Rootball Bare Root Trees for Planting Later?

I've bought some bare root trees (only available bare root, so needed to buy them now, during the dormant season). They site where they will be planted won't be available until July.

I have some large pots, but if I plant them in there they won't form all that much root, and when I plant them out most likely it will all fall off their roots and set them back.

I was wondering about rootballing them, with hessian, in the pots and then when I plant them there would be little disturbance - although I expect it will get jiggered about a bit.

Good or Bad idea?

I suppose I could plunge-pot them in final position (in July) and then physically plant them when dormant next Autumn.

 

Personally I'd find a vacant spot to plant them ie not in a pot for this season. Come the Autumn I'd then transplant them to their final positions. I'd doubt very much that they would have put out enough root to make them difficult to budge or cause them damage if you are careful. I've done this a few times when not able to source big trees, bought smaller ones and let them grow on for a few years and then transplant at a appropriate time. I had planted a Sorbus about 8 years ago and moved in into a more suitable spot last Spring....took fine with little or no signs of having it's growth checked. Just needed hefty stakes!

 

I have a similar situation with a Goat Willow I bought a month ago. I haven't come across the right container (it would be asking for trouble planting it in the ground so close to my drains) for it yet and I don't even have somewhere to heel it in. So I stuck it in a 6 inch pot with a bit of soil chucked in and it seems to be waking up now, so I take that as a good thing.

 

Yes, I suppose plant & transplant is best. Darn it!

But having said that I would like to get them into final position in July - its part of the New Look for a terrace we will have then (they are Pleached Limes - albeit barely Pleached at all as yet!!)

 

Hmm well if you are DESPERATE!!! then you could try doing what you are talking about. The snag with hessian is you IMO have to take it off prior to planting I've certainly found plants "strangled" with hessian which hasn't rotted away years on. Plants I didn't plant I hasten to add. How big are these trees? How much root do they have atm? What I have done in the past is plant trees in big pots and if I wanted to plant them during the growing season I have put the pots into the dug hole then sawn down the side of the pots and managed to wiggle the plant out if there was a danger of there being too much root disturbance by just lifting them out of the pots. The other way you could try if the trees are big is the sheet method which I've used to move huge Rhododendrons. Dig round plant until free, place sheet under 1 side of plant by rocking it. Then rock other side of plant until you can see the sheet and pull sheet all the way towards you. Does this make any sense at all? lol! Move said plant by dragging sheet. Hang on if newly bought can't think they will be that big to need the sheet treatment. I sense impatience here if you waited about another 3 months until say October then there would be no snag!

 

Good point.

10' - 12' tall I would guess ...

best part of not very much

Yes. Sounds very like how the Japanese rootball their trees. They move them (e.g. Pines which have been carefully cloud-pruned / trained etc) at any time of the year - although I think it is more common for them to hessian rootball them in winter, move them and plant them in a nursery area, and then move them from there to Customer's site at any time of the year.

In my defence: they use hessian

Yeah, could be a) Build terrace, b) Install plants, c) Think about what time of year it is / how long left until planting season.

Although: want to gain-a-season's growth, as much as possible, too.

Hadn't thought of that, although I think I only have posh thick stuff here - it has lasted for probably 5 years already (albeit not under ground )

 

I'd definitely go down the plant/transplant route....which ever way you go they'll still get jiggered about a bit come planting into their final position but they'll be easier to 'manage' ie..water whilst in the ground...you never know if we get a really dry Spring they could suffer in pots and make even more work for yourself keeping on top of the watering

 

Have to agree with Lolimac as it can be really difficult to water enough when in pots. I bought a pot grown Liquid Amber about the same size as your Lime Kristen. It had to sit in it's pot for about 2 months and it suffered despite me watering it daily.
Glad you are using pleached Limes as I doubt your patio would accommodate my NON pleached Lime!!! that's unless it is about as wide as a motorway!! Have no idea how big mine is but suffice to say it's huge. Scottish Power are always at me to prune it a bit. Hell it would only cause problems if the whole thing came down so afraid I have not been an obliging wee waman and let a chainsaw massacre take place. I have 1st hand knowledge of how careful and knowledgeable Scottish Power's contracted tree surgeon are.

 

what about air pots

 

Hehehe ... that's a cracking joke Loli ... like I have ever paused long enough to consider the consequences of Time Required for any gardening action I have ever taken

Do you think that an advantage if just for a short time?

They are on Special Offer at the moment at LBS ... hang on ...

... 100L £4.10, 220L £8, 350L £9, 600L £8.95

Placed order today and Um'd and Ah'd about Air Pots, as they were on Special, and decided I didn't need any so passed them by!!!

 

As you well know, Kristen, I am a novice with very limited experience. But, when I moved here one June, I was given (by a nursery!) some bare rooted rosa rugosa. Now, I had nowhere to "heel" them in and I knew they were not going to do much without a touch of care, but not *much* care that they began to romp!

So, what I did was this:

- had a redundant "dalek" compost bin
- had a northerly facing area getting minimal light/heat

- popped the stems in a bucket WITHIN the dalek composter and left them for the summer; just a dab or three of water.

- Autumn: planted and mulched.

Result? They have flourished!! (Yay me!!! )

Call it beginners luck and have done with it

 

I suppose not but easily removed once in place

 

Update:

Planted them at the weekend ... turned out better than I expected. They haven't got much leaf (but they are blinking big trees - 420cm soil-level-to-tiptop, and came with not a lot of root, so they had to make root before they could make top, and hopefully "making top" will start next year).

The important point, for any other nutter planning to do this!, is to get enough root to hold the rootball together when getting the plant out of the pot. They are in 54cm / 21" pots, but I only half filled them to about 35cm / 13" in the hope that the roots will reasonably fill the compost. I planted them in 50:50 compost from my compost heap and well rotted manure, and gave them a decent dose of Rootgrow Mycorrhizal fungi to stimulate root growth. I had expected to plant them 2 months ago, but the area wasn't ready, and that extra two months has probably worked in my favour giving the roots more time to establish.

Getting the plants out of the pots, without shaking up the rootball, was not entirely straight forward (I wonder if putting two ropes, tied at the base to form a Cross, and placed in the bottom of the pot, would have helped pull out the rootball). We laid the trees on their side, I held the bottom of the stem of the tree (pot/soil much heavier than the plant, so not much counterbalance) and got someone to wiggle and knock the pots off. I did this insitu so that then just standing the trees upright had them in their final place, rather than having to then manhandle them into the trench, for example.