planting a long term potted plant?

[greenbean88]

Well me and my wife recently purchased a ten year old Chico Sapote that has spent its life in different size pots. I want to put this beauty in the ground soon but I wanted to pick the brain of anyone that has experience with root pruning? If you have any opinions on best practice with prepping long term pot bound plants for planting in ground, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks,
Erik

[Vernmented]

I have planted quite a few different sized Sapodillas. Luckily they are one of the few that have a less aggressive root systems. Gently massage all sides of the root ball so the root tips stick out like spiky gelled hair. If it is really bad for some reason you may want to break it down even further. There is always a chance that you will set it back but I haven't lost a planting yet and I have done some major dissections and planted hundreds of trees. I like to plant on mounds and use heavy mulch. These don't have to be up too high since they have good flood tolerance.

What cultivar did you get? What size pot is it in?

[greenbean88]

Thanks for the info! It is an Alano and it is in a 25 gallon pot. Im hoping that it does not drop the ten or more fruit that it is currently carrying.

[andrewq]

make sure that do it in a shaded area and keep the root ball moist with gentle watering.

also consider what time of your to root prune - usually want to do it when the tree will have good conditions to regrow   you also can prune the canopy at the same time