Re: bare root

Hi,

Thanks for this good letter, do you have a price list catalog I might have?
If it's on the computer could you email it to me?
Thanks,  Kris

Meum71@aol.com wrote:
> 
> There are a number of factors that can influence the choice on whether to by
> bare root verse container grown plants mail order.
> 
> 1) Cost-it is more or less less expensive to send a bare root plant than a
> potted one.
> 2) Size-Bare root plants should be larger. So if planted and taken care of for
> a few weeks after planting should be larger and more mature than small potted
> plants.
> 3) When shipping plants that are dormant it is easier to see if the plant is
> alive and in good shape before shipping while it is in a bare root state as
> apposed to a potted plant.
> 
> There are a number of factors that also influence whether it is better to buy
> bare root verse potted.
> 1) Some plants do not transplant to well when bare rooted.  As a general rule
> I would prefer to ship those plants that have above ground basal foliage with
> fine fibrous roots systems as potted plants. Those plants with large below
> ground stems or large storage roots do very well bare root.
> 2) Potted plants can be cheeper to produce than bare root plants, Most bare
> root plants are field grown. They must be planted and allowed to grow for a
> year or two then dug and sorted then stored and then prepared for shipping.
> Potted plants are planted into a pot from a plug and grown until it's time to
> ship them.  Some go threw a dormancy period before shipping-but its less labor
> than field grown plants.
> 
> I ship many plants bare root out of one gallon containers or 5.25" square
> pots. These have some of the best of both worlds -- a complete root system for
> quick growth once the plants are planted. Plus lower shipping costs.
> Many plants I ship are bare root field grown plants with tops cut off and
> roots trimmed back-these are larger plants than potted material BUT they do
> need a little more care for the first four or six weeks. Bare root plants need
> to be planted at the right depth and they need to be watered until they get
> going. These are the reasons people fail at bare root perennials-One they do
> not know how to plant them and they do not water in a consistent fashion.
> 
> Potted plant have these positive factors effecting their use.
> 1) they do not need to be planted right away. You can take them and set them
> aside for months if you need to as long as you water. Bare root plants NEED to
> be planted right away or kept in the fridge for a short time until planted.
> 2) Potted plants kind of take the guess work out of how deep to plant--just
> make a hole about twice the size of the pot--remove the plant- brake up the
> plug a little and plant the same depth as they were in the pot, just add a
> little dirt over what they were and that's it.  They still need to be watered
> but it is not as critical as bare root plants because they have a root system
> that already has established feeder roots.
>  I also like shipping potted plants because I do not have to worry that if
> they get delayed in the mail-they will dry out or rot.
> The last year or two I have been buying from other sellers to see how they
> ship and what size plants they ship. I have been disappointed many times with
> the size of plants I get for the dollar. Some have been good but I have
> noticed a tendency. The fancier the catalog the less quality for of the
> dollar. This understandable, they spend 3-4 dollars making a catalogue and
> sending it out -- then they cannot use that money on there plant material. I
> have found that I get better plants from my wholesalers than I do from those
> fancy mass marketed catalogs.
> 
> Forgive me if this is a little disorganized- I am just putting this to gather
> off the top of my head.
> But I hope it's clear enough to be understood.
> 
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