Magnolia

[potiche]

I bought a £30 magnolia tree for a special rememberance present. It was flowering in the pot & looked healthy. However.......2 wks on & I got involved with the planting only to be really embarresed by what lay beneath.
Firstly we couldn't get it out of the pot. The reason was that it had no fine roots. It was literally a bare root plant that had had compost rammed around it so densly that nothing would give.
Am I right in thinking it should have had a good root system in the pot to be sold on at that price? I think it would have been better to have been sold as a bare root wrapped in clingfilm cos I bet the root has been damaged by cramming the compost around it.
Is this enough reason to take it back (will be a lot of time & effort) or will it be OK (soil, hole prep etc are OK)? Already the ocassion of the gift is slightly spoiled. Reassurance please.

[woofgang]

Was the plant still looking healthy when you planted it? If it had just been potted before you bought it and was damaged by being potted then it would have shown in the two weeks between purchase and planting. Magnolias don't have fine roots like, say a grass or a pansy does, the roots are fleshy more like a clematis. If the plant is healthy, you might not have any justification for returning it. Was there any kind if guarantee when you bought it?