Bare Root Trees

The three best arguments for the bare root method:

1. You can plant more trees more cheaply.
   Bare root trees are one third to one-half less expensive than B&B trees. Because they are so much lighter and many more can fit on the bed of a truck, they are cheaper to ship. Planting a bare root tree costs virtually nothing when done by volunteers with shovels. The cost of planting a B&B tree, by contrast, is markedly higher because the sheer weight of the ball requires machinery and machinery operators to load the tree, unload it, and to get it in the ground.
2. You will take more roots along.
   A simple study was done at Cornell to compare the amount of roots in a B&B ball with the root mass on a bare root harvested tree of the same size and species. The bare root trees had 200% more roots. The reason for this? The harvesting machinery for bare root trees digs a much larger root system than the tree spade used for B&B digging.
3. You’ll avoid the deadly planting-too-deep syndrome.
   Frequently when a newly transplanted B&B tree dies, it is because it was planted too deep. When the fine absorbing roots are buried too far down, they can’t access oxygen and the tree suffocates. Trees should be planted so that their root flare begins just at the soil line. With B&B trees, the soil may be mounded on the trunk, making it difficult to see the buried root flare. On the other hand, the root flare of bare root trees is obvious and the proper planting depth easy to determine.

Bare Root Tree Planting

The next Bare Root Tree Training and Planting will be in Fall 2009. A limited number of 1 ½" caliper trees (mixed varieties) suitable for planting in your yard will be available to purchase at low cost. Contact Annie Acton at (302) 658-6262, ext. 106 or aacton@dehort.org for more information. Check the Bare Root Trees page on DEHORT.org regularly for updates on tree species available and order forms.