Planting Bare Rooted Trees

[delboy]

Is it still OK to put bare rooted trees into the ground now, or should I overwinter them in, say, 20" or bigger pots until the ground warms up and dries out(hopefully)in late March/April.

I only received strawberry plants 3 weeks ago, which I thought was poor delivery practice, and my greengages are scheduled for next week. Still haven't been given a date for tayberries and raspberries.

There seems to be little difference between suppliers as all three I have used are coming up with the goods much later than over the past few years.

[delboy]

[saddad]

Better in the ground, even if you only heel them in in a temporary position..
:)

[tim]

Apples arrived today. Ground is rock hard!!

[calendula]

this has happened to me in the past and if the frost is likely to continue for awhile then I buy a largish bag of compost and plant/heel in to that unless you have a big pot around to use instead, even wrapped in sacking or suchlike is ok as long as the roots don't dry out completely

[artichoke]

This very day daughter and I have planted pot grown trees in Greenwich allotment. Ground quite easy to dig (apart from the fearsome bramble roots - we chopped back the brambles a few weeks ago and will have trouble in the spring). We dug big holes, backfilled with the best soil and some manure, and stuck in 3 trees, two apples (Rubinette, Queen Cox) and a plum (Opal). They absolutely have to grow, being a birthday present.