When I get bare root shrubs, I generally pot them up and grow them on for a while, but I've never gotten them in summer. In early spring, I can give them more attention (water!) and better starting soil by keeping them in pots, plus it gives me time to get the planting bed into good condition.

The plants you list are both pretty fast growing, however I know mockorange can take several years to bloom. Just keep them well-watered until winter (without drowning them!) and you should have something resembling shrubs next spring.

I agree w/ digging's recommendation.

I received two VERY teeny tiny shrubs from Bluestone Perennials in the spring. I considering potting them up for a time but instead opted to plant them directly in the garden beds. It took less than a month for them to die.

Aside for roses, I don't think I'll direct plant small shrubs that soon again.

Over the past 2 Springs, I purchased 130 bare-root seedlings from the New Hampshire State nursery. They were 1-2 year old seedlings approx. 1 foot tall. A few were bigger. They're all native shrubs and small trees that provide berries for the birds.

I planted all of them straight into the ground, except for about 25-30 which were potted and given away. They are doing extremely well, although a few of the Viburnum have been nibbled on a bit. I can't believe how much some of them have grown - many of the Grey Dogwoods planted in Spring 07 are about 3-4 feet tall, and the Elderberry planted this SPring are about the same size. That grows very fast!

I've only planted out a few, most of them are still in holding beds. This fall I'm going to work on developing shrub borders and getting more planted out, because they are starting to outgrow the space they have now.