Spencer-Lemaire Industries Limited - The home of Rootrainers, FlowTrays, and FlowBench

Rootrainers are openable, hinged plant-growing cells designed for home gardening, and nursery and forestry production. Rootrainers make it easy to inspect growing seedling plugs and remove seedlings without any root damage.

Their grooved walls train the roots not to spiral and speed deep root development. Rootrainer-grown plants do not experience shock on planting, which significantly increases their "take", so that they begin growing more quickly and experience a longer growth period in their first season.

Over a billion trees, as well as many other kinds of plants, have been started in Rootrainers. Alberta Forest Service of Canada cooperated with Henry A. Spencer, the inventor, in perfecting mass production growing methods. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources of Canada and those contractors who grew trees for them also contributed greatly in their development

The USDA in Beltsville Maryland recently had us make Rootrainers to a special configuration for a project in Jamaica Bay, at the port of New York. Seagrass was needed in quantity to reclaim shorelines damaged by recent storms and floods. These plants grow under salt water, and the technique of "air pruning" can not be used. Rootrainers' unique advantages are that even plants without much in the way of a stem may be extracted from a deep cell (8 inches) without root damage.

Patents have been obtained for Rootrainers and the research and development continues, as both the products and the equipment to use with them evolve.

Whether you are growing for your home garden or in a commercial application, everything grown in Rootrainers has a stronger future.

Check out these retailers for Rootrainer trays:

Click here to download a Rootrainers brochure.
(pdf file 1.5MB)

Alba Trees, who start all their products in Rootrainers, has been awarded the Royal Warrant for supplying trees and shrubs to Her Majesty The Queen. Alba Trees states "This is a very prestigious award, only rarely given and jealously guarded."

"Rootrainers-grown trees are the only trees that successfully grow in our region."Forester Dave Larson, Mescalero ,New Mexico.

"Tropical tree species typically grow to maturity in 10 years, but by incorporating Rootrainers into our production we anticipate shortening our tree harvesting cycle by 2 years over bareroot seedlings or those raised in plastic bags." Agrosistemas de Liberia, Costa Rica.