Hello. I have a 5 ft potted pineapple pear tree. I put the tree in a 20 gal container last year and this year I kept it in the container, but also cut off the bottom of the container so the roots can go into the ground. I just didn't feel like digging a hole. The tree is 12 ft from my home. Is this an acceptable distance and will the tree be okay like this?

probably ... google says at maturity these trees can reach a height between 15-20 feet and a width of 12-15 feet.

Because there are undoubtedly "problem" roots within the container, thev tree isn't likely to do well. There are probably encircling, girdling, crossing, j-hooked roots; as well as roots growing straight up, down, or back toward the center of the root mass. All of these types of roots represent issues which will be exacerbated by the confines of the container. The problems will arise from the roots within the container as they expand in caliper, not from the roots running into the earth.

Ideally, the plant would have been bare-rooted, all root issues corrected, planted out at an appropriate depth, and the planting hole back-filled with native topsoil.
Al

The distance from the house will be the least of your problems. It's a bad, bad idea all around that you'll regret and it's possibly not too late to correct. Aside from all the root issues above described, eventually that pot will disintegrate or break apart and you'll be left with a large tree planted two feet above grade with no practicable way to reposition it because its lower roots will be too firmly established to relocate. Overcome your aversion to digging a hole or find someone else to dig it and plant the tree properly soon. Remove the turf for several feet around the base and be sure to deep-soak the tree roots frequently throughout this summer and at regular intervals thereafter. Frequent, shallow "lawn watering" is inadequate for trees and will also lead to root problems and overall health issues.

Plant it right, treat it right, and your tree will pay you back for many years with beauty, fruit and shade.

In my experience... those pots last as long as the tree...
I've had any number of trees grow roots through the holes in the pots... And I should probably take pictures....

In practice, this is no different from the trees that take root on a log and send roots down the side of the log into the ground... (Nurse logs)...

I've dug up those pots on occasion to attempt extraction... And, those roots have expanded the holes in the pots... In truth... dying from being in the pot? Not a thing once the tree has rooted into the ground below.

Do I like the look? Not so much...

Unfortunately, other stuff needs doing, the potted trees go on a back burner... eventually, the only way to clean up those ugly plastic pots is to kill the tree.

If I had a choice, I'd plant the tree in the ground.

Just because you can grow the tree this way is no compelling reason for doing it.

Kind of like eating raw pork chops because you just didn't want to turn on the oven or stove. Or getting all wet because you just didn't want to open the umbrella.

Now that the pot has been there for a while, the ground under should be softer and easier to dig. The first thing you'll probably need to do with your shovel before digging is severing the tree roots if they have grown into the ground too much to just pick the pot up. Put the shovel sideways, along the ground at the bottom of the pot and plunge it under to cut the roots.

When it is loose, you may need to cut the pot down the side and across the bottom to get the tree out. If someone can help you, that will prevent needing to lay it down and risking breaking some of the branches.

In practice, this is no different from the trees that take root on a log and send roots down the side of the log into the ground... (Nurse logs)... I think it's significantly different. Other than the fact that a nurse log provides beneficial resources, a nurse log is little different than the seed falling on the ground, germinating, and sending the seed radicle into the soil. Roots in containers naturally tend toward becoming a tangled mass of roots that encircle, girdle, cross, or otherwise interfere with the normal function of other roots; whereas a seed that germinates on a nurse log or on top of the soil has (normally) unfettered ability to access as much soil as it needs.

I regularly take advantage of the increase in vitality, growth rate, ..... that comes with positioning a container on top of soil in beds and gardens and allowing the roots to run into the ground; but recognizing the potential for severe limitations if that practice is not monitored, I regularly lift the pots, remove the tree, root prune, return the plant to its pot, and rotate the plant 90 or 180*, depending on what the branching looks like. IOW, living in the N Hemisphere, I rotate so the tree's week (usually the north side) side is south-facing.

Whether one allows a woody plant's roots to run into the ground through the bottom of the container, or, the plant is simply lifted out of the pot and dropped into a planting hole w/o correcting problem roots, what is seen below is what to expect:


So the pot's very purpose, confinement, is the underlying reason the probability of severe consequences due to root congestion is so high.

Al

purpleinopp said: The first thing you'll probably need to do with your shovel before digging is severing the tree roots if they have grown into the ground too much to just pick the pot up.

I don't do that.
I want the tree to have those roots... I prefer to keep any roots that I can get back through the holes, or cut the pot loose from... or sometimes... just leave part of the pot attached...

I took some pictures...


Ash tree


mulberry tree... It has begun ripping through the pot...


Osage orange... Not much of the pot showing after the roots and trunk have pushed it apart.

Not a great look...
But, as long as I leave the plant undisturbed... they keep growing.

