Advice about Root Ball Hedging Plants, pro's and con's

About Root Ball Hedging Plants

If you've only ever bought plants in pots from garden centres you might not be familiar with root ball plants but we can assure you that in hedging they're a big thing! They are grown in open fields and so, because they have easy access to all the fantastic goodness of soil and rainfall, they grow very strongly (more strongly than the equivilent pot grown plant) but the cost of producing the plant in the nursery is lower than pot grown plants, so you basically get more plant for less money.

Here's a link to our root ball hedging page which lists all the hedging species we have available as root ball plants.

Benefits of root ball hedging plants

they are grown naturally outdoors over several years so are "hardened off" to all weather conditions
because they are grown in fields they use no artificial light or heating, there's no need for polytunnels or greenhouses, no peat is used, and they're not in plastic pots, so they're environmentally friendly compared with pot grown plants
they are cheaper than the same height of pot grown plant
they are "undercut" each year (a machine trims the roots underground) which means that they develop a very strong, fibrous root system so the success rate when they are replanted (by you) is very good
Their bushiness and maturity makes them a virtually instant solution - not quite as good as trough grown instant hedging, but they are much cheaper than troughs - so if you can accept a short wait for an instant impact, root balls are the best choice

Disadvantages of root ball hedging plants

In the interests of being completely transparent, there are some disadvantages to root ball plants

they are heavy plants because of the fibrous root system so you've got to have the muscle on hand to move them (but all the plants we offer can be moved by one able person)
all root balls have to be delivered on pallets (they're much too heavy for cardboard packaging) so if you only want a few plants, the delivery cost becomes expensive
they are only available in winter (the root disturbance would be too stressful on the plant in summer weather). You can pre order from July and we begin despatch in October and you can then order them from stock through the winter until April/May
there is slightly more root disturbance than with a pot grown plant (because a machine lifts the plant where it has been out in the field for several years so that does disturb the roots) so there can be the occasional failure
Because they have suffered root disturbance, to maximise the success rate, it is even more important (than with pot grown plants) to keep them well watered in dry weather and to keep the area immediately around each plant weed free

Do the advantages of root balls outweigh the disadvantages?

Yes, definitely! You get a bigger plant for less money than a pot grown plant. They are superb healthy specimens, bushy and vibrant, having been lifted from the fields on a weekly basis whereas a pot grown plant could have been in its pot for many weeks or possibly even months.

Is a root ball a "normal" growing method?

Yes it is completely normal and hundreds of thousands of root balls are sold in the UK each year. There are specialist nurseries that only grow root balls (we know the best ones and we only offer their stock). As well as hedging plants, root balling is a growing technique for many of the largest trees grown here and across Europe.

How are root ball plants grown?

Basically the nurseries start with young plant material and they use GPS systems on their tractors to plant them an identical distance apart in open fields. Each year, the top growth is trimmed so that they develop a good shape, and also a machine trims the roots underground - it has a blade that is ball shaped (like an ice cream scoop). By trimming off the straggly ends of the roots, the plant develops a very strong fibrous but relatively small root. The plants are maintained in this way (and watered with irrigation if it doesn't rain enough) and they grow fast, straight and strong. When they are ready to be sold, the root is scooped out of the soil and wrapped in a hessian bag so that they do not lose any soil whilst they are being transported to customers.

Other things you should know about root ball plants

leave the hessian bag on the root ball - it helps you retain the original soil from the field where the plant was grown and in time it will decompose. Super large plants have wire frames instead of hessian sacks and again they should be left on the root ball and the roots will grown throught the gaps in the wire
if you would like a delivery in October or November, you should pre-order during the summer. We despatch orders on a "first come, first served" basis
not every species is available as a root ball
we recommend planting root balls with Rootgrow to maximise the success rate
you should expect the odd failure and we generally advise customers to buy a spare or two
although we have quite a wide range on our website, we do have other heights available - it's worth contacting us to see if we have what you are looking for

Summary of root ball hedging plants

Root balls are fantastic value, large, heavy, healthy plants which are great for hedging. They're often the cheapest as well as the best option - the best of both worlds!.

Further Advice on Buying, Storing and Planting from Hedge Nursery

Buying a hedge for the first time

Planting Density

Aftercare for a Newly Planted Hedge