u/Imabunchofcells

I got what came in the pictures, no roots, nothing. Is green when scratching the bark. Is this right? No roots? The seller responded "They’re tap roots and they’re like that from keeping in dormant state you can check if it is viable by lightly scratching bark if it’s green under it’s alive". Can I get opinions because the me it looks like they chipped a limb off a tree and sent it to me.