US-12622363-B2 - System and method for growing and installing a plant

US12622363B2US 12622363 B2US12622363 B2US 12622363B2US-12622363-B2

Abstract

Systems and methods for growing and installing a tree having the roots expand generally radially outward and substantially not down by a horizontal root system planter comprising a base structure and a wall. The horizontal root system planter encourages roots of a tree to grow radially outwardly and substantially not down. In addition to a horizontal root system planter, systems and methods include a tool for tree transporting, digging, and planting operations comprising a box and a blade. The blade is configured for breaking ground and also for supporting a horizontal root system planter.

Inventors

Ronald E. Zillmer

Assignees

Ronald E. Zillmer

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230412

Claims (20)

1 . A horizontal root system planter for receiving a plant, the planter comprising: a base structure, wherein the base structure has a length, a width, a perimeter, and an area; and; a flexible wall extending upwardly from the base structure and defining at least a portion of both an exterior and interior surface of the planter, wherein the wall has a height that is less than half the length of the base structure; the wall extending substantially around the base structure at or adjacent the perimeter, wherein the base structure and the wall define a space for roots of the plant to grow; and wherein the length of the base structure and the height of the wall are configured to encourage the roots to grow radially outwardly and not substantially downwardly, causing root tips to grow towards the wall, and wherein the flexible wall is configured to trap and cause the death of the root tips therein, and produce lateral roots behind the dead root tip.
2 . The planter of claim 1 , wherein the wall has a height of no greater than 12 inches.
3 . The planter of claim 1 , wherein the base structure includes a base substructure and a frame, wherein the base substructure comprises a deck and support members.
4 . The planter of claim 3 , wherein the wall is provided within the frame.
5 . The planter of claim 1 , wherein the wall extends along a perimeter of the base structure.
6 . The planter of claim 1 , wherein the wall includes a plurality of pockets engineered into the panels, the pockets are configured to trap tree roots therein.
7 . The planter of claim 1 , wherein the wall is removably affixed to the base structure and is configured to be removed before the plant is planted in the ground.
8 . The planter of claim 7 , wherein the wall is configured to be reusable.
9 . The planter of claim 1 , wherein the base structure has a deck comprising a plurality of boards, each board having a first end and a second end.
10 . The planter of claim 9 , wherein the deck includes a first support piece extending along the first ends of the boards and a second support piece extending along the second ends of the boards.
11 . The planter of claim 9 , wherein the deck covers a majority of the area of the base structure.
12 . The planter of claim 9 , wherein the wall is biodegradable.
13 . The planter of claim 9 , wherein the deck further includes an upwardly extending frame and the wall is attached to the upwardly extending frame.
14 . The planter of claim 9 , wherein the deck further includes an upwardly extending frame comprising two or more corner posts.
15 . The planter of claim 14 , wherein the upwardly extending frame comprises first, second, third, and fourth corner posts and first, second, third, and fourth upper members, wherein the first upper member extends between the first and second corner posts, the second upper member extends between the second and third corner posts, the third upper member extends between third and fourth corner posts, and the fourth upper member extends between fourth and first corner posts.
16 . The planter of claim 15 , further comprising first and second laterally extending members, wherein the first laterally extending member extends colinearly with the first upper member and the second laterally extending member extends colinearly with the third laterally extending member.
17 . The planter of claim 9 , wherein the wall extends upwardly from the base structure perpendicular to the deck.
18 . A horizontal root system planter for receiving a plant, the planter comprising: a base structure configured to support the plant when the plant is planted in the ground, wherein the base structure has a length, a width, a perimeter, and an area; and; a flexible wall extending upwardly from and perpendicular to the base structure, the wall defining at least a portion of an exterior surface of the planter the wall extending substantially around the base structure at or adjacent the perimeter, wherein the wall has a height that no greater than 12 inches and less than half the length of the base structure, wherein the wall is removable from the base structure; wherein the base structure and the wall define a space for roots of the plant to grow; and wherein the length of the base structure and the height of the wall are configured to encourage the roots to grow radially outwardly and not substantially downwardly, causing root tips to grow towards the wall, and wherein the flexible wall is configured to trap and cause the death of the root tips therein.
19 . The horizontal root system planter of claim 18 , wherein the wall includes a plurality of pockets engineered into the panels, the pockets are configured to trap tree roots therein.
