Now is the time to plant your bare root trees. Here’s how to pick a good one
Bare root plants are young perennial deciduous trees, bushes, roses, vines and canes, usually two years old or less, that are sold in mid-winter when they are fully dormant. You’ll also find strawberry runners, asparagus spears and roots, and dormant artichoke and horseradish roots. The young roots are small and are packed for shipment in sawdust or a lightweight planting medium and therefore are bare of dirt. Bare root plants are usually cheaper than those sold in containers and, since they take up less space in the nursery, the available selection is greater. Many of the world’s best hybridizers and growers are located here in the Central Valley and we are fortunate to be able to choose from a huge variety of bare root plants suitable for our climate.
Because the selection is so large, it might be helpful to do a little online research before you go shopping. The University of California Backyard Orchard site, homeorchard.ucanr.edu/Fruits_&_Nuts, provides a wealth of information in various publications on choosing, planting and growing fruit and nut trees, berries and grapes. The Dave Wilson Nursery in Hickman, east of Modesto, grows and sells many of the bare root plants that find their way into our backyards. Their excellent, easy-to-use website, www.davewilson.com, is designed to educate home gardeners on all aspects of installing a home orchard, beginning with how to choose and plant bare root fruit and nut trees, berry canes, vines and flowering trees.
To help you make the best choice, here’s a quick primer on what to look for on bare root plant labels.
Planting zones: Our planting zones are zones 8 and 9 in the Valley and zone 7 in the foothills. These planting zones are from the Sunset Western Garden Book system and are more commonly used for plant labels than the USDA system.
Size at maturity: Measure the size of your proposed planting site. Even dwarf varieties can grow too large for a small space and may need expert pruning to maintain a small size.
Chill hours: This term refers to the number of hours annually of temperatures below 45 degrees. Many types of fruit and nut trees require 400 or more chill hours to produce a good crop. Our winters are short and mild and annual chill hours have been lower during these recent drought years. Chill hours in the Fresno area averaged only 200 last winter; ‘low chill’ varieties requiring 300 hours or less at 45 degrees might be the best choices for our areas. The UC Home Orchard site mentioned above provides a full-length (but easy to understand) explanation of chill hours as well as a list of fruit trees and their chill requirements. The Dave Wilson nursery list of available fruit and nut trees also includes the required chill hours.
Cross pollination: Several varieties of cherries require cross pollination by another type of cherry to produce fruit. Labels should indicate that the variety requires cross-pollination and give the names of the necessary varieties.
Petal count (on roses): Roses with more than 25 petals per blossom tend to tolerate heat better than those with fewer petals. There are always exceptions, of course. The Sally Holmes variety, for instance, has only five petals and blooms well throughout our long, hot summers.
More on choosing and planting bare root plants in next week’s column.