Container Grown Tree Root Structures

Container tree roots grow normally until they encounter the smooth wall of the plastic container.

That smooth wall deflects the root away from its normal path, and the root continues to grow taking the circular form of the container wall or bottom.

These circling roots are permanently shaped into this circular orientation inches from the tree's trunk. These root formations will dynamically affect future survivability of such a tree planted in the landscape.

Much of the container grown tree's roots are at the container wall. This is so because of the large physical area against the container wall and the few fibrous roots which exist within the root ball.

If the container tree was initially plated too deep or replanted deeper in a larger container during production, trunk flare may not be visible. Container trees lacking visible trunk flare may here trunk rot and malformed root growth in the landscape.

roots take the shape of the smooth container wall

Root growth follows the smooth insides of the container wall.
These roots are permanently fixed in their grown pattern.

Later root growth increases the thickness of these roots.

roots circle in any size smooth wall containers

Circling roots at the container wall happen even in large smooth-walled containers.

circling roots must be removed before planting

These circling roots at the outside of the root ball must be removed before planting in the landscape.
Removal of these circling roots reduces substantially the amount of roots in this root ball.

When circling roots are not removed, they will grow thicker and girdle the tree.
Such a tree will first appear to grow well, but soon will soon start to decline, and eventually die early.

Poor root structures do not self-correct in the landscape.

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Important Notes:

Trees grown in containers have three major negative root structure consequences:

Roots circling at the container wall will continue to grow larger in their circling orientation eventually killing the tree.

Limited fibrous roots within the root ball also have few root nodes to extend the root system into the landscape soil. Consequently, a longer time is need for the tree to become established and increase exposure to loss.

Upwardly directed root structures form when tree was planted too deep in the container, and such a tree will never develop appropriate trunk flare. These structures may also cause girdling and decline after the tree has appeared to flourish in the landscape.