I wish someone could give me ideas on how to grow native plants with strong roots without make then root on the soil below the bag. I wish to help a NGO that grow plants for degraded forest. They grow native plants (with pivoting roots) from my country in plastic bags, like that : They must be around 1~2 meters, and them they are transplanted to the final location. The problem is, some of then take to long to get transplanted, and even the ones which doesn't take too long get rooted to the soil below, and when we remove the plant most of the roots are left behind be cause they left by the plastic holes and colonized on the ground. I opened one of the plastic and realized 2 things : - the substrate is poor, just hard soil with clay, no organic matter, far way from the soil we discuss in cannabis forum, just compact soil where the roots can't propagate. So they might get on the soil below and thrive. - The roots were black, dead on the plastic bag. Might be due to the soil. Putting a propagation mat below the plastic nursery pots isn't a solution, as they tried that with Felt (fabric) and the roots pass thru it and go to the ground again. The only solution I see is putting something like that : That will make the air pruning and so they can't pass thru, for sure. But that is costly. I wish someone could give me ideas, any kind of solution... I thought about putting big rock on the ground, but how would I balance the pots over it? Plastic sheet below all pots is a problem, it degrades and accumulate water... They are losing 30% of the plants due to this problem. And they believe that putting EVEN MORE clay would fix it, be cause they believe that the problem is in the softness of the soil and not on the weak root system (that they didn't realize to be happening). And I must add that the soil is already too hard and compact!! When they cut the plastic they want something so HARD that won't break, and they believe that this is the solution. I do believe in the opposite, they need a well drained soil that the roots will form a root ball and hold all the substrate within the plastic bag, so when it's cut all the roots hold the substrate and is transplanted without problem. Any point of view is welcome. Thanks. Remembering that they naturally have pivoting roots, like eucalyptus.