Bareroot Basics

THE WHAT, WHY, WHEN, WHERE & HOW of BAREOOT FRUIT TREES

WHAT & WHY of BAREROOT
Simply put, bareroot trees are trees that have been removed from soil. Nurseries dig trees from in-ground beds after plants have entered dormancy. Choosing to buy bareroot trees & perennials gives you the BIGGEST root system for the lowest price. When planted & watered right a bareroot tree will establish faster than a container-grown tree. 

WHEN & WHERE & HOW
INITIAL PLANTING & WATERING
WHEN to PLANT, NOW, but if you can’t plant your tree right away, keep it moist! The roots should be kept in moist shavings, potting soil, or compost. Water them daily, and sprinkle the top as well. Then Plant ASAP!

WHERE to PLANT, good drainage and nearby water is key, what is easy on you is easy on the tree. 

HOW to PLANT
1. Dig a hole wide and deep enough to accommodate the roots without bending them, typically 3' wide by 18" deep. The graft union should be out of the ground a couple of inches. 2. Tug it up a little if it settles. You don't want the graft buried, and you don't want the tree in a low spot. It should be "crowned up" an inch or so.

3. Make a basin for watering by pulling excess soil to form a ring around the tree. 4. Water thoroughly again.

HOW to WATER
A bare root tree is dormant and does not have the ability to handle excess water. In fact with no leaves there is no photosynthesis and thus little water transpiration. The best practice is to water the newly planted tree thoroughly to settle soil and fill in any cavities. This should take one, maybe two watering’s. Do not water again until tree breaks dormancy and leaves open fully. This is when the tree will begin to use water and by then the feeder roots should have started to grow and will be requiring ‘normal’ watering. Normal is a subjective term depending upon soil types, wind and sun exposure, etc. and a physical check a few inches below the surface is the best method of determining moisture needs

“JARGON” words you may see and wonder about…

“Standard rootstock, Semi-dwarf, EZ Pick” There are some rootstocks that make a tree grow more slowly, but it still eventually gets to the same size. You still have to prune it. This is the key principle: you control the size of the tree by training and pruning. Size is controlled by pruning, not rootstock. Here are some terms you will see:  Standard rootstock: plant grows fast, three to five feet a year, 20-30' Tall. Semi-dwarf: plant grows slower, two to three feet a year, 12-20' Tall. EZ Pick: plant on standard or semi-dwarf rootstock has been headed back when young (by the grower) so that it branches low, 6-12’ Tall.

"Needs pollenizer" means the tree needs another variety of the same type of fruit. ("Pollenizer" is the other variety of tree; "pollinator" is the bee that does the work). It's not male or female (in most cases); it's that some varieties are self-sterile. Unless otherwise stated ALL trees we offer will yield a sufficient amount for the home gardener, the addition of a pollinizer will only increase yield, but is not necessary. This can be a confusing topic, because some varieties listed as needing pollenizers will actually set fruit without one: most apples and pears, for example. Commercial growers add pollenizer trees to increase or guarantee yield. Others definitely need pollenizers: pluots, some self-sterile apples, many cherries, and most Japanese plums. European plums don't. Santa Rosa plum is an excellent pollenizer for most other plums and for most pluots, and has great fruit as well. Apricots, figs, grapes, mulberries, most nectarines, most peaches, most persimmons, pomegranates, and quince never need pollenizers.

"Chilling hours" refers to the number of hours between 32 and 45 degrees that the variety needs in order to break dormancy and flower and set fruit properly. All varieties we choose to sell are right where we need to be in KS for chilling hours. The worst case scenario- We only will have issues if we have an abnormal warm winter, in that case some trees may not yield as much as normal.