The only tree I've ever heard for which the pie wedge root removal is recommended is
the azalea. Azaleas have such a thick maize of fine roots that this system can be
feasible. Even then, you need to respect the surface roots and not include
significant surface rootage in this method.
Alan Walker, Lake Charles, LA, USA
http://LCBSBonsai.org http://bonsai-bci.com
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At 06:04 AM 5/20/03 +0000, Pat Patterson wrote:
pie shaped wedges...you should remove the soil from wedge shaped
sections...should NOT cut out a wedge, roots and all.
one sided growth...probably caused by your "pie" slicing...if you cut
through the roots.
For several years I used the "wedge cutting" procedure, having read somewhere
"...cut out pie shaped sections..."
Undoubtedly, I lost some trees as a result of (pie slicing) messing up the
root systems. Then I heard "...carefully remove the soil from wedge shaped
sections...disturb the roots as little as possible..."
What a difference.
==============
Brent Walston wrote:
Pat
This makes a whole lot of sense. I was never a believer of the pie system,
preferring to actually getting into the root ball to see what was going on.
In nearly all cases, I remove all the soil, but do it in winter so there is
a very long recovery period.

If roots are very tangled and particularly if they are spiraling, removing
wedges of roots will indiscriminately cut through a mass of good
functioning roots. The only survivors will be the portion originating in a
particular wedge. The rest of the root length will lie dead and buried in
every other remaining wedge.
Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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