Bare-root plants may look boring, but that bundle of twigs is full of potential, writes Tom Smart
Garden centres go through a metamorphosis at this time of year. Over a series of weeks, everything changes: shovels are pushed toward the margins of the store, bags of composts hide themselves in corners, and the few real plants that are left get lined up near a back fence, like mutinous soldiers waiting for a firing squad. The space is then filled with dancing Santas and scented candles. There are both real and imitation trees in mindboggling varieties; from fresh-cut Norway spruces to fibre optic trees which change colour and freakishly rotate. There are ornaments and flashing lights and roasting tins for a turkey dinner. Yesterday I stood, in a kind of hypnotic trance, watching a plastic reindeer sing Jingle Bells. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. In short, during Christmas, our garden centres rarely feel like garden centres. However, if you’re a plantoholic like myself, don’t despair, because now is the perfect time to buy bare-root plants.
Bare-root plants are plants which have been, unlike their container-grown cousins, grown in open ground. In the winter time, when the plants go dormant, nurseries dig them up and package them ready for transplant. Some nurseries will simply send you the roots and stems wrapped in plastic or burlap. Other nurseries pot up the plant, as the soil helps to keep the roots in better condition. Either way, you are buying the skeleton of the plant – the structural bits which really matter.
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