I just purchased a 7 foot coral bark maple. It had a small root ball..about
15 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep. When I was planting the tree, first
the twine broke and then the burlap fell off. I noticed that the tree had
very lttle root system and was mostly in a heavy clay soil. I removed the
crap soil and planted the minimal root system in good soil.

I was surprised to find this tree with such a minimal root system. Normally
I don't even look when I plant balled plants. My question is: Has this tree
been "butchered" when the grower removed it from the ground and then tried
to cover up the problem with a large root ball?

Is it likely that the tree will survive? It doesn't look bad at all at this
point, but with such a little root system is there any chance it might
survive? Is this type of root ball typical from growers?

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Richard S. Levine