stress them once.. when you move them to the final destination .

how could repeated significant root pruning be worthwhile ...

repeated significant root pruning.. could be one of the definitions of bonsai ...

ken

that's not a SMALL stash,,,ha

nice , ron

I'm picturing the new owner of your old place driving to his new home after closing and finding an empty landscape littered with holes...

Most of the the plants have been planted for over a year since it was land I owned before selling. Only took plants that were crowded and actually removed large sections of plantings and reseeded with grass. Several folks on here ended up with a nice stash themselves! Probably had 300 conifers on 1/2 acre.

So knowing they have been planted for awhile still think leave em? I figured there can't be too much stress leaving them in the ground and letting them put out some nice fibrous roots in fall. Thought they may establish quicker once I move them.

Nice stash. If they are going to be in the temp beds for a few more years, you could dig them up late fall, plop them into root bags (the kind with handles maybe) and sink them back into the ground. Should make for easy transplanting when the time comes.

Trying to establish a benefit from root pruning under experimental observation has a history of being difficult. Cutting during final lifting beyond the zone of previous pruning appears to be integral to the concept. If you instead cut at the same distance from the trunk as when you pruned then you end up just cutting the replacement roots off, making the pruning pointless.

New roots grow from cut root ends in spring. It is existing, undamaged roots that elongate markedly in fall.

With grafted conifers in particular the dominant problem appears to be circling and kinking etc. of roots of woody plants that have been in small or narrow containers at any point in the production cycle. So your already planted stock growing big, sparse root systems like those of wild seedlings in nature probably is not likely.

Will, Where were you hiding those. I still had cash in my pocket and room in the trailer.

I only lost the small Serbian spruce. On the subject of root pruning, if you take enough of the root mass, I think they will be fine. I dug some pretty big ones at your place and didn't have die back. The new growth last spring (2016) was about half of their normal growth rate. This spring, second one in their new home, they all seam to be growing at normal rate.

Steve

I think you're over thinking this. Root pruning is usually of benefit on large caliper stock that has been in the ground for several years...hence the large caliper. What you have, in the ground for a year or two or three? That's field grown b&b in what looks to be mostly hand spade sizes, even in a year or two. Trying to calculate a benefit to root pruning in this size and time frame is purely a hypothetical exercise, probably aided by some kind of adult beverage...or other mind altering substance.

All thanks for the feedback and ideas!

I might experiment and cut into the roots next spring for those that might stay for a couple years.

Steve, nice to hear everything did well! Better to lose a small one than that gorgeous Gold Drift and De Ruyter. I think they all did well for the other guys as well.

I ended up removing another section to thin it out yet. I think the new homeowners removed some additional stuff but overall the place was looking pretty sweet when I did a driveby this spring.