I don't believe spinout bags are made anymore. That's probably why you aren't finding any current posts about them.

Do they work? Yes, to a degree. They only deter roots for a few years before tree roots find their way in. Depends also on the kind of tree and how many roots there are.

They are still being made. But they were developed for use with woody plants. I can't see how they would be of much value with a herbaceous perennial.

Could you let us know where they can be purchased gardengal?

I have used them for several years. In fact, I still have some unused ones. They are of value for perennials (which is what I use them for). Just buys you some time and allows your perennial to grow before tree roots set in. I don't regret buying them.

https://gardzenonline.com/collections/grow-bags

You can also find them on Amazon in various sizes

Gardengal, those are grow bags. What the poster is asking about are spin out bags. They are thicker and impeded with copper(?) or something to help repel roots. Spin out bags are generally bought to keep roots in the bag. But hosta folk invert the bag to keep roots out of the bag.

I've used the last of two 100' x 4' of spin-out material. I found the rolls much easier to conform to hosta width and depth than the bags. I sometimes xplanted hostas in my homemade bags and found the outside of the bag covered with tree roots but none have penetrated the bags. I haven't found any source for spin-out material since. Although the spin-out was manufactured in Canada it was banned for sale there.

Thanks for all the feed-back. Tree roots are a huge nuisance in my yard but perhaps, like the nuisance wildlife, live-and-let-live will be my new philosophy!

jan

A bit of digging shows that the Quebec company that produced the fabric used in Spin-out bags, Tex-R Agroliner, discontinued manufacturing it a couple of years ago. However, you can still get the active chemical @ https://sepro.com/hort/spinout but there appears to be no clear indication as to how an end-user would obtain the product, presumably the product is aimed at commercial growers (duhhh) and will probably be available through distributors catering to commercial growers. Then you've got the problem of getting into Canada...

Pieter

Thanks Pieter…it sounds as though Spin-out bags were a great idea that just didn't live up to our expectations.

jan

Jan, perhaps our "expectations" just weren't realistic. Almost nothing will stop tree roots from invading forever.

If I could go back and do it all over again, would I? Yes. The spinout bags bought my hosta time to grow. Without them, they began to grow, then stopped, then declined.

Another option is to grow hosta in pots in the ground. I have had a hosta in a pot for 4 years (?) now. Nothing is an easy fix, but the trick (maybe) is to not to have too big of a pot---and if you can turn the pot once or twice a season---much better. But I didn't turn the pot because it was too big and heavy (and I forgot). After a few years, I dug around the pot to find tree roots circling around the outside of the pot and in the pot. I cut the roots going into the pot and removed the roots circling around the pot. This year will be five years in the same pot.

I bought some Spin-out bags a few years ago and have used most of them. I have a cedar hedge and talk about surface roots, unbelievable. I've had them in place for 5+ years and have seen no evidence of roots entering the bags....sorry to see they're goners...you can bet when I sell this place I'll take the bags with me....

Pieter

When growing hosta in pots in the ground I assume you use the same potting soil you would use for pots on the deck, and that they require the same watering frequency? i have grown a few in pots on the deck but overwintering has been hit-and-miss. In ground pots might be more successful.

jan