This is a Hornbeam I'd marked three months ago because of the promising nebari. It should have been lifted two weeks ago but because the ground is so dry the nursery have not lifted any trees yet. Andy got out his trusty spade and got the tree out and bagged for me. It was eight feet tall when collected and was cut down to four feet to get in the car.
IMG_1227 by Grant Kinnaird, on Flickr. I decided to have a look at the roots and was concerned to find that although it appeared to have a really good root ball, most of the fine roots were on the lower end of a massive twisted taproot. to save these would have needed a dustbin-sized box.
IMG_1226 by Grant Kinnaird, on FlickrI bit the bullet and removed the taproot endeavoring to save as many fine roots as possible. Hopefully, there will be enough left to help the tree survive. I've planted it in a very large ceramic pot for the moment with a good sprinkling of rootgrow mixed in with the substrate.
IMG_1229 by Grant Kinnaird, on Flickr.Here's the tree in its new home. Fingers and legs crossed and I'll see how it does in the spring. It's now five feet shorter than when lifted.
IMG_1230 by Grant Kinnaird, on FlickrBobby, Andy has not lifted the other trees yet but hopes to do so in a week or so when the ground is a bit softer.
Grant
