. Yes, this involved a lot of digging...and backfilling with only what was dug. So in essense this containerized plant became a bare root plant when planted. Well, they established incredibly quickly and sailed through the hot summers of 2011 and 2012 w/o needing any watering after the first year. One of them has grown almost 3' just this year. I actually think doing that: not only having all of the plant's pre-sale roots, but also "recreating" a prototype root spread as though the plant had always been there, is probably the absolute best way. It's just the horticultural industry can't say that because they know most people won't take the time. It makes it seem like you are having to do with the work instead of them: 95% of people just want to pop the blob in hole and get back to whatever "reality" show they were watching. This post was edited by davidrt28 on Wed, Jul 9, 14 at 18:40