Getting a jump on Bareroot season.

Every year, the solstices and equinoxes mark the changing of the seasons. But right around mid-January, like clockwork, many gardeners begin to buzz with anticipation as they look forward to a lesser known season - Bareroot Season.

In and around Santa Cruz, this season usually lasts from mid-January to early March and anyone visiting a local nursery cannot help but feel the excitement. What's this excitement about? Well, every year hundreds and hundreds of bareroot trees and vines appear and the nursery is transformed into a veritable forest of "sticks". These bareroot offerings are comprised of various deciduous, dormant flowering and fruiting trees, flowering and fruiting vines and other offerings such as hops, asparagus and rhubarb.

These plants are in a dormant state and are non-potted, hence the name bareroot. They are temporarily dug into a medium where they can reside before purchase by customers who then promptly give them permanent homes in the ground.

The benefits you can reap from this type of purchasing are many. A) Selection. Rarely do you see so many different varieties and so many individual specimens to choose from amongst them. Different trees speak to different needs and it's rare to be able to walk into a nursery and pick your special Braeburn apple tree out from a choice of 25 trees. B) Cost. Often buying bareroot can save you 50% the cost of buying a potted up tree and, in many cases, the bareroot specimen is more well developed and is in a state of better health. C) Less chance of transplant shock. Bareroot season is the ideal time to transplant trees. You can look at it like the tree is sleeping and, when it "wakes" in the Spring, it finds itself happily planted in your yard. D) It's fun!

Now is the time to begin thinking about and researching the best varieties of trees for your garden's climate. Many plants get snapped up quickly by special orders and customers who've put their names on a waiting list. Don't wait until March to think about picking up a specimen. By then, if any are left, they are heavily picked over and can be considered "the dogs" of the shipment and with fruit trees, a good start really does matter.

For more advice about fruit trees, how to properly plant your new purchase, or if you'd like us to select and plant a tree for you, just let us know. We'd love to talk to you.