Bare root plants

[ideasguy]

 I'm having great difficulty growing plants from bare roots. Success rate is anything from 0 to 25%.
Ive tried starting them off in the greenhouse and also planting them out when purchased.
Very often there are small shoots on the bare roots. They may grow, but then die off on me.

Does anyone else find them difficult?

[JohnB]

Hi George,
That's not good, you should be getting much better success than that. I would say that for things like small trees and roses that I've planted bare root, I've pretty much had 100% success. With perennials, it's been a little bit lower, but generally because I didn't get them planted quick enough after receiving them.

About the only guidelines I've seen is to make sure the rootstock is well hydrated before planting - particularly roses and small trees - sitting them in a large bucket of water for 2 -3 hours seems about right. Then when you plant them, particularly if planting directly into the ground, really make sure you're getting no air pockets. I tend to deeply soak them after planting - puddling in - to make sure good soil contact. This can be a bit problematic if you have a heavy clay soil as you could end up drowning the poor thing.

Hope this helps a bit...

[ideasguy]

Thanks for your tips John. I should have stated that I was referring to Perennials.
My soil is a bit on the acidic side, well drained and very easy to work with.
Outdoors, its soul destroying to go to so much trouble to plant them, watch them like a hawk, and they don't make an appearance.
I have a well tended test bed for precious new plants, and have to put down slug pellets regularly. They chew the tender new growth to ground level when I turn my back, sometimes overnight.

In the greenhouse, I'm coming to the conclusion that I am overwatering, causing root rot.  By way of example, out of 6 Alstromeria bare roots, 2 of each of three varieties from Hayloft Plants, I have managed only one success.
Buying as young plants is my best option, with only the occasional failure.

[JohnB]

I think you're right about the root rot in the greenhouse - very easy to over-water. With the bare root perennials I buy at the Northwest Flower and Garden show, I do tend to pot them up and keep them in the greenhouse till they've got plenty of top-growth and then plant them out.

A tip I've come across is that once you've planted them and watered the planting medium well, put them on a tray and insert the whole thing into a large clear plastic bag - a drycleaning bag works well. Use some cut up wire coat hangers to support the plastic above the pots to keep it off by a few inches, then seal up the bag and put the whole lot in a shady location in the greenhouse. You won't need to water till top growth shows. As you start seeing the green shoots appear, you can remove those pots and leave the rest in the bag.

The trick is then not to over-water those plants you take out, but it's generally not so much of an issue once the plant has got itself going.

[ideasguy]

To avoid the root rot problem, thats a very good suggestion, John. I will give that a try.
In spring, we can buy bare root perennials from supermarkets etc in cardboard boxes. Inside, they are in a plastic bag of dry compost. When opened, very often there are shoots and signs of life. I look forward to trying what you have suggested John.
To be continued...

[Eric Hardy]

I will have to pass that tip on to Anthea, JOhn. She is in charge of the greenhouse.

[roiphil]

when i plant anything that is bare root i submerge the roots in water, overnight if its a shrub, perennials a couple of hours and to date i have not lost a lot, with my xmas trees that i had as bare root out of 300 i think i have lost about 20 to date but approx 5 are planted in a wet area of the field, and only watered by hosepipe a couple of times
Phil