Yesterday, I bought a bag of =93bare root strawberries=94 from my local Lowes. It contains 10 bare-root plants.
I am trying to find out what is the option for me;
Option 1: (a) Keep in shelf indoor for x days. then(b) Plant in a pot indoor & keep for y days. then(c) Transplant to outside bed by last frost date minus z days. Option 2: (a) Today, plant in a pot indoor. then(b) Transplant to outside bed by last frost date minus z days. Option 3: (a) Today, keep in a shelf indoor. then(b) Transplant to outside bed by last frost date minus z days. Option 4: (a) Today directly plant outside bed. Option 5: /OR/ any other better way to handle this
Here, I do not know what could be the x, y, z days as well. So, if you can provide me that detail too it would be great.
I just don=92t want to kill this plant. Please help me.
Thanks Ganesh
Date: Feb 23, 2009 Weather: Low: 15 F, High: 31 F March begins with the average of Low: 25 F, High: 50 F
Zip: 45040, Ohio USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 6 Expected Last Frost date (frost free date) is Apr 15 to May 15
You seem to be concerned about too many variables. Nothing wrong with killing plants on the learning curve. Still I see your question and would suggest that you speak with folks in your area.
I would store them in the refrigerator in a plastic bag after thoroughly wetting their roots and plant closer to the last frost date. Some say you can store for a couple weeks. I have stored them for a month. I kept the roots moist and left the bags slightly open to provide circulation and prevent midew/mold problems, re-wetting the roots as necessary
I've done the same with asparagus crowns.
You could warm your soil next month by covering the area with clear plastic and plant some ahead of the frost date, mulching well, and cover your plants with, say, plastic milk cartons if the nightime temps get too low. Be sure and remove the covers when the temps rise in order to not cook yer berry plants.
Others may have other ideas, this is just my experience.
Howdy, Madgardener here (just call me Maddie ) Having worked at Lowe's in the past, I'd soak the bare root plants in warm water and then pot them up. Kompost Kow is the best soil you can find from Lowe's, unless you can find a source for Michigan Peat or Garden Magic at your local Co-op or Farm supply store. Not all Miracle Gro is good stuff. And Lowe's cheap stuff is crap. Kompost Kow is good as it IS mature manure. If you have any used nursery pots, these will work. If not, depending on what you have lying around, you can fill any used container with soil provided that it has ample drainage. You won't need the soil to be deep. I've used 5 gallon buckets very well as permanent containers before. I just drilled holes in the bottom and then poured small rock that I got in the lumber department of Lowe's. (It's cheaper than the landscaping bags of rock, having said that, BROKEN BAGS at Lowe's are ALWAYS 50% off!!) so if you found busted bags of rocks, or even Kompost Kow, you're in business!!
Pour at least six inches of soil into a good sized container. the soaked strawberries can then be teased apart, and taking each plant, splay out the roots and sit them on top of the soil, green part up of course. you can plant them as close together in a large container as six inches apart. If you don't want to do a large container, you COULD go into the nursery at Lowe's, and ask the person for a discarded flat or two and fill those with soil. They'd be GLAD to GIVE you a couple.
Splay these plants out, then sprinkle the composted soil over just the roots. Don't bury the green pointy bit with dirt. Strawberries are runner plants as you know. Water them with warm water and sprinkle a bit more if the dirt settles too much. If you have a cold garage that has a window, great. Set the flats of plants there. If not, out on the porch is fine. Strawberries are perennials, after all and they won't mind the cold. If you use a discarded flat, the drainage is there. Once true spring comes, you can gently lift the rooted strawberries and tuck them into a sunny bed of your choosing. As the mother plants make runners, put them where you want them, and pinch the blossoms off to make the roots feed the leaves. They'll make blossoms again. It's better to establish the plants first and berries later. The daughters will fill up the spaces, and once established, you can see in a year or so, that the mother plant needs to be taken out, and the daughter's daughters encouraged. It's an awesome thing to have a strawberry patch. My good thoughts to you. Keep us posted on your success and failures if you have any. (mulch underneath the strawberry plants once you plant them in the ground in your bed with pine straw to keep them up off the soil and discouraging the diseases and easier to spot slugs and snails that adore the berries. A neat trick once you start getting berries is to put those plastic cartons you get at the store over the plants to keep the birds from stealing your berries as well. I secure those clear berry or cherry tomato boxes with old fashioned hair pins I get from the dollar store. if not hairpins, then cut wire clothes hangers cut and bent into "hair pin shape". Good luck! happy gardening
maddie, gardening in downtown Greeneville, in a green bowl, surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and Appalachian Mountains, zone 7a, Sunset zone 36
Thanks for your suggestion. I could save 1/3 of my plants by following this:
If the plants arrive before they can be planted, you have two storage options:
heeling in (temporary planting)
refrigeration
To heel in plants, remove them from the shipping bags immediately on arrival. Using a spade, dig a V-shaped trench 6 to 8 inches deep in a cool location. Lay the strawberry plants 2 inches apart along one side of the trench, perpendicular to the trench length. Fill the trench with soil and then water the plants thoroughly. You can keep plants this way for several weeks.
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