There is something slightly unpromising about a bare root plant when it first arrives.
No handsome pot. No great flourish of leaves. Often, it is little more than a collection of stems with a rather determined-looking bundle of roots beneath them.
And yet, tucked away in those roots is everything the plant needs to make a new home in your garden.
Bare root planting is one of gardening’s wonderfully simple traditions. It is an affordable way to plant trees, roses, fruit bushes and hedging, and because bare root plants are planted while dormant, they have the opportunity to settle into the soil before spring growth begins.
If you have a hedge to plant, a border to fill or perhaps a fruit tree you have been promising yourself for years, bare root season is well worth knowing about.
What is a bare root plant?
A bare root plant is exactly what its name suggests: a plant supplied without a pot and without compost surrounding its roots.
The plants are grown in the ground by the nursery and lifted once they become dormant. The soil is removed from around the roots and the plants can then be bundled and transported ready for planting.
It may look rather different from the container-grown plants we are accustomed to seeing at garden centres, but there is nothing unfinished about it. In fact, gardeners have been planting trees, shrubs, roses and hedges this way for generations.
And there are some very good reasons for continuing to do so.
Bare root plants can be wonderfully economical
One of the greatest attractions of bare root planting is the price.
Pots, compost, watering and the additional space needed to grow and transport container plants all add to their cost. Bare root plants require far less packaging and are considerably lighter to move, which generally makes them cheaper to buy.
For one tree, the saving may simply be welcome. When planting twenty, fifty or a hundred hedging plants, however, it can make an enormous difference.
It is one of those pleasing occasions in gardening when the traditional approach can also be the economical one.
Winter is the time to plant
Bare root plants are available during their dormant period, generally from late autumn through winter and into early spring.
For deciduous plants, this is the quiet part of the year. The leaves have fallen, visible growth has slowed and the plant is conserving its energy below ground.
That makes it an excellent time to move and plant them.
Once planted, the roots can begin settling into their new surroundings before the demands of spring growth arrive. As the soil warms and the days lengthen, the plant is already where it needs to be and ready to put its energy into new roots, shoots and leaves.
There is something rather satisfying about planting on a cold winter’s day knowing that, although very little appears to be happening above the soil, preparations for spring have already begun underneath it.
What can you plant bare root?
Bare root planting is particularly useful when you want to introduce several plants at once.
Native and traditional hedging plants such as hawthorn, blackthorn, beech, hornbeam and field maple are commonly available bare root. Roses, fruit trees and many ornamental deciduous trees and shrubs may also be supplied this way.
It makes bare root plants particularly useful for creating new hedges, wildlife-friendly boundaries, orchards and larger planting schemes without the expense associated with buying everything in containers.
A mixed native hedge planted as small bare root whips may not look terribly grand on its first afternoon in the garden. Give it a few seasons, though, and it can become a thriving boundary providing flowers, berries, shelter and habitat.
Gardening often rewards patience rather well.
How to plant bare root trees and shrubs
Bare roots should never be allowed to dry out.
When your plants arrive, open the packaging and check the roots. If you cannot plant immediately, keep them somewhere cool and sheltered, with the roots protected and moist, following the nursery’s instructions.
Before planting, soaking dry-looking roots in a bucket of water for a short period can help rehydrate them. There is generally no need to leave them soaking overnight; prolonged soaking can deprive roots of oxygen.
Prepare the planting area before you begin. Dig a hole wide enough for the roots to spread naturally rather than forcing them into a cramped space.
Place the plant at approximately the same depth at which it was previously growing — you can often see a change in colour on the stem indicating the old soil level. Spread the roots carefully, return the soil around them and firm it gently to remove large air pockets.
Then water thoroughly.
Even in winter, that first watering matters. It helps settle the soil around the roots and gives the plant a good start in its new home.
A layer of organic mulch around the planting area can help retain moisture and suppress weeds, but leave a little breathing space immediately around the stem rather than piling mulch against it.
Bare root hedging: more hedge for your money
This is where bare root planting really comes into its own.
Creating a new hedge using mature container-grown plants can become expensive remarkably quickly. Bare root hedging allows you to plant a much longer stretch for the same budget.
The young plants are also easy to position at regular intervals and establish together.
They may initially require a little imagination. A row of small bare stems in February does not immediately suggest the lush green hedge you have in mind.
But gardening has always involved seeing what something might become.
With sensible planting, watering during dry spells and appropriate pruning, those modest young plants can gradually knit together into a dense, established hedge.
Better for wildlife, too
If you use bare root planting to establish a mixed native hedge, the benefits can extend well beyond the garden.
A hedge containing species such as hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, dog rose and field maple can eventually provide nesting places, shelter and food for a remarkable variety of wildlife.
Flowers provide nectar and pollen for insects, while autumn fruits and berries offer food for birds and other animals.
A boundary that began as a handful of seemingly unremarkable bare-rooted stems can, with time, become one of the liveliest parts of the garden.
Don’t forget the weather
There is one important qualification to the familiar advice to plant during winter: don’t plant simply because the calendar says you should.
If the ground is frozen, waterlogged or exceptionally wet, wait for better conditions.
Roots need contact with workable soil, and trampling saturated ground can damage its structure. A few days’ patience is generally much kinder to both the plant and the garden.
Once planted, keep an eye on moisture levels, particularly during the plant’s first spring and summer. Newly established trees, shrubs and hedging can still need regular watering during dry weather while their root systems develop.
A small beginning with plenty of promise
Perhaps that is the real appeal of bare root planting.
It asks us to look beyond what is immediately in front of us.
A bundle of twiggy stems becomes a hedge. A rather bare-looking young tree becomes somewhere to sit beneath. A dormant rose eventually covers itself in flowers.
Bare root plants are usually economical, straightforward to handle and available at precisely the time of year when planting them makes good horticultural sense.
So, if you find yourself looking out across the garden this winter and thinking there is room for another tree, a new hedge or perhaps a few more roses, don’t be put off by those apparently modest roots.
Some of the loveliest parts of a garden begin life looking remarkably unassuming.
Further Reading: My Garden Journal & Notes
