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View Full Version : Re: Breaking the tap root?


JoeSpareBedroom
15-08-2006, 05:11 PM
"Jones" > wrote in message
news:2006081510422216807-at@yourhousenet...
> Hello all,
>
> I have a big mahan pecan tree in my yard. This is a self-fertile cultivar,
> and every year about this time, I find lots of baby seedling pecan trees
> growing under it.
>
> I want to transplant some, but I keep finding that I cannot dig them up
> deep enough to get all of the tap root, especially among the seedlings
> that are last year's stock. These "trees" are only maybe 12" tall and 1/8"
> or less thick, but their tap roots are often more than 12" long and 1/4"
> thick.
>
> I've always heard that if you break the tap root of a young tree, that it
> will either die or fail to thrive, but I wondered whether that's true or
> just an old wive's tale.
>
> I mean, we can take cuttings of trees and woody shrubs, and they will
> grow, so why can't a tap root regenerate itself?
>
> Thanks for any help or info.
>
> J
>

I don't know the answer, but considering what you said about "lots of baby
seedlings", this seems like a great opportunity to just experiment. What do
you have to lose except a little time and some potting soil?

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