Q: We have been looking at some shade trees at a few nurseries and have a question. Is it better to buy a tree in a large pot or one that is already dug up and is what they call “balled and burlapped”?
A: As a general rule, I would say it shouldn’t matter as long as the tree appears healthy otherwise. Just because it is in a pot or is balled and burlaped now doesn’t mean it has always been growing this way.
Nurseries can start new trees using seeds, cuttings or grafting. Seeds are collected, given the proper treatment to start growth and then they are planted. I will come back to planting in a minute. If you have a tree with a characteristic that you want to make sure stays the same, you can take cuttings from the tree. The small pieces are planted and if they grow their own roots, you have new trees that are clones of the original tree. If they don’t grow roots, the pieces can be grafted onto seedling trees that do have their own roots….