A few years ago I found a seedling cherry in the garden. As I had a rock laying about and did not have a root-over-rock planting I decided to put one and one together. The roots were draped over the rock. The combination was wrapped with kitchen foil and the whole concoction was planted in the garden.
About 3 years ago I pulled the combination from the ground and the rock dropped out from the root ball. Clearly, time had not done its job. So.. I re-wrapped and re-planted.
Earlier this spring I was cleaning up in the garden and once again dug the cherry. This time the rock stayed in place. With a hose I washed the soil off from the roots and examined the new addition to my yard. The tree is still thin, although it is getting old. Guess I should have watered the tree more and not trimmed it so much!
There are unfortunately only a few roots. However, some small young roots are visible on the trunk. To encourage those, they were covered with sphagnum moss and substrate. Ready for a year of establishing after which I will have to think about trimming the branches and getting some ramification. I am pretty sure that improved growing conditions will help.
