This is also true in blueberries. Blueberries seem to have a relatively small root system that does not spread far from the plant. This means that the blueberry is unable to draw water from a large volume of soil, but only the area in the immediate vicinity of the plant. Water Movement in Plants Water has to enter the plant cells to get into the roots, but plant cells do not actively take up water. The water moves into the cells because they are full of salts and sugars.
Root cells receive sugars from the leaves and also actively absorb salts from the soil.
This concentration of salts and sugars causes water from the soil to move into the cell. This water is then pulled to the xylem by the active movement of salt ions into the xylem and the water follows the salts. The stem of the plant is simply a plumbing system. The inner layer is the wood or xylem, which carries water from the roots up to the leaves. Water in the xylem is drawn up the through the stem by suction from the leaves because water is evaporating through the stomates into the air.