20 . A system for growing a plant, the system comprising: (a) a horizontal root system planter for receiving a plant, the planter comprising; a base structure, wherein the base structure has a length, a width, and an area; and; a flexible wall extending upwardly from the base structure and defining at least a portion of an exterior and interior surface of the planter, wherein the wall has a height that is less than half the length of the base structure and wherein the wall has a height of no greater than 12 inches, wherein the base structure and the wall define a space for roots of the plant to grow; and wherein the length of the base structure and the height of the wall are configured to encourage the roots to grow radially outwardly and not substantially downwardly, causing root tips to grow towards the wall, and wherein the flexible wall is configured to trap and cause the death of the root tips therein and produce lateral roots behind the dead root tip, and wherein wall includes a plurality of pockets engineered into the panels, the pockets are configured to trap tree roots therein; (b) a tip tray configured for transporting the horizontal root system in a tipped orientation, the tip tray including a platform configured to accept the base structure; and (c) a planting tool comprising a box and a blade, the blade including a support surface configured to accept the base structure.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present disclosure claims priority to Provisional Application No. 63/330,169, entitled System and Method for Growing and Installing a Plant, and filed Apr. 12, 2022, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure relates to novel and advantageous systems and methods for growing and installing a tree wherein the roots expand generally radially outward and substantially not down. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a novel and advantageous horizontal root system planter comprising a base structure and a wall, wherein the horizontal root system planter encourages roots of a tree to grow generally radially outwardly and substantially not down. The present disclosure further relates to a tool for tree transporting, digging, and planting operations is provided. The tool may comprise a box and a blade. The blade may be configured for breaking ground and also for supporting a horizontal root system planter BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. Chestnut Blight, Dutch Elm Disease, and Emerald Ash Borer have devastated urban forests for over a century. It is expected that more diseases and insects will come in the future that will attack urban trees. Disease and insect pathogens are well known and publicized but an additional threat exists for urban trees. Deep planting, the type of planting encouraged by nursery production practices, crosses the lines of species in a manner that impacts all trees planted by humans. Nearly every urban tree planted since World War II suffers from improper planting depth and root system problems resulting from standard nursery production practices. Those traditional practices result in stem girdling roots and basal trunk rot when the tree trunk is placed too deep into the soil during the final planting in the landscape. In nature, the primary structural roots of a tree radiate outwardly from the root flare in all directions like the spokes of a wheel. Roots are able to absorb oxygen if they are sufficiently close to the ground surface. Traditional nursery production practices grow trees in containers optimized for shipping and handling. In such containers, roots are forced to grow generally downwardly because the containers are narrow and deep. This is at the expense of proper root orientation needed for long term survival. More specifically, the circling that occurs in standard nursery containers produces roots that are not positioned to properly colonize a planting site, with the majority of the traditional container produced root system dying following transplanting. These traditional systems of production and planting, sometimes referred to as containerization and deep planting, rely on the tree and its root system to recover from damage after being planted. This, combined with deep planting, causes many trees to struggle to establish new roots on the site. In many cases, the tree fails to thrive and dies. Planting a tree comprises a plurality of steps—transporting the tree to a planting location, digging a hole for receiving the tree, depositing the tree in the hole, and backfilling the blade. This is often done using several tools. The tree may be transported to a planting location with a hoe or the like. A hole may be dug for receiving the tree using a shovel. The tree may be manually deposited in the hole. The hole may be backfilled with a shovel. This is a labor intensive and awkward process. Thus, there is a need in the art for a system encourages this natural root development and delivers an undamaged root system that is ready to immediately colonize. There further is a need in the art for a tool configured to do each of transporting a plant, digging a hole for receiving the plant, depositing the plant in the hole, and backfilling the plant. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all embodiments, nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. A horizontal root system planter for receiving a plant is provided. The planter may comprise a base structure and a wall. The base structure has a length. The wall extends upwardly from the base structure and has a height that is less than half the length of the base structure. The base structure and the wall define a