Percent root distribution of Pyrus calleryana ‘Glen’s Form’ grown in three container types (black plastic, Root Pouch, and Smart Pot) and harvested after one, two, and three years following planting in the landscape.
| Harvest year | Container type | Percent root growth beyond original root ball | Percent of total roots inside root ball that are fine (<2.0 mm) | Percent of total roots inside root ball that are coarse (≥2.1 mm) | Percent of total roots outside root ball that are fine (<2.0 mm) | Percent of total roots outside root ball that are coarse (≥2.1 mm) | Percent total fine (<2.0 mm) roots for entire root ball | Percent total coarse (≥2.1 mm) roots for entire root ball | Percent of total roots growing inside the root ball |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Black plastic | 8.6 | 13.0 | 78.5 | 2.1 | 6.5 | 15.0 | 85.0 | 91.5 |
| Root Pouch | 10.8 | 9.7 | 79.5 | 2.2 | 8.6 | 12.0 | 88.0 | 89.2 | |
| Smart Pot | 10.1 | 12.0 | 77.9 | 2.7 | 7.4 | 14.7 | 85.3 | 89.9 | |
| 2012 | Black plastic | 21.4b | 1.5 | 77.0a | 1.7 | 19.8b | 3.2 | 96.8 | 78.6a |
| Root Pouch | 30.0a | 1.3 | 68.7b | 2.1 | 27.9a | 3.4 | 96.6 | 70.0b | |
| Smart Pot | 27.3a | 1.3 | 71.5b | 1.8 | 25.4a | 3.1 | 96.9 | 72.7b | |
| 2013 | Black plastic | 28.1b | 0.6 | 71.4a | 1.6b | 26.4b | 2.2 | 97.8 | 72.0a |
| Root Pouch | 35.0a | 0.6 | 64.4a | 2.0b | 33.0a | 2.6 | 97.4 | 65.0b | |
| Smart Pot | 37.3a | 0.8 | 61.9b | 4.4a | 32.9a | 5.2 | 94.8 | 62.7b | |
Note: Means within years for each measurement followed by different letters are significantly different at P = 0.05 using Tukey’s LSD test.