This week: Accessible, affordable bare-root native perennials
Hello!
Spring is the perfect time to capitalize on affordable, easily accessible native perennials. How? Local garden centers and big box stores often stock bare root plants and flower seeds—two of the most cost-effective ways to grow native as long as you know what you’re looking for. It’s also the time of year when native ferns are widely available for purchase.
This week we’ll take a look at where to shop for bare root plants and how to plant them. Next week we’ll dig into seeds.
Where to Buy Bare Root Plants
I did a quick survey of what east-of-the-Mississippi native bare root plants were available at Costco, Home Depot, and my local hardware store. Costco was offering bags of bare root plants that were all under $15. Among their offerings I noticed the following natives:
- Liatris spicata (Blazing Star)
- Phlox paniculata cultivars (Garden Phlox)
- Helenium cultivars
- Athyrium filix-femina (Lady Fern)
Quantities in each bag ranged from 80 liatris and 10 phlox to 5 Lady Ferns—an outrageous value over potted plants even if only half survive.
At Home Depot, I spotted a 3-pack of Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern) for under $12.
Meanwhile, at my local hardware store I hit the jackpot on special plants. They had Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells), Iris cristata (Dwarf Crested Iris), and Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas Fern). Virginia Bluebells and Dwarf Crested Irises are two spring bloomers that you just don't find as potted plants. Each box contained 2 bare root plants for $7.
Remember, Google is your friend. Before you buy, do a quick search on the plant's botanical name and the keyword "native" to double-check its origin.
You can also purchase spring-planted bare root plants online from places like the all-native Prairie Moon Nursery or traditional online bulb nurseries like Eden Brothers and Longfield Gardens. But, as we all know, that takes more forethought than picking up some plants while you’re out and about in your own neighborhood.
Planting Bare Root Perennials
When you get your bare root plants home, plant them as soon as you can—don’t wait more than a day or two. They’ve already been sitting in the store and a truck before that, and time is of the essence.
Remove the packaging and give the roots a soak in water for around 15 minutes to make sure they are well hydrated.
Dig a hole that is large enough for the roots without bending or constricting them and make sure that only the roots are underground. Don’t cover the plant’s crown! Then water thoroughly. Mark the plants so that you know where they are—depending on the plant, it may not flower the first year so you don’t want to trample them or weed them out.
Over the coming weeks, give the fledgling plants water if there hasn’t been significant rainfall or if it appears that the area is drying out.
Elsewhere:
Webinar alert! Benjamin Vogt, author of Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design will be sharing practical native gardening advice at two online events this week. Homegrown National Park’s event is on March 30 and is $10, and Penn State Extension’s Washington County Master Gardeners are hosting him on April 1, also for $10. Follow the links to sign up.
Have a good week,
Julie