Kitchen Garden Forum

Have just received a bare rooted shrub I ordered.
We still have snow on the ground where it's to be planted and soil is very cold. Can somebody please advise me how best to deal with it?. Roots appear to be tightly wrapped round with some straw-like material sealed in polythene.

Provided the soil is not actually frozen, cold and wet is better than warm and dry in a sack indoors.

I'd plant it being careful to keep actual snow out of the hole. &.any backfill.

I would keep it outside standing in cold water over night before planting, too, to let the roots get a good initial soak.

Dear Primrose,
take off the root wrapping, dig a hole in your compost heap then put your shrub in that. It will stand there for at least a month with no harm.
Regards Sally Wright.

Heal it in, is what you need to do. Unwrap the roots, make a slit in some bare ground, put your shrub's roots into the slit and let the soil fall back. You do not need to firm it or anything, just make sure the roots are completely covered. Then when conditions improve, pull it up and plant it in its designated space.

But if the nursery's done its work, the roots should be okay wrapped for some time. Just don't keep it indoors or it will be forced into growth that it cannot sustain and / or will be vulnerable to frost.

Thanks for all your advice. Am hoping the snow will melt sufficiently tomorrow to allow me to get it planted.

If it's your flowering currant it's almost unkillable anyway!