Fruit trees, roses, berries and more available 'naked' and ready to plant
These are raspberry bushes, packed in sleeves for bare-root planting. Many other types of berries, plus fruit trees and roses, are available this time of year as bare-root plants. Kathy Morrison
They look funny (because we’re not used to naked roots) and kind of counterintuitive (don’t plants need soil to live?), but they may be the best garden bargains you’ll find all year.
It’s bare-root season, which means nurseries are sporting sawdust-filled bins packed with dormant trees, shrubs and perennials. That sawdust helps protect those naked roots and keep them moist while the plants are out of the ground and “sleeping.”
Bare-root season allows growers and retail nurseries to save money, and some of those savings are passed onto buyers. Fruit trees, roses and other shrubs are dug up from growing fields in fall, then chilled in temperature-controlled warehouses; that pushes them into dormancy while keeping them fresh. They chill until they’re ready to ship to customers in winter.
Before or after shipping, growers and nurseries don’t have to repot bare-root stock. That saves on shipping costs (a bare-root fruit tree weighs a fraction of a tree in a pot full of soil) as well as time and labor.
The real bonuses are for the buyer. So much of a plant’s potential garden success is dependent on strong roots and here’s an opportunity to check them out. If bought in person, the plant can be inspected from top to bottom. Ideally, choose a tree or shrub with multiple, undamaged roots.
Another plus: Bare-root plants acclimate much faster than similar plants, transplanted from pots. Those naked roots can’t wait to get growing in their new surroundings. That gives the plant a head start on getting established (key to drought survival).
In addition, customers get more plant for their money. Bare-root fruit trees and roses are usually at least 3 years old; they’re mature plants. If bought in a pot, they’d cost significantly more.
Selection – especially of fruit trees, berries or roses – is never better than bare-root season. Nurseries don’t have physical space to keep lots of different varieties in stock in pots. But bare-root season allows for a full spectrum of varieties including many not available at any other time of year.
For fruit lovers, bare-root season is time to create your own diverse orchard or add favorites to your landscape. Among the fruit and nut trees available bare root: almond, apple, apricot, aprium, cherry, fig, jujube, mulberry, peach, pear, persimmon, plum, pluot and walnuts. This is also the time to find “fruit basket” trees with multiple varieties grafted onto the same trunk.
Both wine and table grapes are available bare root as well as many kinds of berries including blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, currant, strawberry and raspberry. Perennial food plants such as horseradish and rhubarb are sold bare root, too.
Before transplanting, remember to give your new bare-root plant a drink. It can become dehydrated after so many weeks out of the ground. Soak the plant’s roots in a bucket or tub of water overnight.
For tips on selecting bare-root roses: https://bit.ly/3GlSuLb
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
Powered by California Local
