Bare-root trees experience less transplant shock after planting, making them an excellent choice for home orchards and landscapes. Follow our detailed planting instructions and watch Katie’s simple video tutorial to learn how to plant a bare-root tree successfully.
Planting bare root fruit trees is an excellent way to start an orchard or add fruit trees to your landscape. Compared to potted trees bare root plants are cheaper and easier to transport. More importantly their roots establish and grow faster since they don’t have to transition from nursery soil to native soil. With the right planting methods and care, bare root trees thrive and bear abundant fruit.
What Are Bare Root Fruit Trees?
Bare root fruit trees are field-grown nursery trees dug up while dormant. Growers remove the soil from roots before shipping the plants. This allows packing trees close together to reduce shipping costs. It also prevents roots from drying out since bare root trees don’t lose moisture through porous nursery pots.
The main advantage of bare root fruit trees is the extensive root system Without restrictive pots, the roots grow freely. They develop into a dense mat of fine feeder roots essential for growth and fruiting. Pot bound trees often have circled or compacted roots unable to expand properly after planting.
Nurseries offer many fruit tree varieties bare root including
- Apple
- Apricot
- Cherry
- Fig
- Nectarine
- Peach
- Pear
- Plum
- Persimmon
Growers dig up one to three-year-old bare root trees in late fall or early spring when dormant. Planting the young trees while leafless and resting reduces transplant stress.
When to Plant Bare Root Fruit Trees
For highest survival rates, plant bare root fruit trees during the dormant season. In most regions, late fall after leaf drop or early spring before bud break are ideal.
Fall planting has these advantages:
- Trees develop roots through winter before spring growth starts.
- Soil moisture is plentiful in fall and winter.
- Cooler air temperatures prevent moisture stress.
Spring planting works best when soil is moist and frost risk is past. Plant trees as soon as ground thaws since delays can cause trees to break dormancy and suffer from being moved after leafing out.
Planting in summer or mid to late spring is risky due to heat, dry soils, and leafed out trees. However, providing shade, wind protection, and regular irrigation can allow later plantings to survive.
How to Plant Bare Root Fruit Trees
Follow these steps for successful bare root fruit tree planting:
Choose a Planting Site
- Select a site with full sun – at least 6 hours daily.
- Check for good drainage and fertile soil.
- Avoid low areas that collect frost.
- Give trees room to reach mature size.
Test Soil Quality
- Take soil samples from several spots around planting site.
- Send to lab for nutrient and pH analysis.
- Adjust pH and fertilize according to recommendations.
Prepare Planting Hole
- Dig hole 2-3 times wider than root ball but only deep enough to accommodate roots.
- Build soil cone in center of hole to prevent tree from settling too deep.
- Fill hole with water to check drainage.
Prepare Tree for Planting
- Unpack tree and place roots in bucket of water for 1-24 hours before planting.
- Prune any dead or damaged roots.
Plant the Tree
- Position tree on soil mound with graft union 2-3 inches above soil level.
- Arrange roots evenly and cover with soil halfway.
- Water gently, finish filling hole, and tamp down lightly.
- Do not amend soil in hole but mix in organic matter if needed to fill hole.
Complete Planting
- Water thoroughly to eliminate air pockets.
- Mulch 4-6 inches deep around tree but not touching trunk.
- Stake tree if needed for support.
- Prune tree back by 1/3 to stimulate new growth.
Bare Root Fruit Tree Care After Planting
Proper care during the first year ensures bare root trees survive and grow strongly.
Watering – Water regularly so soil stays evenly moist but not soggy. Water slowly and deeply.
Weed Control – Mulch and hand pull weeds to reduce competition for water and nutrients.
Fertilizing – Apply balanced organic fertilizer around tree after one year. Avoid high nitrogen.
Pruning – Prune only lightly in year one to shape tree and remove crossed branches.
Pest Control – Monitor for pests and diseases. Apply organic treatments promptly to prevent spread.
Trunk Protection – Paint trunk with white interior latex paint diluted with water to prevent sunscald.
Support – Use stakes in windy areas or for dwarf trees. Remove supports after 1-2 years once tree establishes.
Choosing Varieties– Select recommended disease-resistant, self-fruitful, and locally adapted varieties.
With proper planting and care, bare root fruit trees will reward you with abundant, delicious harvests for years to come. The initial effort in planting bare root trees pays off manifold when your home orchard starts producing its first fruits.
Purchasing and Transporting a Bare-Root Tree
Because they’ve never been in a container, these bare, young roots have not become circled or compacted and are often more fibrous.
- Look for a tree with well-developed, fibrous roots balanced evenly around an intact undamaged, tap root.
- After purchase, transport the tree with roots in damp compost, shavings, mulching material, or wet newspaper. Do not allow exposed roots to dry out.
- Store trees temporarily out of the sun and wind with roots covered in a moist material.
