Welcome Home Week 3- Woody Plants

Look at the Roots

Herbaceous

• Most herbaceous plant roots are white in color.

• Roots of annuals should fill the cell/container.

• If roots are coming out through the bottom of the container, this is a sign that the plant has been growing too long in that container size. You could still purchase but will need to loosen the root balls at planting.

• Perennials that have recently been bumped up into a large container size may not have root growth that fills to the bottom of the container, but as long as root growth looks healthy, you could still consider purchase.

• If the plant pulls easily away/out of the potting media, this could be a sign of root rot.

• If the container media or plant itself smells bad, this is likely a sign of rot.

Woody

• Actively growing (new) roots of woody plants are generally white but can darken as they age.

• Roots should be plump, not dry and flat, or mushy.

• Look for the presence of a root flare at the base of trees. If a flare is absent, this condition might be able to be corrected at planting by removing media and adventitious roots until the flare is exposed.

• Be on the lookout for circling roots in the container, roots protruding from the bottom of a container, and trunk-girdling roots at the surface. If these conditions are found, they should be addressed before planting through root pruning, loosening of the root ball, and removal of circling and girdling roots.

Look at Plant Structure

Herbaceous

• Look for plants with good branching and stout supportive stems.

• Legginess (elongated internodes) can be a sign that plants did not have adequate light during growing, this could be corrected through pruning and increased light, but is not an ideal purchase.

• In some cases, look for buds instead of blooms. Fall Mums are a great example of this principle. They have one primary bloom period and you will get longer enjoyment from them if plants are purchased in bud vs. bloom. Summer annuals that have been pinched to prevent early bloom tend to have a fuller form with more stems, which means more blooms in the long run!

• When planting annuals for seasonal color in the ground, it is recommended to pinch the blooms, which redirects energy from flower formation to root formation and quicker establishment.

• Flowering perennials are naturally more seasonal and have a shorter bloom period than annuals, which will influence whether the plant has buds, blooms, or neither at the time of purchase.

Woody

• Look for plants with good branching, and no long floppy whips.

• Avoid plants that have been tipped or topped.

• Be on the lookout for larger container sizes that have more than 1 plant in them. The plant looks like 1 plant, but when closely inspected we see that there may be 2 or even 3 smaller plants that have been grown together for a quicker sale of a ‘large’ shrub/tree. Those plants will be competing for resources in very close proximity to one another, which often leads to stress and failure of 1 or more of the co-plants.

• Avoid trees that have co-dominant central leaders.

• Look for trees with good lateral branching (uniform spacing between scaffolds and even distribution in the direction of limbs).

• Examine graft unions. The union will naturally have a noticeable bulge where the scion joined to the rootstock, but there should be no major trunk deformations or noticeable changes in the direction of growth. Make sure there is no suckering below the graft union. If present, they should all be removed to prevent vegetative growth from the rootstock from overtaking the grafted portion of the plant.

Look at the Leaves

• There should be little to no signs of disease, evidence of insect feeding.

• Examine plants closely for the presence of actual insect infestation.

• Leaves should be turgid with no signs of wilting.

• Bare lower stems and yellowing or discoloration of leaves can be a sign of the stressful conditions of over OR under-watering.

• In late summer and fall, leaf spotting, mild discoloration, and crispiness of foliage in deciduous woody container plants are not concerning. They will shed those leaves soon and this will not have a bearing on the plant’s health quality next growing season.

Other Tips

• Pull weeds out of containers BEFORE you bring them home. Nurseries that have good plant management practices will have weed-free containers.

• Look for any signs of mechanical damage to the trunk that could have been caused by unloading, or handling.

• Always remember that plants don’t know how to read! Plant tags are created to be suited for a national market. Full sun in the northeast is not the same as full sun in the south. Keep in mind that sizes are plant averages projected usually only to about the 10-year mark. Do your research and pay close attention to hardiness zones as well as final placement in the landscape.