Every February, gardeners in the Rogue Valley are treated to the start of the plant-buying season with truckloads of trees and shrubs and even berries and some perennial vegetables arriving as "bare root" stock. What exactly is bare root stock and should you plan on purchasing plants in this condition or wait until later in the season when the weather and soil warm up and dry out?
The answer to the final question is a big, resounding maybe. Like all things gardening, it depends on your knowledge, style and willingness to endure little inconveniences to save some money.
Done correctly, planting bare root nursery stock is an opportunity to obtain high-quality plants at the lowest prices of the year, especially on trees. If you haven't prepared properly, however, it can be a frustrating exercise leaving you without plants for an entire season.
Bare root plants are dug from fields where they grew from one to several seasons, the soil shaken loose from the roots and usually stored for a short period of time by the grower. They are then shipped to nurseries and garden centers. Almost all the plants handled this way are deciduous. That is, they have lost their leaves in the fall and are dormant when they are dug, usually in November and December.
Most large-scale growers have special storage warehouses that are equipped with automatic misting sprinklers to keep the plants and their roots from drying out. Smaller growers closely monitor moisture levels and water manually as needed.
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Because of the lack of soil and container around the roots, the number of bare root plants that can be shipped per truck is vastly greater than balled-in-burlap or containerized plants. Therefore, the shipping costs are much less. With less weight per plant, handling costs decline. You can also deduct the cost of a container, soil and the labor necessary to perform this work.
This all adds up to producing stock for the least amount of money possible. Then why not buy everything this way?
Planting bare root has a limited time frame. Once the plants begin to leaf out in the warmer weather, they need to be in the ground. Evergreens, with only a very few exceptions, cannot have their roots bared for even short periods. Some deciduous trees like dogwoods and Japanese maples should never be bare rooted. Even with plants that are well suited to this technique, the larger the plant you buy, the harder it is for the plant to establish.
If you keep these limitations in mind, you can avoid the pitfalls and have great success. If you are unsure as to the wisdom of buying a certain plant, ask the person at the nursery his or her opinion. You might be surprised how cost-effective that can be.
Years ago, when I was working at Nurseryland in Central Point, I don't know if I would have given you this next piece of advice. After selecting a likely plant and pulling that plant from its heeled-in location, closely examine its roots, an opportunity one never gets with a containerized plant.
The ideal root system radiates evenly around the base of the plant in a 360 degree arc. There should not be any gaps or blank areas. The part of the plant directly above those gaps will not be fed and therefore will not grow branches there. If planted facing the south or west, the bark is likely to sunscald if we're talking about a tree, or never develop a pleasing, full branching pattern if it's a shrub. Trust my experience in this matter. I've learned this the hard way.
Now that you know how to select a good plant at the nursery, next week we'll take a look at the factors that determine success or failure from the moment you drive away until the time the plant is in the ground. How well you transport and then plant is up to you. I'll give you some tips that will have your success ratio nearing 100 percent!
Stan Mapolski, aka The Rogue Gardener, can be heard from 9-11 a.m. Sunday mornings on KMED 1440 AM and seen in periodic gardening segments for KTVL Channel 10 News. Reach him at stanmapolski@yahoo.com.
