Now’s the time to stock up on bare root trees, shrubs and roses for your landscape
Signs of spring remind us that gardening can begin with weeding, pruning and planting this month. It is OK to procrastinate during wet or freezing weather, but make a break for the outdoors when the weather is mild as garden clean up is good for the garden and good for the soul of the gardener.
Garden centers and nurseries are well stocked with seeds, early blooming perennials such as hellebores along with bare root trees and shrubs and roses. As long as the ground is not frozen, you can dig in and let the planting begin.
Why bare root trees and shrubs?
The advantage of buying plants without soil around their roots (usually encased in plastic bags and damp sawdust instead) is that these plants are still dormant from winter, so bare root plants do not suffer from the trauma of a transplant as much as trees and shrubs potted up into containers.
Bare root plants are easy to transport and store until planting time
So let’s say you want to start a home orchard with fruit trees and raspberries. If you purchase fruit trees this month while they are still bare root, you can fit an orchard full of trees into a small car because you can lie them down on their sides and they will be lightweight and easy to pick up.
Once home, store your trees outdoors with the roots still encased in the plastic. If the weather is freezing or very wet, the bareroot trees and shrubs can remain in their plastic bags for several weeks.
How to plant bare root trees and shrubs
The best tip is to soak the lower half of bare root trees and shrubs in a bucket of water overnight. First you must remove the plastic bag and all the sawdust or shredded paper that was packed around the bare roots.
After the roots have been rehydrated, plant the tree or shrub in a hole so that the joint where the roots meet the trunk is just barely covered with soil. Firm the soil with your hands but do not stomp on the damp soil.
Some trees may need staking for the first year.
What plants are for sale now?
Winter and early spring is the best time to add roses, trees that lose their leaves, such as fruit trees and shade trees, and many types of berries and flowering shrubs. Strawberries, raspberries, lilacs, spiraea, apples, plums, hedging material and many more varieties of plants are waiting for you now at area nurseries.
Fewer pennies, more plants
There is one more advantage to adding bare root plants to the landscape in early spring: These plants not in containers are lighter weight and less expensive to ship and care for. This is why the nurseries sell them for much less than later on in the spring when the same plant will need to be potted up and sold at a higher price.