1 week Ago
As soon as the box stores stop selling Christmas trees, the nurseries start getting in their bareroot plants, primarily fruit trees and roses. This means for best selection, get there as soon as the bareroot plants show up. Bareroot plants or plants in bags have the advantage that they are very cost effective.
Without the need for a container of traditional soil, and the weight of the soil, they are more inexpensive to ship to the nurseries. Without the traditional soil, container and high shipping charges, a bare root tree can be about half the cost the same plant in a container would be. Shade trees, fruit trees and roses are the most common plants sold bareroot.
The bag contains sawdust instead of potting soils, so it is best to plant bareroot plants as soon as possible. When selecting a rose, there are several terms that you should understand. First roses are sold by grades, No.
1, No. 11⁄2 and No. 2, with No.
1 being the best and the No. 2 the poorest grade that are commonly sold. These standard grades are set up by the nursery industry.
For roses, the grades are based on caliper or size of the canes. When reading advertisements or in the nursery, if you are comparing prices, make sure you are comparing the same grade of roses. Other terms are AARS, patent and nonpatent.
AARS is a rose that was approved for recognition by the All-American Rose Selection. This means the rose has been tested all over the United States. These roses grew well in all locations and should be suited for any garden, regardless of climate and soil.
A patent rose is one that has been registered as a known cultivar by the Plant Patent Office. This plant cannot be propagated without approval by the person or company holding the patent. All new varieties of roses are patented roses.
After a period of time, the patent runs out and the plant can be propagated freely. Most nonpatented roses are older varieties of roses that the patent has run out. When selecting fruit trees, do some research in what type and the varieties you need.
In general terms, avoid fruit trees with tropical or warm area names, such as winter banana or Beverly Hills. These fruit trees have been bred to grow in warm climates that fruit trees normally do not grow here in the Antelope Valley. They bloom early, the flowers freeze and you are likely not to get fruit.
They tend to have poor-tasting fruit. After you have selected your bareroot plants, and you get them home, remove them from the bag or box. Carefully wash off the savings around the roots.
Then place the bareroot plant in a bucket of water. Make sure the roots are at least covered with water. It is even better if the entire plant is submerged in the water.
This allows a plant to soak up water into all the plant tissue. A large tub or bathtub will work. It can be even better to soak your plants overnight to allow the water to have a chance to soak into the tissue.
While your plant is soaking in water, dig the hole for it. I do not amend the planting hole. Therefore, I dig a hole slightly bigger than the root system.
The hole should be deep enough that the bud union of roses is 2 to 3 inches above the soil level. In colder eastern or northern climates, the bud union is placed at or below the soil level to protect the bud union. In California, it does not get cold enough to kill the bud union.
The easier way to check for depth is to lay a stick across the top of the hole, then hold the rose in the hole with the bud union 3 inches over the top of the stick. On other bareroot plants, dig the hole deep enough to plant the bareroot plant to the indicated depth. After the plant has soaked, examine the roots and check for damaged, broken, dead or rotted roots.
Prune off any damaged roots or branches. I use fertilizer tablets. Drop the recommended number of tablets in the bottom of the hole and cover them with about one inch of soil.
Fertilizer tablets slowly release nutrients to the plant over a few months. I find it best to backfill the hole about one-half full with soil. I then water the soil; this helps push the soil under and around the roots.
Then continue to fill the hole with the rest of the topsoil. Next, build a basin around your plant so you can easily water your plant the first few months. Do not mulch your plants now; they cool down the soil.
Your new plants will like warm soil this spring. Add the mulch this summer when it becomes hot. Established plants can be mulched for the winter, but new plants prefer the soil warmth.
During the rest of winter, the plants keep the soils moist, but not wet. Bareroot plants are an economical way to plant roses and fruit trees. For the best selection of plants visit your local nursery as soon as you see bareroot plants show up.
It is best to buy and plant as soon as possible. Bareroot plants can dry-out in the plastic bags..