- If planting is delayed more than 2 days, heel-in trees—similar to planting—by sinking roots in a moist medium of compost, wet shavings, sand, garden soil, or a thick pile of wet leaves.
Wherever fruit trees are to be planted, evaluate the soil beforehand. It is critically important to know how easily the soil drains since trees will not survive in completely soggy conditions. Soil that remains saturated after rains is particularly troublesome to cherries and apricots, but saturation is a challenge for any kind of fruit tree.
- Select a site that receives 6-8 hours of sun a day where there is ample space for a tree’s mature height and width.
- Dig a hole 2-3 times as wide as roots extend but only to the same depth as the longest root, never deeper. A shallow hole prevents the tree from sinking too low.
- Fill the hole with water, allow it to drain, then fill again. If it takes longer than 3 or 4 hours to drain, the site is not adequate. Either select a different site or plant on a mound.
- If drainage is adequate, build a cone in the center of the hole with the excavated soil, leaving ample space all around where roots will spread. The top of the cone must not be below the soil surface, preferably 2-3 in. above to allow for settling.
- Keep in mind that promoting strong root growth and tree health begins at planting time. The goal is to encourage roots to grow out of the planting hole—both laterally and deeply—into the surrounding native soil with no amendment materials inside the planting hole. Amendments may be added to cover the top of the root area if you need extra material.
- If drainage is poor, dig a shallower hole so that the cone extends 4-6 in. above the surface so that most of the roots will spread out in a wide mound above ground level where drainage is adequate. Be sure to loosen all soil at ground level where roots will spread.
Plan in advance to remove roots from packaging material and to rehydrate. Soak them in a container for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Use a sharp tool to trim off any diseased, kinked, or broken roots.
- Place the trunk on top of the soil cone in the hole with the bud union or graft facing north to avoid sun-scald. To find the graft, look for a small jog on the lower stem, often where the trunk joins the roots, sometimes several inches higher up.
- Fan out roots over the soil cone, cover halfway with the excavated soil, and water gently.
- Finish filling the hole or covering roots on a raised mound; tamp the soil lightly, and water thoroughly but gently to eliminate any air pockets around roots. If the soil cone and stem have settled below grade level, gently tug the stem to lift it slightly and continue covering roots.
- If additional soil is needed, especially when mound-planting, mix one part native soil with an equal part of any amended soil to cover roots.
- Take care that no part of the stem will be covered with soil—only the roots.
- Scoop out a shallow, narrow moat encircling the planted area, about 8-12 in. from the trunk or as far from the trunk as the tips of the roots extend. Use this soil to finish covering roots if needed.
- Fill this moat when you irrigate. Water will filter down to fibrous roots as they grow outward and downward away from the trunk. Do not allow the root area to dry out.
- Cover the exposed surface area with 3-4 in. of compost or other mulching material to help preserve soil moisture, leaving a 4-6 in. area exposed around the trunk to prevent moisture in mulch from rotting the crown, that is, where roots join the base of the stem.
- Fertilizer is not necessary at planting time but may be applied after 1 year of growth. Staking is generally not necessary either as there is no heavy root ball or crown to secure.
What is a Bare-Root Tree?
By definition, bare-root trees are not grown in pots and do not have soil around their roots—hence the name “bare root.” Our bare-root trees are shipped dormant, which allows for easier transplantation and reduces transpiration (water loss) immediately after planting.
The key to success is minimizing transplant shock, so be sure to plant your tree at the right time. The best time to plant a bare-root tree is in the fall or early spring when temperatures are mild and trees remain dormant.
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FAQ
When should you plant bare root fruit trees?
Bare-root season for ornamental trees and fruit trees is from mid-December to early spring.
Do you have to soak bare root trees before planting?
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Arbor Day Foundationhttps://www.arborday.orgHow to Plant Bare-Root Trees | Arbor Day FoundationStep 1. Unpack your trees, remove all packing materials, carefully untangle the roots and soak the roots in water 3 to 6 hours. Do not allow the roots to dry ou…
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Jung Seed’s Gardening Blog!https://blog.jungseed.comHow to Care for Bare Root Plants and Tips for PlantingMar 25, 2020 — Before planting, you’ll need to soak the roots for at least 2 hours and up to 8 to 12 hours, but no longer than 24 hours maximum. This is an importa…
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YouTube · GrowVeghttps://www.youtube.comHow to Plant a Bare-root Fruit Tree Step by StepNov 21, 2019 — if your soil is either very sandy or heavy with clay add plenty of organic matter to the entire planting area and dig this in i’m using well-rotted …
Should a bare root tree be planted as deeply as?
Don’t dig deep. Planting trees too deep can kill them. The hole should only be deep enough so the tap root does not bend. The root flare should be level with the original soil level.
Is it better to plant bare root or potted fruit trees?
If we are thinking only about the health of the plant, then a branching, fibrous, bare root tree is far superior to a potted one with circling roots that has been nursed along on irrigation and fertilizer. If it is the health of our environment then the choice for bare root trees is even easier.