Gardening column: Bare root plants offer reasons to choose them

Joan Swenson

The annual negotiations have begun at our house. Exactly what new tree will we be planting to replace the aging green Pluot tree that I think needs to be removed?

Photos:

Photo by Dan Ocampo

It’s the beginning of the bare root season in which fruit and shade trees, roses (as pictured in this file photo), berries, vegetables and decorative flowering shrubs are available for winter planting.

The Pluot, more than a decade old, has been oozing huge amounts of sap from its trunk and some of its branches for years. A section of the tree died last summer and I believe that the tree has borers that are slowly destroying the old tree. But the only way my husband will consent to removal is if we can find the right tree with which to replace it.

It’s the perfect time for the discussion because it’s the beginning of the bare root season in which fruit and shade trees, roses, berries, vegetables and decorative flowering shrubs are available for winter planting.

Planting now, despite the chilly weather, is a great idea for three reasons:

Reason No. 1: Bare root plants are a bargain — we’ve seldom paid more than $20 for a tree and have been repaid many times over with delicious, home-grown fruit. Roses and other plants are even less expensive.

Reason No. 2: Control of the plant’s shape. If you plant bare root fruit trees, you’re the one who will do the important first pruning that will determine the shape of your tree for its lifetime. A new peach, plum, apricot or nectarine should be lopped off approximately 24 inches from the ground in order for the first major branches to develop.

Reason No. 3: Fresh, new plants. Bare root plants are primed and ready to put in the ground. Furthermore, some plants can’t be bought at any other time of year, including certain types of roses, vegetables and berries.

I like to buy bare root trees at locally owned nurseries where the people who are selling the trees are knowledgeable about the plants and who stock trees that are known to do well here.

We have stuck to planting nectarines, peaches, plums and apricot trees over the years. But you can also buy cherry trees, apple trees (good nurseries will stock varieties that will produce fruit in Bakersfield), pears (crisp Asian pears and the European standards) figs and persimmons. Nut trees including pecans and almonds are also available.

Fruit trees take space to grow and you will have to do dormant-season pruning to encourage the trees to produce fruit each year. It takes commitment to have a great home orchard. Dave Wilson Nursery, a grower of bare root trees that are sold at some local nurseries, is a great resource when it comes to choosing bare root plants and offering advice to people with back yard orchards. See www.davewilson.com/ for information about growing lots of fruit in limited space, including putting multiple trees in the same hole. Be sure to read the section called “What’s Said in Ed’s Head,” home nursery expert Ed Laivo’s thoughts on growing fruit, with a funny rant about the “neurotic” quest people have for red apples and another one about poor quality grocery store plums titled “You Know the Chevy Plum? —Like a Rock?”

Every nursery should have bare root roses this month. To buy the best quality roses, look for those labeled No. 1 grade. You’ll pay a premium for roses that are recently patented, but you can find plenty of older roses whose patents have run out that are beautiful and less expensive. Tags will give you information about the roses, as well as a good picture of the blossom color.

Pretty blooming plants such as flowering quince, lilac, and magnolia soulangiana are also for sale bare root. Magnolia soulangiana is also known as saucer magnolia, a magnificent plant with the huge white, pink or deep pink blossoms.

Bare root vegetables include horseradish, artichokes and asparagus. Bare root berries include strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, loganberries.

What’s with bare root plants that aren’t bare root?

Traditionally, bare root plants were sold from bins of damp sawdust. The naked roots of the plant could be pulled from the sawdust and examined and you took your plant home in a loose bag with a little bit of sawdust to keep it moist. You can still buy some true bare root plants – White Forest Nursery, 300 Morning Drive, has the biggest selection around – but more nurseries sell bare root plants packed with sawdust in tightly bound plastic bags that look a bit like sausages.

You’re likely to have good success with either a packaged “bare root” plant or the plant from the nursery that’s truly bare root.

Be cautious about buying bare root plants that are kept indoors before you buy them. The plants will leaf out indoors and if you plant the tree or rose bush, the greenery is likely to be killed by January’s frosts. The plant may not have enough strength to produce more greenery for spring.

Best advice: buy bare root plants early in the bare root season and get them planted soon after bringing them home. If you have to wait a few days to plant true bare root plants — those whose roots you were able to examine at the nursery — store them in a bucket of water until you can get them planted.

To plant a bare root tree or rose, dig a hole 12 to 18 inches deep and wide enough to accommodate the spread of the roots. Build a mound in the center of the bottom of the hole to support the plant. You’ll spread the roots over the mound, arranging the plant so that the plant ends up being located at the same level in your soil as it was in nursery where it originally grew.

Back fill the hole with soil and build a soil berm around the plant to create a watering basin. Fill the berm with water; watch for bubbling, which indicates air holes around the roots. Tamp down the soil further to eliminate the air pockets that will cause roots to dry out.

From Bakersfield.com