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When to plant bare root trees?

 
Posts: 61
Location: LAS VEGAS BABY - NM! USyA!
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I realize that we often need to use the phrase - “it depends”. But generally speaking, there may be a wide envelope of time to plant bare root trees. Does it depend on the species more so than the climate zone? Can planting be done in late fall versus late winter?
 
pollinator
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Location: Massachusetts, Zone:6/7 AHS:4 GDD:3000 Rainfall:48in even Soil:SandyLoam pH6 Flat
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Your soil never freezes so you can plant it year round.
You don't really have a wet season where it could survive without any watering so without any preference you can plant it year round.
You do have a time of the year where plants are most likely to die (110F summer) so I would recommend not planting it then.
Generally it would be best to plant it during fall and spring, aka the time when it would be leafless in your area, with an extra month in both the fall and spring.


Edited because I thought you were in Nevada-Las Vegas
The best time to plant it is anytime between fall and spring when the plant is dormant as long as the ground isn't frozen.
Your wet season is also between fall and spring, so planting in fall would give the root a chance to grow and expand before the plant leaves out in the spring

But to give you a short answer October-December and March-May is the best time. But anytime that your nursery will ship your plants is a great time to plant it.

 
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The general rule of thumb is that bare root trees can be planted when they are dormant. This is easy to tell with deciduous trees as it's when they don't have any leaves. Evergreens are a bit harder but, generally, you can plant them when there are no leaves on the evergreens! Here in Scotland the saying is that you can plant when there is an R in the month (i.e. September to April), but the exact months will vary with your climate. Some nurseries use cold stores to extend the period of dormancy, and forestry planting goes on into May here these days. Planting in fall (known as back end planting) can be an advantage as some trees will put on a little root growth in this period.
 
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most of the responsible sellers and shippers of bare root trees and plants only ship in months when everything is dormant.
 
Rojer Wisner
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Yes, not NV but NM - the original Las Vegas USA. Much smaller and less exciting. I’m in the Sangre De Cristo Mts ~ the southern end of the Rockies. I’m sitting at 6,800’. I have evergreens all over the place and no deciduous trees. I want a food forest and I want to make the most of the small amount of funds I currently have available. Last year it got down to -17F. So I think I’ll wait until late winter.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
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Oh, hey, Rojer! I'm in Silver City. Not quite as cold here,  at 6k elevation. A few things...

When you can get the trees is going to be a limitation. I find that a lot of nurseries send them out a bit late in the Spring. I usually get them in April or late March at best, and that's really a bit late.   We can go from snow in March to hot and dry in April and often that heat is just A LOT for a new tree. I think the sun is more intense at higher elevations and that really makes a difference and causes young trees to struggle to survive, whether you're providing them with water or not.  (And NM sun is already intense. ) This year, the things I planted earlier (fig, serviceberries, Nanking cherry, apple) all did remarkably better than the cherry tree that came late in April (struggled and died). April -June EVERYTHING struggles here...well, except the cactus.  

I don't know about you, but we actually got a really decent monsoon this year for the first time in forever.  I ended up buying some trees locally and some off of Etsy and just putting them in the ground (July and August) because it was warm,  cloudy, and plenty of moisture for once.  They did really well. I kind of feel like this year monsoon was for me what Spring is for most people. It's only just getting cold now, but I feel like these plants had a really good chance to establish before winter and I have high hopes that they'll make it through.  A good handful of those were bare root. (Pecan, Rosa rugosa, hazelnut, dogwood).  

After everything that has worked for me and everything that hasn't, I'm currently tending to favor fall planting because my biggest worry is the heat, sun,  and wind that happens in the spring. But I was surprised how hard it is to get hold of fall plants.  I ordered in the summer and can't get much anything until next spring.

However, we don't get nearly as cold as you do. I think that if you choose plants that are hardy to your zone that shouldn't be a problem. But if the plant is at the edge of your zone, be extra careful. I was told by a nursery person to assume that a first year plant will be one zone less hardy. She said that I could grow a plant on in a pot for one more year to make sure it could handle the cold here before I put it in the ground.   With some plants that's not possible, but if it's on the edge, make sure to provide a lot of winter protection.

