Air-Pot: A Better Way to Grow Healthy Trees

We'd all like a little more green on our streets, but the ability to both plant and nurture trees in urban settings is much easier said than done. Between transport from forest to metropolis, bad quality root structures and slow-growth patterns, trees struggle in the big city. Australian horticulturalist Jaime Single, however, has invented a reusable pot that allows roots to grow in a non-spiraling pattern in preparation for re-planting in more urban settings, promoting long-term health. The Superoots Air-Pot is made from recycled HDPE, and comes in a roll with a perforated sidewall to protect the plant's foundation without constraining its growth. 

Here's how the science works: when trees are grown in containers, the roots start to spiral as soon as they touch the flat bottom of the container, which results in unstable and unhealthy trees. Air-Pots "prune" the roots of the trees with air in a process called air-pruning, in which the tips of the roots dehydrate when they hit higher air densities, stimulating the tree to grow more healthy root structure. The result is a more dense, healthy, and radial (not spiralling) root structure that means longer-lasting trees once they're transported to cities! More info on the Superoots Air-Pot website.