I was told to soak the bare root for a few hours or a day in water before planting. Do you always soak your bare root trees before planting? Or can you get away with planting bare root without much soaking and just watering good.
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I always soaked for hour or so…
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I soak, but not for very long - just while I’m preparing the planting holes. In all the years I have been doing it this way, I have yet to lose a plant or see any signs struggle.
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The length of soaking depends how quick the turn around is from opening the package and how moist they appear.
Ultimately they all end up in a bucket of water while I’m planting.
I’ll be soaking trees in a livestock watering trough while planting this spring, as there will be hundreds of bare root trees arriving at once.
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If the trees are healthy and the roots are moist it’s not so critical, but for trees with roots that are drying out or look weak they always get a good soak. I also soak the soil around the trees after planting if its not already wet.
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I don’t soak at all.
This is interesting to read. I was under the impression that soaking was mandatory for survival and have been overnight soaking for my 2 years of bareroot tree plantings. 1-3 hours for bushes or small bareroot plants. I’ll probably keep it up since it’s not hard to do, but good to know it’s not a requirement.
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No, I never soak them, and almost get 100% survival rate.
I soaked them once I got them. Soaked them until evening when it’s the best time to plant them.
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As mentioned, I’ve been overnight soaking, but I’ve never received a bareroot tree with green buds. Should I be concerned about 18 hr soaking awake bareroots?
I often park my new bare root Trees in my compost pile for a few days before planting…if it is too wet or dry or until I get a nice hole dug and ready for it.
I water them in good in the compost pile so no other watering or soaking is needed.
Other than that.. I will soak them about an hour in a 5 gal bucket of water… if they are getting planted same day.
TNHunter
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I do remember reading about research that it helps to soak them for at least 24 hours, but I just keep a garbage can full of water and place the roots first into that before bringing them to the specific area I’m planting them, using a wet sheet to keep them moist in the interim because we plant several per trip to the can.
On the other hand, I’ve accidentally left bareroot trees completely exposed for 24 hours where roots completely dried out and they survived. Hard to say if it mattered or not. It is fine roots that dehydrate quickly and they are for the most part already destroyed in the digging up and storage of bare root trees.
CHAT ALERT!
Horticultural advice often outruns the evidence. In this case, there is little to no strong research showing that soaking bare-root fruit trees before planting improves performance when the trees are planted promptly into moist soil.
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I don’t do long soaks, but I just put the trees in my 5g Lowe’s bucket about halfway full of water and carry that around as I dig and plant and water them in. So maybe an hour or more for the last tree I plant if I have a bunch.
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I do something similar. The bucket is both holding trees and holding the initial watering I give them after planting.. kill two birds with one stone.
If roots look dried out I will give them a longer soaking, or if I unpack them to inspect but don’t have time to plant right away.
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Yep, Fed two birds with one scone
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Thats a more pleasant variation.. all I need now is a variation on “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”, which I confess is one of my favorite phrases.
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Haha, I wish I came up with it. Heard it at work.
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I like “Time to fish or get off the pot”.
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My grandfather always said “no room to swing a cat” if it was a small space.
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I like “can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear” - my advisor taught me that one
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