Carla Burke wrote:I just got 4 tiny hardy kiwi berry bare-root plants in today's mail. I'm debating where to put them. It's hot out. It's going to get hotter... should I put them into bigger-ish pots, and keep them in the shade for now, to plant in a sunny spot, in autumn, after it cools down? I have no means of temporarily shading them, once they're in the ground, permanently they need sun, for growth & fruiting, right?
I've had some success with these requirements by planting behind on the north side of a crescent shaped compost hill of 18" high on contour around the drip line of my red pine. By tucking them into the bottom on the north side, they get some protection while young, but benefit from all the moisture and nutrients in the compost hill. I've done this with swiss chard and bare rose prunings and then abandoned them to the drought a couple of summers ago while I went up north and everything survived with no watering.
As for providing some shade, I have used roadside parasols that have seen better days to protect transplanted wild leeks and they all survive this way, ditto for hydrangea transplants onto little more than gravel.
Edit: I guess I should mention the idea of planting along the drip line is because that area gets more rainwater.
I hope this helps