An explanation of bareroot plants
What are bareroot plants?. All plants sold on www.himountainnativeplants.com are bareroot. I will try to explain what the term means.
Nursery stock comes in different ways. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. Most plants sold at retail nurseries are potted. The advantage of potted plants is they can be sold in full foliage and flower. They can be transplanted at any time. They are bought at the time when everyone is in the mood for working in the garden and they can see what they are getting. Good results can usually be obtained with potted plants with reasonable care.
The disadvantages of potted plants especially for the retail nursery or landscapers they take up a lot of space, are labor intensive to process, cost more to ship and cost the customer more. Not all plants are available potted.
Bareroot plants are plants that are dug during the dormant season and have had most of the soil removed from their roots. Since they are dormant, they can be stored for as long as needed until they are planted. Since they are not actively growing and have no foliage ,they do not experience transplant shock when planted.. Good results can be obtained with bareroot plants if done properly.
The season for handling bareroot plants is different than for potted plants. They must be transplanted or potted while still dormant. Shipping begins in August or September .The peak shipping season is late winter and early spring , before active growth starts.
It is normal for plants to have a visible sprout which they develop shortly after setting seed and going dormant. This is next years growth developing. As the growing season approaches this emergent tip becomes longer. Eventually it will protrude out of the ground shortly before active growth begins. In early spring it is possible to uncover the leaves to reveal the emergent tips of the native wildflowers that are waking up in anticipation of spring.
The perennial woodland wildflowers such as Virginia bluebells, trillium grandiflorum, may apple, maidenhair fern do very well shipped and planted bareroot.
They cost less to ship and cost less to purchase. They also take up less space while they are being processed. All things considered bareroot plants are the most cost effective way to obtain wholesale native plants .