If you're worried about the cold,  I would also consider the planting location carefully and choose a microclimate that can keep it warmer.

I know you have some differences from my climate, but being that you are not that far away, I would really caution you to be wary of the spring. That's the first advice I would give to anyone if they were planting here in Silver.  If I was in doubt, I would hedge on the side of planting early rather than planting late.

Incidentally,  I read that you can plant bare root trees any time the ground is unfrozen enough to dig a hole.

Hope this helps!
 
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If you have severe winters, planting in the Spring after the severe freezes have past is usually best. Generally the summers will be mild and not as stressful for the trees, but the severe cold is more likely to damage a new tree planted in the Fall.

If you have severe and hot summers, planting in the Fall when the trees go dormant is usually best, as it gives the trees a chance to root during the milder winters, and get established and ready for the more stressful hot summer period.

Best of luck with your trees!

Steve
 
Rojer Wisner
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Thank you @Trish and @Steve.
A neighbor of mine once tried planting a few trees but they all died. I will need to get more specific details of their experience. Trish, thank you for the tree types you mentioned. I’ll look into their information. I think my closest nurseries are in Santa Fe. I have yet to visit them as I’d be tempted to spend money I don’t yet have.
That should change soon.

I’m thinking that a tube of chicken wire around newly planted trees, filled with an abundance of straw might help with both minimizing damage from cattle, cold and deer. That is, once I am able to acquire the trees.

 
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I would be concerned that the straw enclosed in chicken wire around the trunk might provide a "perfect" home for rodents - with your tree as breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This is my "gut" talking - no experience with this way of insulating a tree; but I do know a lot about mice/rats/voles...and I fear they would LOVE this set up.

 
S Bengi
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When to plant a plant a fruit tree isn't just limited to which month to plant tree. We could also expand it and say what should we prep before we plant a tree. And this is how I would prep/fee the soil before I plant:

Waterworks/Earthworks: put in swales/infiltration ditches/depression/ drip-irrigation/etc
Mulch: this cut down evaporation, increase inflitration, soil tilt, soil carbon, soil life, soil food
BioChar: the microscopic pore provide home for soil life aka good microbes/probiotics
Mineral: it's possible your soil needs tiny adjusting
Legumes: 80% of your entire site "should" be covered with alder/alfalfa/dutch clover/etc
Soil Aerators: tillage radish, die yearly and leave a nice hole for the tree roots/water/soil life
Soil Life: aerated compost tea, mushroom slurry, top dress compost, etc

After about a year of the above I then like to plant the fruit trees.
 
Alan Carter
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Lorinne Anderson wrote:I would be concerned that the straw enclosed in chicken wire around the trunk might provide a "perfect" home for rodents - with your tree as breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This is my "gut" talking - no experience with this way of insulating a tree; but I do know a lot about mice/rats/voles...and I fear they would LOVE this set up.



Indeed. Here voles sometimes learn that they can chew their way into the plastic tubes that trees are often planted in. Once in they get a warm, dry home with built-in food!
 
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I am having this conundrum (when to plant bare root trees) at this very moment.

I ordered some online. They arrived today, early February. I am in zone 7b and while the low tonight is in the 40s, it will occasionally drop below freezing over the next 2 months. The top 2 inches or so of ground freezes. I had emailed the vendor I bought them from yesterday asking if I should plant them right away or not. They came today and I got 5 of 7 in the ground, with mulch and chicken wire around them to protect them from deer/rabbits. Then the vendor emailed back saying I should pot them up and keep them in a shed/garage until after last frost date. So.... now what do I do? Does anyone have experience planting in the winter and having the trees survive frost? Should I leave them in, bulk up the mulch and cover them if forecast says it will drop below.... 32F? 25F? Advice appreciated!

In case its important, they are 3 apple trees, 1 plum and 1 apricot. The ones in the garage are pear.
 
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