as i understand.. 3-0 ... it means its a 3 year old seedling that was never uprooted.. until you ordered it ....

I THINK ... 3-1 means it was transplanted once .... 3-2 .. twice ... etc ....

if it is dug up once.. the tap would be destroyed.. and the more fibrous root system you desire... should develop ...

perhaps... this is why yours had tap roots ... i dont have time to go to musser forest website.. where i read about such years ago ...

i buy stock.. such as 25 of something for $16 from the soil conservation dist ..... almost all. .. like your serbians ... make it ... most look 2 to 3 years old.. NONE have a taproot ...

your lack of success with the concolor seems problematic ... perhaps its the taproot issue... maybe it is something else ....

i have about 10 different named varieties of grafted concolor in my garden... none are on taproots ... i realize its a whole different comparison .. all i mean is taproots are not endemic to concolor ... which i presume is the understock.. but that is just a guess ....

good luck

ken

The tree will regrow the taproot. Losing a part of it is a problem, but most of these taprooted trees can survive transplant well when planted and maintained through the establishment period with care--mulching and careful watering when needed.

But to avoid damaging the taproot when transplanting again later, I would plant them in their permanent place now. But you don't really have to--it has been a number of years since I have transplanted some of these concolor firs, but I don't think I lost any, and they were somewhat larger than yours will be in two years.

But to be perfectly honest, I can't really remember just how much of a taproot these trees actually have. I transplanted some Douglas fir trees at about the same time, and they have a heck of a taproot. If the concolor firs had taproots just as large, I think I would remember.

Anyway, as the tree gets older the taproot will be less and less prominent and the root system will begin to look like that of other trees. But that will take many years, at least for some kinds of trees.

--Spruce

In bonsai part of the process of producing a nice specimen is transplanting the seedlings at a very early age and cutting back the tap root to promote the fibrous root system.

Thanks for the replies. I just found it odd that a conifer would have a taproot. I only paid $39 with shipping for the 100 trees, so the losses aren't a big deal. They were 3 indeed 3-year old seedlings. I figured on a high mortality rate since they were transplanted so late in the season - the "cooler sale" is for everything Carino had left over and didn't want to replant. I plan on giving them another couple years and putting the best ones into the yard.

Here in the SW concolor is the most adaptable fir, and it is not surprising that it has a taproot given the xeric (no joke) sites it can grow on. This tree likes moisture but will grow in some amazing places in full sun no less. Ken, show your grafts if you can. If you love concolor you must see NM sometime; we have some beautiful specimens. Great thread.