Will hardware cloth cause problematic root girdling for eudicots?

[Rivera]

Since gophers run amok here, I use some kind of hardware cloth to protect the rootball of many of the young monocots I plant out. 

I have two seedling stage dicots that I want to plant out. One is a Trevesia palmata, and the other is a Cussonia paniculata.

I'd like to give them some protection, and I have either stainless steel 1/2" hardware cloth or a galvanized steel cloth of a slightly thinner gauge and a slightly looser "hex-weave." The former obviously offers superior long-term protection for not just the plant, but also somewhat for the yard border since these are perimeter plantings. On the other hand, the less substantial galvanized steel cloth will break down sufficiently over time that I don't believe it will interfere with secondary root growth for these plants.

The question is, would there be a detrimental root-girdling effect on these plants from using the stainless 1/2" cloth that will remain intact for decades? I'm not planning on digging more than a 15g hole for each plant, so there will be wire where the roots will eventually be thick, certainly thicker than the gaps in the cloth. 

How say you? 🤷‍♂️

[Silas_Sancona]

31 minutes ago, Rivera said:

Since gophers run amok here, I use some kind of hardware cloth to protect the rootball of many of the young monocots I plant out. 

I have two seedling stage dicots that I want to plant out. One is a Trevesia palmata, and the other is a Cussonia paniculata.

I'd like to give them some protection, and I have either stainless steel 1/2" hardware cloth or a galvanized steel cloth of a slightly thinner gauge and a slightly looser "hex-weave." The former obviously offers superior long-term protection for not just the plant, but also somewhat for the yard border since these are perimeter plantings. On the other hand, the less substantial galvanized steel cloth will break down sufficiently over time that I don't believe it will interfere with secondary root growth for these plants.

The question is, would there be a detrimental root-girdling effect on these plants from using the stainless 1/2" cloth that will remain intact for decades? I'm not planning on digging more than a 15g hole for each plant, so there will be wire where the roots will eventually be thick, certainly thicker than the gaps in the cloth. 

How say you? 🤷‍♂️

Tough question.. I know people here have used wire / wire baskets for Palms ..not sure how they'd effect stuff w/  roots that continually expand in size as they grow.. I would be concerned about the " strangling the roots -as they expand- " aspect.. myself. 

Roots may be able to break through the thinner mesh ..say Chicken Wire type stuff.. as they expand, but then you run the risk of the Gophers chewing through it too before the plant(s) have enough root mass to withstand any gopher attacks..  Thicker hardware cloth may restrict the roots enough that yes, they start girdling / don't form enough of a stable footing .. unless you place the barrier like 4ft away from the plant(s)  

Have issues w/ at least 2 here and getting ready to purchase traps to get rid of them, or at least knock the ones in the yard out / trap any that show up later..

Keep in mind too that while it is often suggested that a gopher barrier reach down to around 3 or 4 ft, i have heard of Gophers tunneling below a 4ft deep barrier to get around it..  They dig under the block walls here for sure ( No clue how deep the footing for the walls are though )