I have 3 bare root trees arriving this week. We are supposed to get heavy rain most of the week so they will need to hang out for 3 - 4 days prior to going in the ground. Any suggestions on how I can protect the roots during that time? I typically like to soak my bare roots in mycorrhizae and water for 24 hours before sticking them in. Is it possible to leave them in this solution for several days?
I wouldn’t if I were you. I would just get a pot or some other container and some potting mix/fine mulch/etc and heel them in that way. Keep them in a cool dark environment to prevent bud break and you should be fine.
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Retail nurseries around here keep bareroot trees in wet sawdust or in something that looks like very wet topsoil/compost mixture (of mud consistency).
It should come in plastic bag with damp medium around the roots. That should be good enough for few days as long as it doesn’t dry out. I would keep them where they won’t freeze or get too warm.
Bareroot trees sold at Home Depot have roots in a plastic bag with damp sawdust. The plastic bag is sealed by putting a collar around the bag and tree trunk. They keep them this way for a couple months.
Thanks for the ideas. The bare roots should be packed in plastic and I’ll dig up a bucket of soil to cover them for a few days. Nice suggestion.
Yeah if the rain should last several days you can keep them in whatever they are wrapped in outside. You can also put them in a bucket of water for day or 2 before planting to permanent spot.
It’s supposed to get below freeziing each night this week. If I leave the bare roots outside won’t that cause issues? I would expect the moisture on the roots to freeze and inflict pain?
You are over worrying. Well packed trees can be put in a cool place for 2 or 3 weeks without harm. I put them them in shade with a tarp over them- if necessary I cover them with leaves (hot spell or too cold) and sometimes wait a couple weeks before I plant.
What I mean is that you can just leave them in the box for a few days, no problem, if you just check them to see they are moist and well packed.
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Aha I thought it’s just going to rain (no freeze). If you are worried about the freeze just move it overnight to garage (if not too warm) or maybe put it right next to the house. I had to leave trees for 3 days before I could plant them and they all survived in bucket of water right next to the house (water didn’t freeze cause it was only few degrees below 32). Whatever you do just make sure the roots don’t dry out.
Two years ago it took about 2 weeks for few trees to get to me and when I got it the sawdust was almost dry, they all made it.
The trees will probably survive even if you leave them outside just in the plastic bag with sawdust. Last year I went to buy about 30 rootstocks to local nursery. The ground was frozen but rootstocks were just covered with soil (not too deep) so after some effort, the guy was able to pull them out. He sold them to me but he said he doesn’t like to do it cause the rest of them (they were in bundles of 50) might dry out since he wasn’t able to cover them with soil again. Anyway rootstocks all took even though roots were frozen so that shouldn’t be an issue 
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I’d just heel them in a wheelbarrow full of lose soil. They’ll be fine.
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Last year, I bought an Aprium and a Mulberry while in the midst of some backyard work which dragged on for a while. I healed in the trees in a pile of moist pine shavings from the stump grinding job. The pile was in complete shade as well. It didn’t rain during the entire time (about a month). The shavings stayed moist and the trees made it without any issues.
Now that I remember, I’d brought that Aprium from a nursery and drove for 1 hr+. The roots spent the journey in a plastic bag and in direct sun since the nursery wouldn’t help me pack it. Both trees have grown out and are thriving.
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You can leave them boxed laying horizontal on the ground against the north side of the house for 4 days easy. [theft?]
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You can plant them in the rain. [Muddy?]
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You can stick them in a garbage can, etc filled with water above the roots in the shade. [downside upright position, but 4-5 days shouldn’t matter] First they are dormant so their oxygen needs are minimal. Second, trees can adsorb oxygen from water like fish. So, like fish, they are fine until the oxygen in the water runs out—usually by the action of bacteria present.
I assume it is cold outside. I suspect any bacteria in the water will not multiply enough to exhaust the oxygen but you can either add a bubbler to keep anaerobic conditions from forming in the bottom or simply exchange the water once.
- You could heal them in on the north side of a structure (house). Dig trench deep enough to lay trees in a angle near horizontal with the ground, cover with soil, sand, mulch or any other matrix material that can hold the moisture against the roots.