more bare-root woes

17 years ago

Well, we got the bare-root cherry trees planted in the one non-water-logged part of the garden area we're working on (thanks bboy!). However, the rest of the area is really sodden. We'd planned to rent a brush-hog to clear the land, but it's just too wet. AND the Whatcom County Conservation District had their annual native plant sale. Of course we bought a load of plugs and bare-roots and now have no where to put them! I figure the plugs should be OK for a little while, but it's the bare-roots that again have me worried. I've got the Highbush Cranberries, Mock Oranges, Nootka Roses, Red Flowering Currants and Red Osier Dogwoods covered in the same peat moss I used on the cherries. But this might take longer and some are beginning to leaf out.

Here's my question: I won't be planting my tomato plants in the raised bed until May. Could I temporarily plant the bare-roots in the bed until we can prep their real bed? Or will the transplanting be worse for them?

Thanks for any and all suggestions! And, yes, I'm a doofus.

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Comments (6)

hallerlake
17 years ago
Personally, I'd get them into the tomato bed. Being in the cold ground will buffer the roots from temperature changes. We're still having frosts.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
17 years ago
Sure. You just want to keep the roots from drying out so heeling them in anywhere you have space is fine. Frosts are really not that much of a concern, as bare root stock is typically dug in fall and kept in cold storage until it is retailed in late winter/early spring. And these are all fully hardy plants, so no worries.

And you are NOT a doofus :-) This is when these types of plants are most commonly offered for sale - if you don't take advantage of the sales when they occur, you miss out! It's not your fault the weather doesn't always cooperate with our gardening plans so we have to make allowances for it. I've got all sorts of bare root stock potted up waiting to get in the ground.....it's not so much a concern of wet soil for me as it is the time factor of getting the beds cleaned up so I can plant.
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toad_ca
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you both! I really didn't want to lose them. I'll get them in the raised bed today or tomorrow.
muddydogs
17 years ago
You are a doofus. Having to transplant more than once is stuupid. Big Gov shouldn't pay for trees that lazy asses aren't gonna plant. Don't give away labor for free.
hallerlake
17 years ago
Toad can't plant the trees where he/she wants them because the ground is too wet. Working it wet destroys the soil structure. Toad is wise not to do that in the name of efficiency. Besides, what's efficiency got to with anything. Home gardening, unlike professional gardening, is about the process not the product.
botann
17 years ago
Anyone who calls himself a gardener has transplanted more than once. In my case it's almost the norm. I Monday morning quarterback myself all the time. As long as the peat is moist and the roots don't dry out, everything is fine. I'd say you have about two weeks. Heeled in soil or sawdust, much longer. I have about 30 plants out of the ground right now and I'm not worried. None are bareroot, however.

Toad, you took advantage of a good deal, asked us what to do next and got answers. You're not a Doofus.