Tree planting question

[SMF]

Hi,

I planted a few trees recently where the rootball mostly made up of dirt seemed to break away by the time I got it into the hole. I felt I was almost planting the trees bare root. One was an atlas cedar and the other a pine, both about 6 feet tall.

A year and a half ago I planted a series of pines. One plant also lost a significant amount of it's root ball. That one happens to be growing the fastest.

I'm wondering if it's a benefit to break apart the rootball which will already put the roots into the native soil or are these latest planting essentially doomed.

Thanks

[RoyDMercer]

They aren't necessarily doomed. You can buy deciduous trees and shrubs in bare root form via mail order. It's actually a very good way to go because the plant will aclimate to it's new soil very rapidly. As far as evergreens go, it's probably not a good idea to severely break apart the root ball when planting. If your trees have made it a year and a half with no ill effects, they probably will be alright.