I haven't been planting a lot of bareroots lately. In the past I did. I planted early (two weeks before usual daffodil time), I mounded, and I waited for the new growth to grow through the mound. I didn't remove the mound until danger of rose-damaging freezes was past. This worked reliably. I assumed the main value of the mound was protecting the new basal growth from frost. Probably there is not a great deal of moisture lost through the cane stubs, compared to open leaves. In the case of very late planting of bareroots (May), mounding might help keep the plants cool and moist.

This year I planted a few bareroots but later than usual, lateness made more so by the forward spring. I did not bother to mound, but did spray the stubs with Wilt Pruf. Two of the plants are not starting well; however, these were underdeveloped plants to begin with. So this observation runs opposite to Seil's. Small sample size in either case.

Seil is not the only grower to plant bareroots successfully without mounding. You would need a scientific trial to determine whether mounding is helpful and under what circumstances.

To be fair, in the past, my mounded bareroots had to contend with some freezing night-time temperatures. And some of my mounded bareroots did fine. In contrast, my current (unmounded) bareroots have had no bad weather of any kind (due to this unprecedented early spring) and they are all doing fine.

I'm not sure what to make of all this, but I tend to be just a bit suspicious of all the mounding advice and cautions. Maybe--or maybe not.

Kate

I don't recall which vendor recommending covering the canes with mulch... but years ago I remember reading this and always cover the canes with some mulch, but the mulch only stays on for 5-7 days after planting. It's a light layer of mulch, and the tops of the canes get sun. I don't put so much mulch on that the rose is smothered. It's a light cover.

I don't mound bareroots with soil, that might pack down a lot, I use shredded mulch which is kind of "fluffy".

The mulch protects the new shoots from heat, cold and wind.

Since the light layer of mulch is there for only a few days, I don't think it promotes canker.

The bareroots are shipped in wet plastic bags, and this doesn't harm them, so a few days with a bit of mulch piled up doesn't seem to add excessive moisture.

I grow roses in the ground, not in pots, so I've not tried this with a potted rose...

There are a variety of methods to plant a bareroot, and folks should use the technique that they feel most comfortable with.

This technique has worked for me, and I get excellent results with this method; but some might prefer to use another technique.

I don't soak bareroots anymore, as the soil is wet from snow melt in the spring. This works for me, but might not work for others...

I only mound or cover with white plastic bags when I get an order somewhere that is threatening me with death -- black canes on arrival, horrid dry looking roots or some such. Or I use it if I have something that is just not sprouting for me after a couple of weeks of being planted. I've "saved" alot of roses this way. But I don't do it if I get healthy fresh plants from somewhere -- then it is not usually necessary.

And I don't do both -- mounding and bagging. I think the bagging is probably more successful for me than mounding -- probably because the light is better, but I only bag when I know the temps will stay below 70 degrees. You could cook your new plant growth if it gets too hot in the bag, and it does tend to make a little greenhouse in there that can get hot quick. If it is not a cool time of the year, then I mound, if some extra boost is needed, because there are no worries about cooking the plants that way. The whole point of either exercise is just to keep the canes from drying out -- due to wind or temps -- before the plants get a chance to get some nutrition from newly forming feeder roots.

It would also probably work to aim a daily sprinker at them or to use a wilt-proof or cloud-cover type product. Same goal.

I've been using the free cardboard envelopes that the post office gives you for priority mail for holding the mulch piles in place -- just cut off the bottom edge and it's the perfect size to surround an average bareroot. And I leave some green canes sticking out and also pull it back frequently to see if I am getting "ignition." Then when I see the growth, off the mulch comes. Thus, this method requires more vigilance and work, which is another reason to prefer the plastic bags.

The plastic bags I use are the ones the Veterans of Foreign Wars leave on my doorstep soliciting clothing donations. Those are big and work just fine -- otherwise you can use trashcan liners that are white -- but the VFW bags are better.

Kathy

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who doesn't mound, Kate. I learned how to plant from my Grandmother and Mom and they never did (they never planted the graft below ground either) so I've just always planted they way they taught me.

Krista, I used paper because at the time that was what someone on here had recommended to someone else who had asked about planting. It was an experiment to see which worked better. The Dick Clark that I bought at the same time and did not mound and cover leafed out right away.

I did try a plastic bag tent once, Kathy. It was several years ago on a bare root of Canadian White Star I had gotten from Hortico that absolutely refused to leaf out. When I called them they suggested tenting it so I did. It never did leaf out. Nor did the replacement they later sent me so I gave up on the rose. I think it's a gorgeous rose but it's a notoriously UN-vigorous one! So I guess that's not a very fair trial of the method.

1) Keep the canes moist and prevent them from drying out, and
2) Protect the plant from those often "oops" events of hard frosts after Spring has supposedly begun.

The use of the paper bag concentrates heat and drying out when a warm spring has begun. If cooler, it concentrates the possibility of fungus growth like Botrytis, which is the primary method of cane rot.

Like others, I have mounded with pine bark mulch and never lost a bare root. Only when other complications came into play was there the infrequent circumstance when the rose died - several years later, never in the first.

Ken, I know you recently moved from FL to GA, did you mound in FL? As for photos, I think you have to have them on a photo storage site like Photobucket to post them here. Once they're on the photo site you can copy the HTML code and then paste it into your post. I don't think facebook gives you a HTML code that you can copy so I don't think you can post from there.

I always soak mine before planting too, Jeff.