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redsun9

Growth and Chilling Requirement

I received a couple of bare root brambles. Since their permanent spots are not ready, I planted them in pots and store them in my basement. The temperature is about 55 F.

Some told me that if the chilling requirement is not met, then the dormant plants would not leaf out in spring. They will just die.

I know fruiting plants would not bear fruits if chilling requirement is not met. But do they die if chilling is not met?

Comments (10)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago

    No.......at least not immediately. If you were to maintain these plants at that temperature for multiple seasons, preventing them from fully experiencing a proper dormancy, then they would eventually decline and die. But as a temporary, single season measure, they should be fine.

    Is there not a cooler place you could store them? What about sinking the containers into the ground?

  • RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The garage is cooler. But I do not want to keep so many pots in garage.

    Or I can leave the pots outside, then cover to the top with wood chips.

    Or I can just plant them out in the field. But I just do not want the roots to grow longer, or hard to dig in spring.

    Or I dig a trench and heel the plants.

    I just want to over-winter the plants and re-plant them easily.

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    9 years ago

    The roots aren't going to grow in winter at least not enough to make them hard to dig come spring. They'd likely do better outside in a protected place covered with mulch. Heel them in and cover with the wood chips.

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    I have some bambles in the garage this year, and yeah it's full! Good luck with it! Yeah I too need to figure out where to put them. I think i found a spot, but now my plants outside are covered and protected so I'll put it in ground next year.

  • Sherwood Botsford (z3, Alberta)
    9 years ago

    Texas, eh? Setting them pot and all in the ground will be easiest to dig out in the spring. You can use your your vegie garden for this, since that will get all dug up again anyway.

    Fruit nut is only partially correct. Roots will grow until the ground temp drops below about 37. Not much, but it's there. This will make transplanting in spring somewhat harder. And if you don't get around to it, until June, MUCH harder.

    If your ground is already frozen then the garage is your next best bet. Most temperate plants need 400 to 1200 hours below 40 F (details vary) to break dormancy. Some will leaf very very late. Some won't leaf at all and will run on reserves until they do get a cold year. Some do the dormancy thing entirely on day length. You need to learn more about your particular bramble.

    Find out where it's native, or where it does really well, and do your best to immitate that places winter.

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    This will make transplanting in spring somewhat harder. And if you don't get around to it, until June, MUCH harder.

    Well I disagree with that. You could just yank them out of the ground plant them in broken glass and they will grow. We're talking brambles here. Some of mine were in the ground 3 years before I moved them. I would dig them up though, not just yank them out. That statement was for demonstration purposes only. Although important. Say your dog pulls them out. Don't discard, they will be fine!

  • clarkinks
    9 years ago

    If you put them outside and heal them in wrap the stem or in some other way protect them with wire etc. That's like waving a red flag in front of a bull to the rabbits etc. in Kansas. Our rodent population can wipe a new fruit tree planting out in a hurry. I grow a couple of acres of blackberries and they kill 5% a year or so by gnawing them during scarce food times such as heavy snow fall. I grow the thorny varieties.

  • fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
    9 years ago

    I agree Drew, anyone that can't dig out a bramble planted in Dec come next spring must be the 96 lb weakling we used to see in Charles Atlas ads.

    ClarkinKS are you saying rabbits will kill the plant or just the canes? They could chew my newly potted brambles off at ground level and I won't expect any plant losses as a result.

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    I don't really have a rodent problem at my house. Never even seen a vole here. At my cottage both mice and voles. There though lot's of food around. Millions upon millions of acorns, and other material. Some of the old oaks there produce inches of acorns around the tree.

  • clarkinks
    9 years ago

    "ClarkinKS are you saying rabbits will kill the plant or just the canes? They could chew my newly potted brambles off at ground level and I won't expect any plant losses as a result."

    They girdle fruit trees or plants which frequently kill them. If it's a blackberry bush I get lucky in most cases and they will come back from the roots but have then lost my fruit from those plants. It's just an acceptable part of growing fruit. The birds eat plenty of blackberries as well so I grow enough for them and me both. Blackberries spread through rhizomes fortunately. Trees I spray or paint with pruning compound or something similar to protect them every year until the trunk is hardened. We have rats , pack rats, mice , rabbits etc etc.. Deer killed one fruit tree this year with their horns which has not happened in the last 10 years. It was a seedling of a northstar cherry so it was a freebie. The snow drifted up on a red delicious that was 7 years old one year and they chewed it all the way down and did not leave a bit of bark anywhere they could reach.They girdle the elm trees as well as osage orange etc.

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