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Rootgrow
Loxley
Posts: 5,698
Does Rootgrow gel really make a difference when planting bare root hedging?
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
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It isn't necessary WillDB.
Thanks Ladybird. I suspected it might be a bit of a marketing thing ;P
I suspect so too
This earlier thread may be of interest
http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/plants/trees-and-their-relationships/584944.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Planted Portuguese Laurel hedging, a row 30' long, 4' in height did not use rootgrow, kept them well watered and added Fish, Blood and Bone when planted. They have done very well this year and I did not lose one. The last few months they have gone mad. My be I was lucky, but I agree with others on here, marketing and experts who say it's a must, not true for me.
There is another thread on this. I think it depends on what you are growing & the circumstances of the planting. I first used this 12 or more years ago when we replanted our garden after a lot of building work had meant things were held in pots or temporary beds for a long time. (Over a year). When moving a large plant or shrub say from one garden to another, it seems to help the plant recover from the shock more quickly. When plants are in good condition well grown not pot bound etc, they do not need it. All plants have a relationship with Micorrhizal fungi and if this can be promoted in the soil they will do well . Leafmould and compost is a very good aid to this but if you don't have access to leafmould and you are planting in less than ideal conditions then Rootgrow will kick start the colonisation process. I have also used it to great effect when planting fruit it seems to give better establishment larger fruit etc. It works for me but I only use it in specific circumstances not all the time. I say all this as a customer I have no other connection with the product.
I think it depends a lot on the condition of your soil too ... if you've used lots of manure/leaf mould/garden compost in your garden over the years and the soil is in good heart, then the need for the addition of mycorrhizal fungi probably wouldn't be of any benefit. If the garden soil has been uncared for and is impoverished then the use of them would seem to me to be a good idea.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Exactly so: in our daughters new garden there are large native hedges both sides and the "clay loam" was so poor I had to use a mattock to dig it and cut through the mass of roots! We added a lot of mulch but that just fed the hedges. She had a lot of plants from two previous gardens that had been kept in less that ideal conditions. I genuinely believe that without Rootgrow we would not have been able to transplant them successfully. If as Dove says you are planting in good conditions you do not need it.