Potted fruit trees with pruned roots

[tamino]

Dear all,
I got a few tall fruit trees (between 5' 9 and 5' 11) from B&M. Of course I didn't wonder how they managed to squeeze a massive root ball in the pot....:roll:
So when I removed the trees from their pots I realised that the roots have been pruned/chopped off leaving a weird stump.
Did you ever have one of those stumpies? Will mine recover?

[B0wer]

Standard practice for mass production of cheep fruit trees. They are grown in raised beds then when the tree reaches the required height a giant blade cuts off the tap root.

Give it plenty of water and fertiliser, providing it has a reasonable amount of side roots it should recover. Keep a good eye on it during high winds/more than a few days without rain. Without a tap root they will have no anchor and no access to anything other than surface water for a few years.

Had some "stumpies" from B&Q all of ours survived their first year but only 50% survived the drought last year. We just couldn't keep up with their watering and the tallest didn't make it.