When the Other Half volunteered his time this year at the Mayor’s Greening Initiative, a spring day in which our little city plants trees with the Parks department, he was sent home with a free tree. He texted me about what tree to choose for the Lot when I was heading into a Bare Roots class. While waiting for the class to start, I frantically looked up all the tree names he was sending to me. After a quick check with my instructor, we selected a serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis). For years I’ve been obsessing over getting a serviceberry tree, and now it was going to happen.

Bare Roots… For Tree Planting?

Cut to a couple of years ago when Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott was the keynote speaker at the Smart Gardening conference. If you want some hardcore science to side-dress your gardening, she is the lady to see. I enjoy reading The Garden Professors, an online garden/science blog to which she is a contributor. One of the topics she covered at the conference was root washing and pruning of container-grown and ball/burlap trees before planting to improve their chances to thrive.

As mentioned in my post about going bare root with perennials, the thought of doing this to a tree TERRIFIES me. Human emotion and science have a history of not always mixing very well. However, the more and more I read about Chalker-Scott’s experiments in root washing, the more it completely made sense (and had the science/results to back it). Then it just so happened, my friend Miss B had the opportunity to join instructor Bert Cregg of Michigan State University in a study of the cost and benefits of pre-plant root manipulation. So, fast forward to this past weekend and I’ve finally summed up enough courage to root wash the serviceberry before planting!

Behind the Potting Medium Curtain

After proposing the experiment to the Other Half and getting his okay, I set to work on the serviceberry. The tree we had received was in a container, so it wasn’t very huge or awkward to handle. Here’s what I found when I pulled the tree out of the container.

The roots didn’t look packed into the container and growing out the bottom, which is something I run into often when purchasing annuals in the spring. It did seem the tree was sitting too deep into the potting medium because the root flare, the area of the trunk where it begins to flare out into supporting roots, was non-existent.

So, feeling a bit less anxious I would have to get aggressive with roots, I began to excavate in search of the root flare. This involved me tapping the root ball on a tarp to shake loose the potting medium. Soon I had a rat’s nest of roots refusing to let go of any more potting medium. UGH. I pulled out a tub and headed over to the outdoor tap. My shot at root washing was going to happen after all.

Finding the Root Flare on a Serviceberry

I began by pouring some water over the top of the root ball. As the water revealed more of the roots, I already noticed a problem. The side branch of the service berry had been under the potting medium for so long it had grown its very own roots! A watering can later and still no sign of a root flare. However, the trunk itself had grown roots. Did this tree even HAVE a root flare?! Was I missing something?

With curiosity winning over caution, I plunged the whole root ball into the container of water and began working the medium loose with my fingers. Finally, I found it. The root flare had been located. The flare is used as a guideline to plant a tree at correct depth. With the difference in coloring on the trunk as an indicator in the photo below, notice how deep this serviceberry was buried in the potting medium.

Correcting Girdling Roots

With the flare located, I set to work on pruning the roots. This was the part of my backyard experiment that really set me on edge. However, if left unaltered, the roots already bending and circling around the tree would continue to do so. The roots would thicken, become larger, and eventually strangle the tree like a self-made noose.

A bit of fussing with the roots now would allow the tree to grow an outward-branching root system. This healthier root systems in turn allots the tree a stronger chance of thriving moving forward. So I set to work removing roots with my pruners at the point they bent around the trunk. Since the container and tree were still small, this often meant removing the root where it emerged from the trunk.

Eventually with a snip here and a snip there, the majority of the curving roots had been removed. I felt it was time to get this little tree planted in the garden.

Bare Root Planting a Tree

I dug a wide hole deep enough for the root system to sit within, the roots splayed outward and slightly downward. The Other Half held the tree upright with the bottom of the trunk perched on a small mound of soil at the center of the hole. The root systems of trees don’t mimic the canopy underground. Instead, the roots of tree look as if they fill a shallow (in comparison to the height of the tree/canopy), wide dish. We used the newly exposed root flare as the marker for how deep to plant the serviceberry.

I didn’t add any compost or fertilizer to the planting hole. There are some great articles over at the Garden Professors blog about why it may not be necessary. The chips that had been sitting at the top of the container were dumped around the newly planted tree.

Then I added a nice layer of wood chip mulch to help hold in moisture and keep the soil cooler against the heat of the upcoming summer season. Now, Dr. Chalker-Scott would throw up a red flag here because she has run studies on the benefits of mulching with arborist chips. However, I still have not made time to locate a source for small quantities in our little city. Gardening always quite literally offers room to grow, right?

