bare root fruit trees

For gardeners the coming of winter means, among many other things, the beginning of the bare root planting season. Local nurseries will soon receive good supplies of bare root fruit and ornamental trees, roses, grapes, berries, and vegetables such as asparagus and rhubarb. Unlike container plants, bare root plants are dug from the field when dormant and separated from the soil. This allows the nursery grower to ship plants at a lower cost and means a good saving for the buyer.

Since all the soil has been removed from the roots, take care to prevent them from drying out while you transport the tree or dig the planting hole. Never allow the plant roots to be exposed to sun and wind for more than just a few minutes. You can protect the roots for a few hours by placing them in a moist plastic bag or by covering them with wet newspaper or cloth. It's best to plant and water your bare root trees right away. If you need to delay planting for a day or more, you should “heel in” the plants. “Heeling in” is a method of protecting plant roots by placing the plants into a hole or shallow trench and covering the roots with moist soil, sand or sawdust.

You should consider trees, shrubs and other perennial plants to be long term investments. It's therefore worth the effort to pick the proper place for the plant. Fruit trees especially need full sun to produce properly, as well as room to grow. Most standard fruit trees can be planted 10 to 15 feet apart, or much closer if you are willing to spend time doing heavy pruning and careful training each year. Semi-dwarf fruit trees are good choices for a garden with limited space. It is not a good idea to plant a fruit tree in a lawn area, as the lawn's water requirements are not compatible with those of the tree. Fruit trees growing in lawns often grow poorly or are killed by shallow, frequent lawn irrigation.

Bare Root Apple Tree Stock Photos

Fruit trees prefer well drained soils at least 3 or 4 feet deep but will grow in shallower soils if you water carefully. Plant your tree when the soil is moist enough to dig easily. Do not plant in wet, sticky soil. The planting hole should be 2 to 3 times wider than the root spread, but only deep enough to plant the tree at the same level as it grew in the nursery. A tree planted in a deep hole will settle too much after watering. When this happens the tree is often attacked by a soil borne fungus disease where the soil contacts the trunk.

Before you plant the tree, carefully cut off broken or badly damaged roots with sharp pruning shears. Do not prune the roots to fit the hole. If necessary, put soil in the bottom of the hole so that the tree is slightly higher than the soil line. This will allow the tree to settle slightly without becoming buried. Using the same soil that came out of the hole, carefully cover the roots completely, then water thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots. You may want to complete the planting job by placing a mulch on the ground around the tree to help control weeds and conserve moisture.

For more information on care of your newly planted bare root fruit trees, berries, grapes, and roses, visit The California Backyard Orchard.

The Farmer Fred® Rant: Bare Root Fruit Trees: Choosing And Planting

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Students examine bundles of bare root apple and pear trees before a spring planting at the Sharing Farm in Richmond, B.C. Photo credit:

Bareroot Fruit Trees Delivered Right To You

If are planting a fruit tree, and you want that tree to be healthy and productive for years to come, you should consider planting a bare root tree rather than a potted tree from a big box store.

Potted trees can be handy. After all, you can plant a potted tree anytime during the growing season. In contrast, you have to think carefully about when to plant bare root trees. That's because bare root trees need to be planted when the tree is dormant, in the early spring or late fall.

When your bare root trees arrive, you will probably want to plant them right away. But you might want to take a careful look at the weather. There are pros and cons of planting on sunny days and overcast days. And if it's the middle of a windstorm? Then it may be best to wait a day or two.

Advantages Of Bare Root Fruit Trees Part 1

First things first: what are bare root trees?Bare root trees come from specialist fruit tree nurseries (click for our free nursery resource list). Thesenurseries dig their trees out of the ground in the early spring or late fall when the theyare dormant, with no leaves, flowers, or fruit.

The grower will protect the roots by wrapping them in damp hay, mulch or newspaper and then cover the roots with plastic to ensure they stay hydrated. Then, these trees can be boxed up and shipped far and wide.

The tricky thing is that bare root trees can only remain in this condition for a short time, and theymust be kept in a cool, dark place until planting time. If bare root treesencounter heat and sun, they'll emerge from dormancy, become stressed, and soon die without soil protecting and nourishing their roots.

How To Plant A Bareroot Fruit Tree

So, once you receive your shipment of bare root trees, you need to plant them as soon as possible to avoid the risk of their buds opening up, a sign that they are emerging from dormancy.

When you plant a potted tree, timing isn't as important. The tree has soil around its roots so if you buy a tree and can't plant it for a few weeks, that's ok! Just keep your potted tree watered in a slightly shady location and it should be fine until planting day.

But with bare root trees, timing is so important! You need to plant your bare root tree as soon as possible or else they may die. With all that fuss, why bother planting bare root trees at all? Well, there are lots of reasons. Here are just a few:

All About Tree Stakes

Now, once you have your new bare root trees, you need to plant them ASAP. I'll explore the pros and cons on the different planting day conditions below.

The team of gardeners at Downsview Park in Toronto plant bare root fruit tree whips in a new espalier bed. Photo credit: .

Myfirst planting this year was in Downsview Park's beautiful orchard in North Toronto. Once a military base, this site now features almost 300 acres of parkland, including a spectacular orchard of over 150 trees. In the coming years, we will bedeveloping this 2.5 acre orchard in the heart of North Toronto into an extensive fruit tree arboretum. This May, we added espalier appletrees, cherry shrubs, and currants to the orchard - and the day was fine, warm and sunny.

How To Get The Best Out Of Your Backyard Fruit Tree

A sunny, fine day is great planting weather for us humans. There’s no need to wear raincoats and galoshes (does anyone wear galoshes anymore?). But for bare root trees, a sunny day can be challenging. That’s because if left in the sun, bare root trees may be triggered out of dormancy and their buds may start to open. To avoid stressing the trees, it is best to leave them in the shade while you dig your holes. You may also want to soak the roots in water for up to 30 minutes to help rehydrate them and prepare them for planting.

The second planting that I organized this year was at a fantastic site called Gordonridge Place in Scarborough, Ontario. This public housing site has worked with FoodShare and their generous funders to create an extensive urban agriculture program, including a 30-tree orchard, vegetable plots, and even urban beekeeping. The soil is rich and the trees will love it. But the trees were shipped on a Friday. Planting day was Saturday. And the forecast was rain.

That didn’t stop the volunteers who showed up in their rain gear ready to work. We had a great, if slightly soggy, morning. But the best part is that the soil was soft and easy to dig. It was also moist and ready to accommodate the new bare roottrees. After planting, the rain continued to "water in" the trees nicely, which would help them quickly settle in to their new site. There was no hot sun to trigger early opening of the buds. A rainy day is actually a terrific time to plant bare root trees.

Bare Root In Leaf During Shipping

For the third planting this year, we had a bit of a

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