JANOS SAMU Dec 19, 2008:

Misunderstanding Dear Finbar,
I am sorry if you misunderstood my words, but I did not interpret your intentions in either direction. If we write the earth-ball with a hyphen there might be some misunderstanding or confusion, but I was rejecting this option. We simply have to accept that both earth ball and plant rootball exist. I have already done so.

Elevenít (X) Dec 19, 2008:

Dialect, sociolect, idiolect.... Janos Samu, I think you are misinterpreting my intentions here. I am not really concerned about who is 'right', purely about the meaning of the word in question and I do believe there is an honest likelihood of confusion over the translation as earth-ball - as this does more commonly refer to mushrooms (whether a type of puffball or a truffle). Obviously, and particularly with reference to the natural world, there is a great range of terms applied to common plants, regions and traditions that are embedded in dialects, sociolects and even idiolects - but we are not talking about that here. There are far more commonly used terms and this is not a matter of mere dialectic differences. And as an equal example, having lived in Szombathely for some time I know terms and phrases that are largely alien to many locals in Budapest, but people from other areas such as Pécs still understand (e.g. 'porzik a vesem' for 'nagyon szomjas'). I didn't add rootball as a separate suggestion as I saw that you had already added it here in your first note and I believe that is the best equivalent.

JANOS SAMU Dec 19, 2008:

Selection of terms Dear Finbar,
I have no idea which term is used more frequently in nurseries or landscaping. I bought some citrus trees with earth ball here: http://www.kauainursery.com/Content/nursery.asp and about twenty years ago in Cranbury New Jersey when I was working there and we had to landscape a new facility. I was not interested in trees with earth ball or rootball anywhere else. You might have come across rootball in some other areas. It is not unusual that nursery or landscaping stock is called with different names in different regions, just like in Hungary the word susnyó is the general term in Viharsarok, and probably nobody understands it Zala County. You can drop the earth-ball from the discussion, because below you will see that Dénes Ilona had mentioned it, and I responded that it was not earth-ball (the fungi) that I had recommended.

Elevenít (X) Dec 19, 2008:

Earth ball fungi? JANOS SAMU, I don't doubt that the terms exist, as they obviously do, though I clearly state I had not come across them - and I was until I moved to Hungary a keen gardener. Saying that I would be interested in knowing if anyone has been able to locate further definitions of these terms. I can find rootball/root-ball/root ball (unfortunately spelling appears to vary), referring to both the roots and surrounding soil. The 'soil ball' is used to refer to the soil surrounding the roots, specifically. I can, of course, find plenty examples of their use, particularly on US websites (I find it helpful to use Google image search to confirm that the descriptions match the appearance). More than this, I do of course understand immediately what is being referred to, but I still believe rootball (spelt according to your taste) is by far the more common term. Also 'ball of earth' rather than 'earth ball' is more commonly used to describe the soil surrounding the root system. I would also be wary as an earth-ball is also one of the common names used to describe subterranean fungi such as truffles. So in the end, the distinctions rely on whether this is largely for US consumption, whether it refers to purely the bowl of soil surrounding the roots, or the soil and root ball combined and whether in fact there is any danger of confusing the translation with a reference to fungi.

JANOS SAMU Dec 18, 2008:

Occurance of terms To Finbar,

It is possible that you never came accross the earth ball and root ball (or earthball and rootball - since nursery staff rarely reads the Chicago Style Manual), but I suggest that you check the references I included or simply do a combined search in Google or Copernic or wherever by putting in both terms earth ball and root ball in the same search window.

Elevenít (X) Dec 18, 2008:

plant rootball I've come across this a few times in architectural landscaping texts where the meaning was clearly relating to establishing and bedding in the plant/tree rootball. I've never come across the use of earth ball or soil ball as a synonym, though it obviously refers to keeping an preserving a decent bowl shaped network of roots for the plant to be transplanted. Rootball refers not only to the roots but also the soil held to it (typically with burlap)

JANOS SAMU Dec 12, 2008:

earth ball, soil ball, root ball Ezt a három kifejezést felváltva használják sokszor ugyanannak a fogalomnak az értelmezésére. A földlabda az földtömeg, amelyet az átültetendő fával kiásnak, hogy a fa gyökerei kevésbé sérüljenek. Különbség van közöttük, mert a soil ballt talajminták elemzésénél használják, csak ez magyarul talajgolyócska. Lásd itt: http://www.innovativefarming.com/Downloads/October01_Soiltes...
A root ball is kb. ugyanaz mint az earth ball, csak éppen sokszor a sűrűn összenőtt gyökereket (talaj nélkül) hívják root ballnak. Jelentéstisztasága miatt használtam az earth ballt.