I would pot them up now and keep them in the shed. You can put them outside during the day, the sun will warm the soil and should help protect against cold damage. Although, I doubt in your zone anything is going to freeze solid at this point in the game, and roots of chelone are going to be cold-tolerant, so there really anything to worry about other than the soil drying out - so make sure to water in well but don't over-water.

I would pot them up now and keep them in the shed. You can put them outside during the day, the sun will warm the soil and should help protect against cold damage. Although, I doubt in your zone anything is going to freeze solid at this point in the game, and roots of chelone are going to be cold-tolerant, so there really anything to worry about other than the soil drying out - so make sure to water in well but don't over-water.

So do you think it's feasible to plant them in the ground already?

what you dont mention ... and what is of utmost importance ... is.. wait for it ...

whether or not they are dormant ...

a perennial ... is supposed to be zone hardy .. or winter hardy .. WHEN DORMANT ... [if not.. its should be called an annual]

if dormant.. plant them outside ...

but!!!! .. if they have broken dormancy ... then if you get a frost/freeze ... they may die ... as not being dormant.. they arent ready for such .. big leaves dont take well to such... as compared to winter buds ....

whether dormant.. depends on how the seller stored them [usually refrigerated] .... shipping [think big brown truck in sun]... and where they have been [sitting in bigboxstore since february].. and what you did since you got them.. [cooling the the garage .. or sitting next to the tv in the family room]

the default would be to dampen some media.. jam them both in one pot.. and HOLD THEM OVER.. in the garage ... where you can avoid a frost/freeze tissue damage...

a pic will probably get you opinion of current status.. if you are interested

in no way.. do they need.. nor should they be.. in the house ... you would be 'bolting' them .. [forcing early lush vegetative green growth] and then you would have to keep them protected even longer ... this early in the season... the longer you can maintain dormancy.. or slow motion cold growth.. the better .... doing otherwise .. would be bordering on loving them to death ...

yes.. i know.. z7.. this usually shouldnt be a concern.. by this time.. but hey.. this winter.. we got to teach these warm zone peeps .. what us cooler zone peeps deal with every spring ... misery... lol ....

ken

ps: half my 5 acres is still under a foot of snow here in adrian mi ... i am getting a real hate on for ma nature .... the evil cow .... moooooo ... and you are thinking of keeping a perennial in the house .... nope.. outside ... one way or the other ...

If I plant them and it frosts or gets really cold will it only be the foliage that is in danger? I could cover them on cold nights rather than move them in and out of the shed. I woul

I wouldnt mind still having to take care of them in some way to help them through the cold. I just also don't want to kill them. The other photo didnt post.

Bigger one

'Really cold' is below 25F. Are you really expecting temperatures down that low? If you are, then some fussing may be in order.

Lows are like 28 tonight and tomorrow night. Then it warms up and lows are supposed to be in the 40s for at least four days. Should I just wait til Thursday when it warms up and then plant them then?

Thanks everyone for your help!

Also what are the long white things? Is it a tap root or new growth or what? I don't think I've seen something like that before with a bare root plant.

If you're referring to the thick white thing at the top of your second photo, it looks to me like a plastic something-or-other. Is it, or is it part of the plant?

If you're referring to the "long white things" nearer the bottom of the photo, those are the roots. I don't see a predominant taproot in the photo so I'm guessing they have more fibrous root systems. I checked one of my perennial books and since no mention was made of a taproot, I'm guessing Chelone has no "special needs" as regards its roots.

Commercial bare-root perennials are normally shipped/sold in a dormant state. Having purchased my fair share of them, that can be iffy. Your plant shouldn't break dormancy in your zone until the hours of daylight + moisture + temperature trigger the plant to do so but as Ken points out, other factors must be considered. Also, artificially warm indoor temperatures can cause bare-root plants to break dormancy too early. Ask me how I know this to be true.

I haven't kept a record but my seed-grown Chelone plants bloom late in the season which leads me to assume they emerge rather later in Spring than perennials that bloom earlier.

In answer to your original question, Ken is correct--they'll need more & closer attention from you if you pot them up now and keep them in a shed or garage where they won't get sufficient (1) natural light; (2) moisture.

Final comment: since they bloom late in the season, there's really no urgent need to get them going right away. They may take a season or two before blooming altho' that hasn't been my experience with other bare-root plants.

I was referring to the plastic looking thing. It is apart of the plant, both of the plants have it, but the bigger plant has two much bigger ones than the smaller plant. I have no idea what it is.

In the first photo it looks like an emerging stem. In the second it doesn't.

Q: Is it attached to the root mass at soil level?

It is attached to the root mass at soil level.

So it seems those white things are probably emerging stems which means the plants were kept too warm (that's why they started to grow). Because they didn't have enough light, they grew long and white like that. You need to get these things in the ground ASAP.

I doubt those stems will survive. Any amount of sunlight will probably fry them quickly unless the temps stay cool. I suppose you could shade them and see if they green up and develop into something. Hopefully there are some dormant eyes ready to take their place and start growing once in the ground. Plants usually want to survive.

Kevin

Thank you everybody for your help!!! I will get them in the ground tomorrow. Temperatures are supposed to be pretty nice the next few days so hopefully that will help!

Hello,

As a professional perennial grower I can tell you that those white things in the top picture are the underground rhizomes and stems will emerge from them but they should be buried and completely covered. The white things in the second picture might be fresh sprouts but since these emerge from varying depths underground I would bury those completely as well, however I'm leaning toward those being underground rhizomes too.

And I would recommend planting these directly outdoors and then only water slightly for now to settle the soil surface. Chelone can rot as a fresh bare root if you water too much, and putting them in pots and watering well while it is cold can actually cause damage even easier at this stage. When I pot up Chelone that is dormant this time of year I don't water them until the danger of hard freezing weather is over, but from what you are saying your are probably beyond that point now.

Hope that helps.

Chris