Advance Preparation          Upon Arrival          Unloading          'Sweating' Bareroot Stock     

Care, Potting & Handling of Nursery Stock        

Review your acknowledgement and/or load list prior to arrival. Familiarize yourself with what you should be unloading. Have your storage area and supplies ready prior to arrival.

Since dehydration is one of the biggest factors influencing successful handling of bareroot plant material, it is important that you do not allow the roots or tops to dry out at anytime. Keep the nursery stock out of the wind, sun and freezing temperatures. If you have cold storage facilities available, store at 34 to 38 degrees F. and maintain relative humidity at 90% or higher. If cold storage is not available, wet down and store plant material in a cool, moist and protected area. Pack the roots with moist straw, shredded paper, shingle-tow or bark mulch and cover with poly or a tarp. Keep the plants moist and avoid temperature extremes. For a longer holding period, plants should be trenched in or heeled into soil, leached sawdust, wood chips, coarse sand or gravel. Make sure the roots are covered and watered well. Eliminate air pockets in media around roots. An alternative handling method is a new procedure called "gravel culture."  Frozen nursery stock should not be handled until thawed. Thawing should be done very slowly at a temperature just above freezing. Do not try to rush the process.

Nursery stock is a perishable product. It can be hurt not only from being dried out, frozen, or overheated, but also from rough handling. Therefore, we ask that you keep the following in mind while unloading B&B, containerized or bareroot stock. Be sure to handle the stock carefully so that roots and branches are not broken, and the trunks of the trees are not scraped. Try to avoid walking or climbing on top of the nursery stock that remains stacked in the truck. Avoid grabbing evergreens by their tops. B&B or potted evergreens should be handled by their root balls or pots only. Do not drop B&B or potted plants with excessive force. More often than not, this "pounding" loosens the soil in the pot and damages the root system. Heel B&B material in sawdust or wood chips and water well. Water periodically thereafter as needed. If these simple guidlines are followed carefully, you should have success with your material and greater customer satisfaction.

We can never emphasize enough the importance of "sweating" nursery stock. As we go through the following procedures and instructions, we will use Hackberry as an example. Most of the bareroot transplanting problems with Hackberry can be overcome with a little extra care and precaution. To begin with, the buds on bareroot Hackberry become very hard and dormant. Favorable conditions are required to induce them to break dormancy. Basically, there are two ways of accomplishing this goal. The first and easiest is the use of a polyhouse for potting and forcing. The warm, humid environment created by a polyhouse is ideal. The second is known in nursery terms as "sweating". In order to "sweat" bareroot Hackberry, lay the trees down and cover them with wet packing material followed by a sheet of plastic. Temperature should preferably be between 45 and 70 degrees F.. Once the buds have begun to swell, which should be within a few days, the trees are ready to pot or plant. As you can see, it is a relatively simple process, but the key to success is to have the proper conditions afterwards. The "sweating" procedure has been misunderstood at times because if the right conditions are not present after completing the "sweating" process, all the good of the "sweating" is negated. What is needed after the "sweating" process is to have warm, humid outdoor conditions. This is absolutely essential to successfully "sweat" Hackberry or any other bareroot item. Generally, this is the case in Iowa after the first part of May. Therefore, if you delay your outdoor planting of Hackberry until then, your success should be greatly enhanced and, conversely, the earlier in the spring season you plant, the poorer your results are apt to be because of the cold temperatures and low humidity. We recommend "sweating" these varieties of nursery stock before planting: Amelanchier, Birch, Mulberry, Flowering Pear, Hackberry, Ironwood, Oaks, Redbud, Weeping Willow, Hawthorne, Pagoda Dogwood, Variegated Dogwood, Spreading Cotoneaster, Barberry, Potentilla, Tamarisk and Roses. In areas with low humidity, such as the western states, you should consider "sweating" these varieties as well: Ash, Locust and Lindens. 

Potting bareroot plant material is an excellent way to display and store the plant material and extend your selling seasons. Listed below are several helpful recommendations to ensure your success in the potting, care and handling of your plant material.

• Water thoroughly, immediately after potting. It is important that newly potted plant material does not dry out. Be careful not to over-water.

• We strongly believe in wind protection. Place newly potted plant material in a protected area until bud break. Good storage could be a cold greenhouse, plastic house, lath house or shed.

• High humidity should be maintained. Avoid sub-freezing temperatures. Newly potted material may be injured by temperatures 20 degrees or lower. Take the necessary precautions to protect the material if this temperature drop occurs.

• The use of fertilizers is necessary to produce a healthy, vigorous plant. Fertilizer should be added by incorporating in the potting mix or top dressing after the plant material has been potted. A balanced, slow release fertilizer is recommended; however, great care must be taken in the use of any fertilizer or injury may result. Follow the manufacturer’s recommended rates. Always read the label.

• We suggest using a light weight soil mix with good drainage. Soil mixes differ from one geographic location to another depending on local resources. Most soil mixes may contain the following components: topsoil, sand, peat, decomposed bark mulch or sawdust, pine bark, and rice hulls. If manure is used as a part of your soil mix, be sure that it is thoroughly decomposed to avoid nitrogen burn.

• Select an adequate pot size so that few roots need to be pruned.