Why our trees and shrubs are so special

Root Control Bags (RCB's).

We grow all our trees and shrubs in 35 litre Root Control Bags. They offer the best of both worlds and give the very best chance of transplant success.

• Trees are planted in the ground rather than simply in above-ground containers
• They grow more naturally, but their root system is restricted.
• The trees come with about double the root ball compared with bare-root trees
• They have systems in place to 'burst into life' once transplanted.

The technical bit ...

Root tips penetrate the geotextile root bag wall and grow out into the surrounding soil. All the roots are restricted by the wall and floor of the RCB to a diameter of about 3mm - the most important factor in root control. Every restriction encourages further root development.

Roots inside the RCB become limited in length but continue to source water and nutrients form outside the bag along the xylem core vessels. Nodules, rich in carbohydrate, form behind the restriction. They swell considerably inside the bag, storing energy for use during re-establishment. The longer term benefit of these starch-charged nodules is that this readily available source of energy very quickly promotes the development of the roots after transplanting.