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| This year, I decided to try planting some bare roots. I tried:
Columbine
So far, the results are not so good. Siberian irises are definitely dead. The Rancuculus did come up but they haven't grown very well even in the sun. The columbines are the nost successful, but most are suffering leafminer damage (unrelated to the bare root). I think bare roots may not be for me. Paul |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by duluthinbloomz4 zone 4a (My Page) on Sun, Jun 10, 12 at 18:06
| Leaf miner isn't pretty; doesn't tend to do much harm to the columbine though. I'd bet there isn't a columbine alive that doesn't get a bit of leaf miner damage; the leaves might get a bit less attractive with the tunnels, but since the health of the plant isn't in jeopardy, chemical controls aren't recommended. I though Siberians were bullet-proof! Unless you really got bad rootstock to begin with. Too bad. I dearly love those, but I only have the royal blue Caesar's Brother and the white companion Snow Queen. They've been prolific over the years; much divided, repositioned, shared. Don't know from ranunculus. Closest thing I've got to that might be trollius - at least they're Ranunculaceae. |
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| Meh, I'd rather just buy the potted plant and be done with it - much less hassle, if you ask me, and not necessarily all that much more expensive, depending. I'm an instant gratification-type gal, though... |
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- Posted by lisanti07028 z6NJ (My Page) on Sun, Jun 10, 12 at 20:45
| Bare-root is a toss-up, and you are truly at the mercy of the sender and of the post office/UPS/FedEx. If the plants are packed well and shipped quickly, as most places do it, you're good. If they're thrown in a box unwatered and shipped on a slow boat, you just threw your $$ away. Have you tried emailing or calling the nursery? Most of them (the good ones, anyway) have policies in place for when plants arrive dead or die soon thereafter. I'm sorry about the loss of your plants; it is a frustrating part of gardening. |
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| The Iris forum indicate that it's not a good idea to get bare root siberian iris. If they dry out, they don't come back. In those case, they appear to be less hardy than german ones. As for leaf miners, my columbines are hit harder than usual. There's usually some leaf miner damage,but it looks like the whole leave is pale green. ranunculus is my attempt to grow annuals. They are not doing well. It could be that I am not watering them enough. Animals digging around doesn't help. Paul |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 11, 12 at 8:00
| in a garden ... mine ... where the theme might be ANYTHING BUT GREEN ... leafminer is a PLUS ... as .. in my garden.. it is considered VARIEGATION... lol ... as to bare root ... there is NOTHING that can not be be bare rooted .. but it is very dependent on shipping.. handling.. and the most important.. TIMING ... and SOURCE ... i think you are making overly broad conclusion.. on a very small sample ... of somewhat touchy plants and i really question your source ... this smells of a MI bulb order ... or big boxstore plastic bag stock .. and if i am right.. and this is how you chose the stock ... there might not have been much of a chance at success ... regardless .... of being bare root .. what was the source of these plants??? ken |
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| I frequently will buy a box from Costco, and am usually well satisfied with the results. For best results they should be purchased as soon as available. This year I bought Phlox, Ranunculus and Acidanthera. I lost a few Phlox, my fault, should not have been planted out so early. Same with the Ranunculus. With the Acidanthera all 120 grew. So little money is involved, I don't mind losing a few. Al |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 11, 12 at 11:20
| I think it's a travesty that they even attempt to sell Columbine this way. They're so easy to grow from seeds, and notoriously don't transplant well, and such a short-lived plant. Aren't siberian iris usually available with the other bulbs in the fall? I also see them in stores potted & blooming in the spring. |
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- Posted by duluthinbloomz4 zone 4a (My Page) on Mon, Jun 11, 12 at 12:05
| Siberians are pretty common staples in most garden centers, but not necessarily the Big Box ones. A pot of them - in a handful of years - will provide enough stock to plant around the garden. They're thrifty and bloom on quite small divisions. With respondents in different hardiness zones, availability times probably vary. We get them in the spring here; potted, never as bare root. As for columbine; I've tried the hybrids with no success. I've got Aquilegia Canadensis which I do not believe can actually be killed. LOL |
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- Posted by buyorsell888 Zone 8 Portland OR (My Page) on Mon, Jun 11, 12 at 12:20
| Consider the source! IF you bought in little packages from big box stores or on clearance sale from a mail order nursery then they were likely dead before you planted them.... |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Jun 11, 12 at 15:28
| I was posting from the standpoint of living in zone 5b for decades, haven't tried any of these here, sorry for any confusion. |
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| Most of the time I see bare root plants in big box stores, they are dead. Good packaging, though, with nice pretty pictures, which is what you are paying for. |
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- Posted by Donna.in.Sask 2b (My Page) on Wed, Jun 13, 12 at 12:21
| When you first start out, lots of gardeners buy whatever is packaged nicely without much thought to the actual condition of the product. If you are buying those packaged bulbs and roots from the big box stores, you'd best get them when they first come in, they certainly don't take any care of them; often they are dried right up and then buyers wonder why the plant didn't come up? From my experience, these bareroot plants are often mislabeled. If I want to make sure I get the right plant, I buy from a nursery, preferably in-bloom if colour is important. |
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- Posted by echinaceamaniac 7 (My Page) on Wed, Jun 13, 12 at 13:27
| I hate places that send bare root plants. I will not order or accept them if they send them now. They never grow. Even bare root roses don't do as well. |
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| It is hard to disagree that potted plants are much better than bare root. Ironically, some of my best plants were pitiful bare root babies when I bought them. Some examples: 1. Clematis Marmori. I bought it at Walmart in about 2003 when I had no clue about growing Clematis. It was a 2" bunch of roots with a single white potato-like eye. I potted it. It was barely growing for 3 years and became a NOID for me. Two years ago, when I already had more than 60 Clematis in my garden, I started looking for Marmori online. I did not have any luck. Last year, a NOID Clematis planted next to the fence at the most non-prominent spot started blooming. I realized it is a Marmori bought almost 8 years ago! This year, it blooms its head off with lovely and very distinctive flowers. A winner! Will move it the well deserved front row this fall :) 2. Tree Peonies bought from Van Bourgondien. 1 year old grafted sticks, 50% were dead upon arrival (returned to the seller after some fight). The price was about $8 per stick. Here are those that survived:
3. Clematis 'Viennetta'. Bought from Park's online sale at 50% off. They are not hardy in my zone. I killed 2 Viennettas and 1 Florida sieboldii at the time I bought this bare root one, so I did not hope for anything. I did not pot it up, I planted it directly in the garden - close to the house wall. Can you imagine how thrilled I was when it showed up the next spring after planting???
These are my little miracles. If you see a rare plant for a really low price, give it a try. Even if it is a bare root. |
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- Posted by duluthinbloomz4 zone 4a (My Page) on Wed, Jun 13, 12 at 14:02
| I bought a bag of bare root peonies from Walmart several years ago - could see through the plastic they had the "hey, I'm alive" pink buds. Though characteristicly and expectedly mislabeled, they're actually quite nice - all bloomed the first season, and every season since. We each have our own way of acquiring plants. Not every good plant is an expensive mail order plant. And yes, I know that is the only way to get certain things when the unusual, the rare, or the exotic, etc. aren't readily found even at the best nurseries available to you. |
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