Will my minarattes be ok?

[cazp]

Hi

Today for various reasons I decided to reposition a minarette tree I planted just last weekend. When I pulled the tree up in its root control bag the soil at the bottom of the hole was very wet indeed - very unlike conditions last weekend ...

When I planted last weekend, along with three others we dug nice deep holes though this was pretty tough for the last 6 inches as the soil was heavy (but not wet and sticky) and contained a bit of rubble which we removed - I chucked a bucket of water in one hole and it had drained off when I next looked a couple of hours later. The trees are in the holes in root control bags sat which were sat on a base and surround of 3-4+ inches of rubble free loose soil with soil conditioner mixed in.

A week and a bit of rain apears to have made such a difference and now I am worried they are planted in far from ideal soil conditions and the roots will rot. Given above facts what do you think the trees chances are of thriving?

[rustylady]

I'm a bit worried about the "deep holes". How deep? Apples should be planted to the same depth as they were in the original pot.

[cazp]

Hi, sorry just to clarify - the rootstock union is about 3-4 inches above the soil level. The holes were dug deep initially to loosen up the bottom layer... some of the soil being replaced before the tree was planted in its root control bag.

[FB.]

Heavy soil is more likely to be a problem just before, just after and during the growing season; when the plant is actively growing. Note that root growth starts several weeks before leaves appear and root growth continues for a few weeks after leaves have fallen.

However, I have done some experiments which suggest that planting a bare-root (freshly dug-up; roots get damaged) tree into heavy soil seems to encourage root rots which can enter through the wounds on damaged roots in much the same way as cankers will enter wounds on branches in wet conditions.

So there's a risk that the wounds on the damaged roots will become infected with disease-causing fungi (would you want some deep cuts on your hands smeared for days on end with soggy soil?).

On the plus side; the really dwarfing fruit tree rootstocks tend to be more tolerant of root-rotting diseases (although it can take several years for the root rot to kill the tree after infection):
M9: good resistance
M27: partial to good resistance
M26: partial resistance
MM111: partial resistance
M25: no special resistance but not especially prone either
MM106: easily infected and killed by root rots

[cazp]

Thanks for your advice again FB.

I have decided not to risk it and pot them whilst they are still dormant.

It was easy to lift the trees because they were in root bags and what I saw under 3 of the 4 bags were little ponds! and it isnt running away. It very easy to remove the trees from the bags without causing additional damage to roots. They are now drying out a little in the garage, I will make sure they don't dry out completely and then pot them in John innes No 3 at the weekend.

I just hope that I have saved them before any lasting damage.