Bare root versus potted the pros and cons

Written and edited by Tammy 19th May 2023

Cherry Blossoms

With June just around the corner our attention turns to a few different things.... stock take, tax time and bare root season.

And well I'm more interested in talking about the later of the three😝

So, what is bare root season, what's it all about?

Maybe I first need to clarify what deciduous means.

Deciduous

Deciduous as opposed to Evergreen are any trees and plants that loose their leaves and shut down over the Winter months.

Plants continuously produce a chemical compound called Chlorophyll, and its chlorophyll that's responsible for leaves being green.

A combination of shorter day lengths and cooler temperatures tells the plant to slow down its production of chlorophyll and stop directing nutrients and energy into the leaves. The absence of chlorophyll lets us see the true colour of the leaves (the beautiful Autumn colours) and gradually the plant drops it leaves becoming dormant.

Right, now that we understand what deciduous means, what relevance does that have to bare root season?

In bare root season growers lift the dormant young trees from the ground, the process doesn't shock stress or upset the trees in any way as they're asleep, they're not actively growing.

The trimmed root systems are then wrapped in sawdust in plastic to keep them damp, and at that point they're distributed to retail nurseries for you to buy.

Bare root Pros

• They're cheaper than potted trees.

• Can be forward ordered and plentiful in supply.

• Convenient to transport a large quantity of trees in a small amount of space.

• Can be settled into their new location whilst the tree is still dormant avoiding transplant shock.

Bare root Cons

• There's always going to be an element of gamble if the tree will be viable or not.

• The root system will be trimmed, diminished and void of any fine feeding roots.

• There's no knowing how long the roots have been exposed to the air potentially becoming too dry and hard.

• They are going to need to be planted as soon as possible, they can't stay in sawdust in bags long term.

Potted trees Pros

• The tree can be selected for its healthy full foliage appearance.

• It has a healthy active growing root system within the pot.

• If disease is present, it would be evident.

• They can potentially stay in the pots for a while until you're prepared and have time to plant them.

Potted trees Cons

• They will be more expensive.

• Potentially less stock available.

• Can take up a lot of space or cost more to freight potted trees.

• Always a chance of the plant succumbing to transplant shock or not settling into its new environment.

These are some of the things you'll need to take into consideration when deciding whether to buy bare root trees over the winter months or buy actively growing potted tree throughout the growing season.

Either way there are some good valid points for both options, it's just going to come down to what your priorities are.

Consider your budget, the cost of freight if applicable, or practicality of transporting them, your time frame for getting them planted and of course how much of a gamble you're willing to take on the potential viability of the tree.

As always if you're wanting to know a little more, please reach out, send me a message, an email or our local folk reading this will know where to find me.

Rug up, keep warm, enjoy your Friday and happy gardening!😘🪴🍂