>It's hard to believe they don't realize there's a problem. Makes one wonder if they can really be that out of touch, or, if they just don't care< You could be talking about most of the industry - pretty much anything woody that has been in a band, liner or 4 inch pot at some point in the production cycle is very likely to end up being offered to the retail public with terrible root deformities right at the base of the stem, where you often can't do anything about it. Despite being a retailer Burnt Ridge is an actual grower that produces their own finished stock. I have been to their property at least a couple of times, the quality and value of the trees their field growing operation generates can be stunning. And they have a hillside planted with all manner of chestnut cultivars and other edible theme trees; if they were located in Britain they might be the holders of the National Collection of just the chestnuts alone. So I would keep watching what they offer over the years (catalag seems to have a number of new and interesting items every year), and just keep in mind that - same as elsewhere - there is a tendency for bare-rooted dormant stock to have better roots than potted stock. Also with mail order in general, because you are not able to inspect the plants before purchase it is a good idea to limit your catalog/internet purchases to those items it appears you really can't get somewhere you are willing or able to travel to yourself. I've been known to drive as far as the San Diego area to shop plants myself.

Hey Houzi, I just saw your post. Thanks a lot, yes my trees seem to have survived. I'm starting to believe the Japanese Maples are much tougher trees than I thought earlier. This will be my 3rd summer with many of them and despite all the negative factors (deep planting, too much watering, hot weather etc... ) not even 1 died on me. I had little hope for many of them last fall as I had removed a major portion of their root system. Some of them I had even bare rooted and it looked as if it wouldn't survive with such a small root system. Now with better conditions hopefully, (hey at least they are planted closer to the "right way" this time with the visible root flare and raised bed) I have much higher hope than before that they will be present in my garden in the long term. The tree marked as Corralinum seems to be like a sango kaku although it is probably a seedling rather than a true type. I still enjoy it, with its shape and colour. The bark was much more pink in winter though. Here are a few before & after photos of only some of my trees which I had posted in this thread

Hi, Samantha. Before you water, it's a good idea to check to see what moisture levels are like below the surface. Use a 1/4 or 5/16" wood dowel (any hardware of home improvement store, sharpened at both ends in a pencil sharpener. You can get 2, 3, 4, from 1 - 48" dowel. Make sure at least 1 is long enough to reach the bottom of your largest pot. You can use a little science to help keep water retention at acceptable levels, more specifically you can use Newton's First Law of Motion, which states that a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force, and a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an external force. To apply the science, water your plant like you would if your soil allowed it w/o limitations to the plant. It doesn't, but pretend it does. When done watering, there will be a LOT of excess water left in the soil that has plenty of limiting potential. To negate that, pick the pot up by the rim, hold it over a sink, bathtub, lawn, ..... and move the plant smartly downward before sharply reversing the coarse to upward. When the direction changes from downward to upward, the excess water in the pot will continue moving downward and out the drain hole. You'll very quickly pick up the appropriate rhythm, and soon all excess water will have been removed. You can also tip your pots at about a 45* angle after watering and or add a drainage wick to a drain hole - preferably one through the bottom of the pot next to the sidewall. Compare picture B to picture A, and note the wick in picture E. These practices allow you to keep normally very water-retentive soils free of excess water and give the plant a fighting chance, free of the limitations imposed by soggy soils. You still have less aeration than you'd expect in media based on a high % of coarse material, but it's much better than suffering the limitations of a soggy soil with the same stoicism of a cow standing in a cold rain. ;-) I would do this the next time your tell (the wood dowel) says it's time to water. After flushing the soil, I'd add a recommended dose of appropriate fertilizer. 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers very closely mimic the ratio at which the plant actually USES the nutrients, and there are numerous reasons why mimicking the plants usage ratio is part of the best supplementation plan. Examples of 3:1:2 ratios are 12-4-8, 24-8-16, 9-3-6, ...... My preference is Foliage-Pro 9-3-6; this, for a number of reasons I wont list unless you're interested. If you don't understand the difference between NPK %s and NPK ratios, please ask for details. because it's an important part of your nutrient supplementation program. While it's true you needn't worry about potting soils or repotting in the immediate, these chores should be part of your regular maintenance program and something you formulate a plan around. If you don't already have a plan in place and want to have one, ask, and I'll offer some guidance that takes the plants natural rhythms into consideration. In consideration of the plant's well being, it's better to work in harmony with the plant's natural rhythms than against them. Let me know if you think there's anything I might be able to further help with or explain in more detail. Good luck. Al

Exactly^.. differing responses from different species. What a concept, lol! I know I come across here as a smart-*ss at times, but really, I'm right there with ya. It's interesting to see how we "tree experts" can so easily fall into the trap of considering all tree species-for example-as having the very same attributes in all things. It would be a little bit like a veterinarian using identical treatments on dogs as on cats...because ya know...two eyes, two ears, four legs, etc....they must be exactly the same, right? +oM