Save on a Wide Variety of Fruit Trees During Bare Root Season

If you aren’t familiar with bare root it is about an 8-10 week period where we have the opportunity to get a wider variety of fruit trees. The plants actually arrive without any soil around their roots.

They are harvested out of the ground during this time of year when they are dormant and then from about the 3rd week in January until the end-ish of March we can sell them as bare root.

The reason I say “end-ish” is because if we get an extended warm spell in March and the bare root trees and shrubs start flowering or leafing out then we have to put the bare root plants into black pots with potting soil, Mycorrhizae and fertilizer. Bare root plants shouldn’t come out of dormancy while they are still bare root. Our guarantee on bare root is that it will leaf out once this spring. Can’t guarantee any more then that since weather can be so variable for us that time of year.

There is some risk/reward with bare root. The advantage is its lower cost but there is some risk; since you will have just transplanted them this winter or early spring and any wild fluctuations in our weather during their first few months isn’t always handled well by the freshly planted bare root. So, there are some loses – but, I would say it is under 5%. So, you still come out ahead because of the lower cost of bare root. By the way I forgot another advantage is you don’t have to dig as big a hole AND for the next few months the ground is extremely easy (or at least easier for you Golden Hills folks with all that DG).

Bare root is a relatively short window of opportunity for an exceptional selection combined with lower prices and easier digging. So, pick out your plants early in February – if a variety is missing let us know and we can special order it for you.

Read more about planting bare root plants including how to plant bare roots using our bare root planting tips .