Effect of Copper-Treated Containers on Transplant Survival and Regrowth of Four Tree Species

Abstract

Northern red oak ( Quercus rubra L.), scarlet oak ( Q. coccinea Muenchh.), sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflura L.), and ‘Autumn Flame’ red maple ( Acer rubrum L.) liners were produced in copper-treated (100 gm Cu(OH) 2 /1 white latex paint) or untreated black plastic 3.8 1 containers (Lerio C-700) in 1989. In spring 1990, liners were transplanted into field plots. Half the liners produced in untreated containers were root pruned just before transplanting, half were not. Liners grown in copper-treated containers were not root pruned before transplanting. Survival percentage was high for all species ranging from 92% for red maple to 65% for scarlet oak. Three years after transplanting, red and scarlet oak liners produced in copper-treated containers had higher survival rates (but not statistically significant) and greater regrowth (taller, greater trunk caliper and percent central leader formation) than liners produced in untreated containers, whether root pruned or not before transplanting. Regrowth of red maple and sweetgum were not affected by container type used during liner production. The study demonstrates species differences to transplanting; each species responds to transplant via a unique combination of growth characteristics. Transplant responses are expressed up to three years after transplanting.