ROBBINSDALE, Minn. - Have you ever heard of this; growing trees in gravel?
It's a new idea the city of Robbinsdale has adopted to help cut down on costs and improve tree health.
One of the biggest advantages to having these trees placed in the gravel bed is that they develop better root systems.
"Roots are the unseen part of a tree system that are extremely important for tree health and establishment" said Stephan Papiz, Robbinsdale Forester/Natural Resource Specialist.
When you go to the nursery, trees are sold usually in a large plastic container with soil. By growing them in gravel, transplanting is a little easier.
"If they are in a container, they don't have as many roots to weather that transplanting. So they suffer from what arborists call transplant shock. This system where they are grown in a gravel bed and form thick fibrous root systems cuts down on transplant shock."
According to the city, buying trees that are bare root, or not sold in a container, are significantly cheaper. You can say that using this gravel bed is almost like having money grow on trees.