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Help! How long will bare roots survive on porch in summer?

14 years ago

Hello hosta forum!

You folks gave me the courage and inspiration to order a large shipment of "hostas by the handful"-- bare root hostas from G. the Wild. However, we'd had heavy rains every day, and THEN vacation, and my precious order ended up sitting in paper bags on the (covered) porch for about 2 weeks, with bare roots in their paper shreddings and in the brown paper bags.

Is it still worth it to plant them? I know they're hearty beasties, but just HOW hearty?

And if there is hope, when will I know they're actually growing?

THANKS ALL.

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Comments (9)

caliloo
14 years ago
I would toss them into a bucket of water (just the roots) to soak for 24 - 36 hours, then plant them. At this point you have nothing to lose!

Alexa
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
put on bathing suit .. or go buy slicker and put it on

and go plant in the rain ... crimminey ...

do NOT wait for precise planting..

you are better off... sticking them in a holding bed ... than on the porch ..

no matter where they can live... they are better off elsewhere... presuming you just didnt buy a package of the driveway hosta.. undulata

ken
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agathawords
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Ken and Alexa. Newbie mistake, I know. Well, I've learned.

How long do "normal" bare roots take to send shoots up through the surface once planted in summer? Just as a general yardstick to know if/when I've completely failed...
jel48
14 years ago
I'm curious Agatha. Where did you get bare root hostas this time of year?
caliloo
14 years ago
I think she mentioned in her first post that they were from G Wild. I took that to mean Gilbert Wild (which wouldn't surprise me that they are still sending out stuff that hasn't broken dormancy).

Alexa
tracyvine
14 years ago
GHW offers a large amount of NOID hostas for shipment pretty much all season. I'm guessing they send them bare root with the tops lopped off by what the OP said about sending up new shoots.

I received a large package of bare root plants last summer from sissinghurst. From what the owner told me they were kept in regrigerators until ready to ship. They had no foliage but gigantic roots, multiple eyes. They received a 24 hour soak in a 10% bleach/water solution to get rid of any crud.

I believe they started throwing out new growth after about a month in the ground. I kept them very well watered and molly coddled them like crazy for the rest of summer. They are planted in some of the tougher areas of the yard. This year I have 3-6 leaves on each of them.
agathawords
Original Author
14 years ago
Just wanted to post a follow-up.

Every single one of the 10 hostas I've planted so far has come up!

These Gilbert H. Wild ("hostas by the handful") bare root hostas have done GREAT. I planted them in my west-facing, clay soil bed (amended heavily with composted, shredded pine bark) which receives the afternoon sunlight the hostas love. Also snaked through a drip hose through the bed. Varigated hydrangeas from Bluestone Perennials are structuring the back of the bed. I'd like to plant heuchera, too, and maybe some ferns and lady's mantle.

I suspect that frequent, deep watering is one of the keys to success. Next step is to buy a timer!

Quick question: would mulching with either newspaper or grass clippings (or a combo) work for my burgeoning hosta bed?

THANK YOU ALL!!
lindac
14 years ago
Your hosta would love the mulch....
lisasmall
14 years ago
Just remember, don't mulch right up to the crowns and petioles. Leave a wee bit of space there (and maybe flip some Slug Getta or similar product under the leaves!)

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