Maples (and other hard to grow items e.g. Disanthus and Sciadopitys) in Smart Pots (i.e. Root Control Bags grown above the ground and in this case in a shade house). We have been doing this a couple of years now and find that the plants which can drain through the bottoms grow wonderfully. We still grow 95% of our material in the ground in regular Root Contol Bags (see below), but there are some plants that just hate full sun and languish out there in the field (e.g. Full Moon Maple) so this is a wonderful new venture for us. We list these as ‘2 gallon’ in the catalog.

How do Root Control Bags work?

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Japanese Maple in Root Control Bag

1. Jose contemplates the task of freeing this freshly dug tree’s root ball from the root control bag.
2. He demonstrates the technique of taking a serrated knife or gardener’s clippers to the root bag cutting lines from top to bottom.
3. We see the root ball – the picture of health- released from the root control bag. Notice that almost no soil drops from the root ball.
4. Jose has rescued yet another tree from the root control bag. This Acer palmatum is now ready to continue healthy growth in pot or ground.