Planting Bare Root Hostas and Companion Plants
For some states, we are required to ship bare root plants. Here's what we do to ensure that the plants are not sitting in a storage facility. We take the container plants and bare root them per order and ship them immediately so that they are not without soil for too long. You are getting the same container grown plants that we grow for everyone; we just bare root them. Most bare root orders are delivered within 2-3 days and the plants don't skip a beat!
Follow these instructions and your hostas and companion plants will reward you with beautiful growth!
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Plant your new plants right away!
The bare rooted plants must be planted asap for best results. They will arrive in a plastic bag with the roots wrapped in wet newspaper. It is very important to not let the roots dry out before planting. - Remove the plant from the plastic bag and remove the wet newspaper from the roots.
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Dig a hole about twice as wide and deep as the root system.
We recommend incorporating organic matter. -
Partially backfill the hole with your soil mixture.
Create a mound in the center of the hole. -
Spread the root system over the mound you created.
The crown of the plant sitting on top of the mound. -
Backfill the hole with the remaining soil.
Make sure to get the soil evenly around the root system. We usually hold onto the crown of the plant and shake the plant as we backfill to get the soil in between all the roots. As you backfill you can adjust the height of the crown of the plant by moving it up or down. -
All of the roots should be below ground completely covered by soil.
Where the roots meet the crown of the plant should be at or just below the soil level. We usually leave a ring of soil about 1-2 inches tall around the newly planted perennials to keep any water in the immediate area. This makes sure that any water that is given to the plant goes straight down into the root system and does not run off. You can fill this ring a couple time after planting. -
Water your new plants!
You will want to water your newly planted plants every other day for a week or so. Then you can water them twice a week for a few weeks until you feel they have adjusted to their new location.