The Canning of Bareroot Trees
There are many successful techniques involved in the canning of bareroot. The following are recommendations based on Orange County Nursery's experience and those of our customers.
RECEIVING BAREROOT
- Before canning, store bareroot in moist coarse nursery sand, and/or, pine or fir chips. Trees may also be heeled-in in well draining sandy loam soil. All of these storage mediums should be previously irrigated, thoroughly moist, and well drained.
- We recommend that you "can up" your bareroot right away. However, as a general rule, trees can be canned up until the time when the buds begin to swell.
- It is recommended that you have your containers, boxes, and soil mix prepared before receiving your bareroot shipment. O.C.Nursery's bareroot trees can be shipped as early as mid December.
- When preparing your soil mix, the key is to achieve good drainage. Standing water at the base of the container can cause roots to sour. By far the greatest percentage of losses comes from roots being too wet.
- Currently at O.C. Nursery, Inc, we are using a mix of 25% coarse sand and 75% fir shavings, as our fruit tree mixture. In our shade tree mixture, we use 12.5% coarse sand, 12.5% top soil and 75% fir shavings.
- Before planting in containers, make sure mix is pre-moistened. Use of dry soil mix can suck the moisture out of the tree and damage small rootlets in a very short time.
- To make sure your planting mix is not harmful to your bareroot trees we advise getting your mix tested at a soil laboratory. We recommend; Wallace Laboratories or Soil and Plant Lab.
Pine and fir chips
Soil sandy loam
Sand coarse grade
Depending on what your local needs are, you may want to vary this basic mix somewhat. There are a number of items we do not recommend. Most of them have properties that are too strong for new forming roots and can lead to higher mortality.
ACCEPTABLE FOR MIX
perlite
vermiculite
peat moss
NOT RECOMMENDED
manures
cedar
redwood
green waste
mushroom compost
kelp
cotton gin waste
sewer sludge
TIPS ON PLANTING INTO CONTAINERS
- We recommend soaking roots in a large tub before planting to rehydrate the plants. Some nurseries add a fungicide as a preventive measure.
- Trees should be planted at the same depth as grown in the field. There is usually evident a faint line indicating where the soil level was. Roots should be near, or at the top of the soil surface. Never plant the tree graft below the soil level.
- It is best to plant on cool days. Cloudy or rainy days are ideal. If forced to plant on hot, dry, or windy days make sure to keep roots wet and covered. Do not bring too many trees out of the tub at once for planting. If you are growing trees where it is typically hot, dry and windy, we recommend spraying your trees once planted with whitewash to prevent sunscald.
- Avoid pruning roots. Roots serve several functions: such as anchorage, storage, absorption, and conduction. Pruning roots will inhibit one or all of these functions thereby affecting the survival rate of your trees. Prune roots that are broken, or so large that they cannot be bent to fit into the container.
- Most roots are flexible and do not require pruning. Simply cup roots with both hands and place them down into the container. This is less destructive than massive root pruning and will produce the best results.
- You should select the right size tree for your container. As a general rule, we recommend the following:
- ½", 5/8", ¾" caliper for 5 gallon containers
- ¾", 1", 1 ¼" caliper for 15 gallon containers
- 1 1/4", 1 1/2" caliper for 24" box - When canning into five and fifteen gallon containers, place tree carefully into the container, by grasping the root mass with both hands and lowering it. As you are shoveling in soil mix, gently compact soil with your fist around the root area. Afterward, lift the plastic container slightly (no more than 12 inches) and lightly let it drop. This should accomplish adequate compaction. The key is to achieve gentle compaction, while eliminating air pockets. Over compaction will not allow for good drainage and will restrict root growth.
- Do not fill the container to the brim with soil mix; allow room at the top for later irrigation.
- When planting bareroot trees into 24" boxes, the same procedures are followed. However, the soil is best placed in the boxes with aid of a front end loader. It helps to place a strip of used carpet around the trunk a nail a cross brace across the top of the box, to ensure more successful rooting. (When the tree move too much in the container small and newly formed roots can be torn and lead to longer rooting time). Once the trees are boxed and braced, you can use the front end loader to move the boxes to their new location.
- After the tree is planted, slowly water it in about 2 to 3 times, soaking the mix thoroughly. There should be little reason to water again until trees leaf out. Even under dry conditions, soil medium can hold considerable amount of moisture and may only be necessary to sprinkle the heads and perhaps the top one inch of the soil surface of the trees.
- It is a good rule to plant bareroot trees in blocks separated from established trees since they have different watering requirements until fully established in their containers.
- As trees begin to root and leaf out, do not be tempted to water too much. Even though soil may appear to be dry on the surface, the bottom of the container can have substantial moisture. A sure way to test soil moisture at this time is by lifting the tree and gently tapping the rim of the container until the container slips off. Then you may observe the soil moisture and the development of the roots. Of course, you can only do this if trees are partially rooted; this is usually after about six to eight weeks. Some customers check moisture up until the time the trees begin to grow by placing additional soil-filled containers without trees along side the planted trees in the block. In this way, they can dump out those containers at various times to check soil moisture, without disturbing roots. Since dormant trees do not transpire, the moisture in the "tree-less" containers will represent the moisture level within the soil of the newly planted trees. Once the trees leaf out, the need for the "tr ee-less" containers will pass and the trees can gradually be given more water as their foliage increases.
- In hot and dry, or windy conditions it is best to "can up" trees in a protected area. The trees need an opportunity to break dormancy and begin rooting and growing under even temperature and moisture levels. In hot and dry areas, some nurseries successfully use misters on the tops of the trees to help prevent dehydration.
 |
 |
 |
| (Fig. 1) Soak tree in a large tub to hydrate them. | (Fig. 2) Gather roots in hands when canning trees. Avoid root pruning. | (Fig. 3) Gently compact soil around roots with fist. |
MAINTENANCE OF NEWLY PLANTED BAREROOT
- Do not use fertilizer until trees begin to grow. We recommend light fertilization after trees begin to leaf out. (i.e. ½ dose of timed release fertilizer).
- If using a very light soil mix, sometimes securing tree with twine or wire between posts can prevent trees from moving too much in containers under windy conditions. Too much movement may slow down the rooting process.
- We recommend daily monitoring of your planted bareroot stock. Check to make sure trees are not being over watered or that after a rain your plants are not standing in water. A majority of tree failure is due to over watering.
The previous information is derived from our general practices here at Orange County Nursery, Inc. Each situation is unique and may require different adaptations of our practices. These are only guidelines, following them doesn't necessarily guaranty success. We, at Orange County Nursery Inc. make no promises about this information and accept no responsibility for its use or misuse.
