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Produce => Non Edible Plants => Topic started by: raisedbedted on January 18, 2010, 12:08:41

Title: Planting Bare Root Perennials
Post by: raisedbedted on January 18, 2010, 12:08:41
Hi all,

I have bought a lod of bare root perennials from wilkinsons which are showing small green shoots within the peat bags they have come in.  They are aquilegia, delphinium, dicentra etc.

We garden on a fairly wet clay, would you...

a) leave them in their packets until the worst of the weather is out of the way.
b) plant them in the garden straight away using compost etc to loosen the soil.
c) plant them in pots in a cold greenhouse and wait till they grow before planting out.

all advice appreciated, thanks
rbt
Title: Re: Planting Bare Root Perennials
Post by: GrannieAnnie on January 18, 2010, 12:12:06
c.  if they won't freeze in your greenhouse.  It will give them a fighting chance against the slugs to be larger when planted out. For me, greenery growing in plastic bags only welcomes rotting.
Title: Re: Planting Bare Root Perennials
Post by: raisedbedted on January 18, 2010, 14:21:09
Thanks GrannieAnnie will try that, had forgotten about the menace of slugs.
Title: Re: Planting Bare Root Perennials
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on January 18, 2010, 20:56:42
I'd put them in pots and mollycoddle them till they're well established. Experience of buying plants from Wilko's and similar places suggests thaqt they may well have been sitting around in an overheated shop, and been weakened by the experience.