WINTER is when garden centres offer bare rooted stock.
It's the best time to shop for deciduous trees, especially if you're looking for more than one, as bare rooted plants are cheaper than potted.
What is a bare rooted tree? It's one that has been lifted from the ground and offered for sale as is, with no soil or pot.
Growers supply bare rooted trees and shrubs to garden centres who in turn heel them in, ready for sale between now and the end of winter.
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Any that are unsold by then are potted up, for sale over the following spring and summer, hence the higher price.
When selecting an ornamental tree, the golden - platinum, even - rule is to look for a straight, single leading shoot. It is needed to make a good trunk and crown and a tree will never make a good specimen without it.
The exceptions are eucalypts, which have an uncanny ability to replace a lost leader within a season, but being evergreen they're not sold bare rooted.
An important key to success when planting bare rooted trees is to get them into the ground as soon as possible.
They've already suffered the stress of being dug up, moved - possibly a considerable distance - and then either replanted or tied in bundles wrapped in damp hessian, so the sooner you get them into their permanent home the better.
You'll need to repeat the damp hessian or heeling in treatment yourself unless you can plant your purchases on the same day, but either way, put them in a bucket of water when you get home, to prevent any further danger of the roots drying out.
It's tempting to dig holes in advance but it's better to wait, fate is guaranteed to step in, either with a downpour which will turn your excavations to mud, or a penetrating frost which will make already cold ground even colder.
It's safer to dig, plant and if necessary stake in one operation.
Dig a good wide hole that will allow the roots to spread out.
The tree should be planted at the same depth as in its previous home - you can see this from the mark on the trunk - but if you have shallow topsoil, don't plant into subsoil.
Instead, loosen it with a fork, put the tree in place and then mound the topsoil up to the correct height.
Before planting, trim any torn roots with sharp secateurs to prevent bacterial invasion.
You also need to trim the branches if your tree is to get off to a good start next spring.
Bare rooted trees and shrubs invariably lose roots in the lifting process, especially when this is done mechanically, an entire row lifted in one operation.
This process produces top-heavy plants, so the branches will need pruning by at least one third to restore the balance.
Otherwise the roots will struggle to support the emerging spring growth and foliage.
Finally, tread in as firmly as possible.
Riverside Nursery, Bathurst (www.riversidenursery.com.au/) offers a range of bare rooted fruit and ornamental trees during winter.
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