Monitoring a Bare Root Planted Tree

The serviceberry, with corrected roots, was now snug against native soil on The Lot. I needed a drink. The process of root washing and pruning took a lot longer than I had thought. However, I believe the main reason behind this to be my own nerves and hesitation.

SUMMER IS COMING and now it is our responsibility to baby this little tree until autumn. We will be giving it long, deep drinks of water. Since the tree will be stressed, it is more vulnerable to pests and diseases. I’ll be monitoring for this and will share anything I notice.

When I began gardening, I had many different fears of killing the plants I purchased. I did kill a handful each season. As I learned more about gardening, the seasonal number of untimely deaths in the garden declined. Fun Fact: I still kill a plant or two during a growing season. Always learning, right?

Fear of Harming Roots

My number one fear, and I’m still a tad anxious about it now, is harming the root structure of plants. When I first put the plant in the ground, or when I move the plant because I want it somewhere else, I worry about tearing and breaking important roots. I mean, those are a necessary part of the plant! So when I found out MSUE was having a Bare Root Plants class to accompany their Bare Root Plants Sale, I immediately signed up.

How are Bare Root Plants Different than Container-grown Plants?

Unlike container-grown plants, bare root plants are grown outside the greenhouse in fields. From the beginning their roots are closely acquainted with soil instead of container media. This allows the plant to grow strong, healthy roots without being restricted by the size of a container.

The field grown plants are also already acclimated to the growing cycle (seasonal weather and temps) in the area. The autumn before being sold, the plants are lifted from the ground, the soil shaken off, and the plant carefully put into sawdust and cold storage. In the spring, there is no fear of frost nipping lush greenhouse-grown leaves. Bare root plants are naturally waking from dormancy.

Why Go Bare Root?

Beyond healthy plants with a leg up on getting a good establishment in your garden, bare root plants are:

• Sustainable
• Contain Little Extra Packaging
• Earth Friendly
• More Affordable, Saving a Gardener $$$ (Unless you are like this gardener and buy more plants with the $$$ you saved.)

How to Plant Bare Root Plants

1. Soak Roots: When you receive your plant, if the roots are dry at all they can be soaked overnight. If the plant is left longer in the water, there is a point where it will begin to rot.
2. Prepare Site: Loosen a broad, shallow area of soil where the plant will be placed. The plant roots will grow laterally as well as downward.
3. Situate Roots: Place the plant in the prepared area, fanning out the roots. Some plants’ roots will naturally have held the shape they were growing in the field. Follow what you can observe from the plant instead of fighting it.
4. Correct Depth: When the plant is brought out of storage, it will begin to bud. Make sure the buds set at soil level or slightly above as the plant will settle over time.
5. Water: Water the plant in well. This will help the soil settle in around the roots.
6. Mulch: Consider mulching around the plant to stop weed seed germination, retain moisture, and provide a buffer for the roots.

Post Planting Tasks for Bare Root Plants

Any plant placed in a garden will need some aid during its first season or two. It has a lot to do when becoming established. To help a plant along, you could give it a slow release fertilizer. The “slow release” is important as it makes nutrients available to the plant in gradual doses. Five to six months is good. Reading the label on the fertilizer package will help you identify a fertilizer with these traits.

If the plant immediately leafs out and Spring weather is still chilly, consider a liquid feed for the plant. Cool soil inhibits nitrogen uptake from soil to plant.

How Do Bare Root Plants Perform?

Planting, potting up, or healing in bare root plants soon after you bring them home is important. Leaving them in any plastic bag they were shipped in could cause mold as the plant respirates and moisture collects in the bag. Leaving them out could cause the roots to dry out.

If taken care of an planted correctly, our instructor said we can expect most of the plants to Sleep their first season, Creep their second season, and Leap their third.

Bare Roots for The Lot

Here are the bare root plants I selected for The Lot this season:

• ‘Black Gamecock’ Louisiana Iris
• ‘Midnight Masquerade’ Penstemon
• ‘Lavender Bubbles’ Allium
• ‘Purple Illusion’ Veronica
• ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ Nepeta

We’ve been having frigid temperatures for a bit now, but yesterday brought a winter storm. Snow doesn’t bother me too much. It brightens what can be a very dreary palette on the Lot at this time of year. Plus, the snow cover provides a layer of protection between the plants and the freezing air temperatures.

However, all the snow arrived over a 24 hour period. This causes a bit of stress on our little city as the plows struggle to keep up with the snowfall.

Oh, and it’s still snowing.