Thank you! The tree has been planted like that only for about 5 days, so the roots shouldn't be too bad to dig up. Thanks again!

tapla said:

In practice, this is no different from the trees that take root on a log and send roots down the side of the log into the ground... (Nurse logs)...

I think it's significantly different. Other than the fact that a nurse log provides beneficial resources, a nurse log is little different than the seed falling on the ground, germinating, and sending the seed radicle into the soil. Roots in containers naturally tend toward becoming a tangled mass of roots that encircle, girdle, cross, or otherwise interfere with the normal function of other roots; whereas a seed that germinates on a nurse log or on top of the soil has (normally) unfettered ability to access as much soil as it needs.

Not sure why you felt the need to debate my simile...

My point was that plants often start above the ground.

As far as roots circling inside the pot...
At my house this is not a thing.

At my house... I pot up the plants... water once... and forget about them.

The plants send their roots into the soil below, or perish.
There's no reason to circle inside the pots, as I don't add chemical fertilizers or water or anything like that.

There is no reason to leave a tree pot bound sitting on your lawn. The tree is small enough that digging a proper hole should take little effort. Why force a tree to overcome the plastic just to survive and look unsightly as seen in the images posted. Looks like a spot where a landscaper dumped some unwanted trees.

There are reasons to keep a plant potted, including aesthetics (you like the look of it potted) or you don't have proper soil, or you have a current/future need to move it. You may also need a temporary home for it, like it's the wrong season for plating and you'll wait for the dormant season, etc.
Keeping the plant smaller is also sometimes one goal of keeping it potted (I.E. bonsai.)

But, if you wish to have more fruit, more shade, hardier and more wind stable tree, planting it correctly would be your goal.

I've heard a trees root system mirrors its top growth...
Like this drawing of Norfolk Island pine...



This is why watering discussions of trees always talk of irrigating underneath a tree "to the drip line," or outer circle of limbs where rain would drip off the leaves. I can attest, while using a trencher for sprinkler work, this held true for my fruit trees. At the dripline, I encountered the roots, and trenching became very difficult.

If you want the benefits of an inground grown tree, plant it. If you need the benefits of a potted tree, understand the tradeoffs. The tree will keep a 'root / top growth' equilibrium, which may reduce your ultimate top-growth, shade, fruit and ultimate hardiness if it's roots development is limited, staying mostly in your pot. It may also be more drought tolerant in the ground, as I know my black pots can get so hot in the middle of the sunny summer, that I can't keep my hand comfortably on the black pot. Will it bust out the bottom and root properly anyway? IDK.

Good luck either way!

Link for proper attribution of my post picture:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/...

kenisaac said: There are reasons to keep a plant potted...
You may need a temporary home for it...

Was my plan... Unfortunately, they sometimes don't get planted..

When people post here asking about keeping a tree potted until they can get property... I share my experience with keeping trees in pots...

Sometimes if you have a hostile native soil (eg dry hydrophobic sand) planting directly in pot in ground can be an advantage - a moisture reservoir to help it survive until it gets going. Preserves water too (less irrigation). Assuming that the potting mix has good water holding capacity. .. The plastic mess is a bit unsightly but better than a dead plant.

Red, I don't think that kind of thing is a factor in such a rainy place as Houston, but I can appreciate that type of effort and thought process in a dry climate.

purpleinopp said: Red, I don't think that kind of thing is a factor in such a rainy place as Houston, but I can appreciate that type of effort and thought process in a dry climate.

Ah yes indeed not required in a high rainfall area unless needing improved drainage. In which case use sand in pot, drill holes in the sides and only half bury. (Voila pseudo raised bed). Same principal in reverse.

I will echo what others have said here--very bad idea to leave your tree potted above grade like that instead of planting it in the grounds. Besides the reasons that have already been stated, once your tree develops much canopy every wind will knock it over because it has a high center of gravity and isn't well anchored in the ground. Each time it falls over will damage the roots that are growing from the pot into the ground.

The tree will be fine for many years, then when it is large it will die from girding root and be expensive and possibly dangerous to remove. Contrary the the popular myth of trees mirroring the top, they do NOT.
Trees put the roots outward in all directions searching for nutrients and water. Tree roots expand outward from the trunk 3 times, the first expansion is to the drip line, those become the structural roots that hole the tree in place, then twice again that far and they search for water and nutrients. Tree roots need oxygen, it is rare to find them more than 3 feet deeps They will be shallower in finer soils which hold much water. Wet soils like I have here are the cause of many a large tree fall. Suckering shrubs can take this sort of treatment because they will produce suckers and they don't get large enough to become killer trees. Your pear tree probably won't get too large anyway since fruit trees have a short life span.
I am sure sometime in the future an arborist with thank you for the work. I hope the falling tree doesn't hurt other plants when it goes.