Bare Root Native Plants: Budget Friendly, Environmentally Friendly & User Friendly!
- Nuts for Natives
- 17 hours ago
- 4 min read
With a dose of patience, it's an easy way to add plants to your garden.
The first time you order bare root plants you may be tempted to wonder what you have done! No worries though. That meager looking package of small soilless roots with the foliage cut off will be next year's thriving perennials in your garden.
Way before we began to be able to purchase fully grown quart and gallon sized plants through the mail, it was pretty standard to send bare root plants by mail. Today, an increasing number of bare root native plants are available through on-line ordering.
About Bare Root Plants
Typically, bare root plants are available during the fall and spring when the plants are dormant. This is the time when it is safe to dig up the plants, remove the soil and ship them to you. If you, like me, lament the volume of plastic in the gardening world, this is one of the best ways I know of to avoid acquiring more plastic pots and the other plastic packaging that can be associated with shipping plants. The bare roots are often wrapped in paper and shipped in a slim plastic bag instead. Bare root plants can also be significantly less expensive. Those reasons alone are an endorsement for bare root plants. The fact they tend to grow well is a bonus.
What To Expect
Once your plants arrive, they will need immediate attention. It's best to unbox them right away to make sure they retained some moisture during shipping, If they seem dry, you can wrap them in damp paper. It's best to plant right away if you can. Please check the directions that come with the plants. For some plants, growers will recommend you soak the bare roots in water first. Soaking was not required for the bare root plants above.
The directions will recommend your planting depth. Dig the area to the suggested depth and make sure the soil below recommended depth is not compacted. Add the bare roots. If you are unsure which end is the top, place the root on its side. Cover the roots up and water.
Once the growing season arrives, treat the bare roots just as you would any newly planted plant. Once it emerges, make sure to water at least once a week through the first growing season to make sure they establish well. The old adage the first year they sleep, the second year they creep and the third year they leap applies to bare root plants too!
Where to Get Bare Root Native Plants Now
Amanda's Native Garden
Amanda's Native Garden in New York has a varied selection of bare root native plants for sale by mail. I had not seen American burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis) offered for sale before. The North Carolina Extension Service describes this as a wetland plant good for boggy areas. Have you grown this? Please share in the comments! Amanda's provides these easy to follow planting instructions which could be used for any plantings of bare root plants. Please note Amanda's is now taking orders and shipping for fall through mid-October. Mentioning this because the on-line ordering page says info for spring '25.
Virginia bluebells  (Mertensia virginica) light up our gardens and natural areas in spring. These plants can be a little harder to find for purchase because they are ephemeral. They go dormant once spring ends and do not reemerge until the following spring. These types of plants are most easily found by purchasing bare root plants. Of all of the types of plants to buy bare root, ephemerals make the most sense. Even if you were able to find them now in a nursery, you would just be planting the roots because the plants are dormant! Both Amanda's Native Garden and Mid Atlantic Native Plant Farm have bluebells here and here.
Mid Atlantic Native Plant Farm
Mid Atlantic Native Plant Farm offers an array of common and unusual natives for sale as bare root plants. Wild ginger (Asarum candense), a favorite perennial ground cover for shade, is available bare root and as a result, at significantly lower cost than buying potted plants. Please note Mid Atlantic Native Plant Farm does have a $150 minimum order.
Prairie Moon Nursery
Prairie Moon Nursery, a midwest nursery, has a wide selection plants available by bare root. You can peruse the selection here.
To illustrate the cost savings of buying bare root plants, let's look at bare root wild geraniums (Geranium maculatum). These bare roots from Prairie Nursery are 2 to 3 year old plants from a highly respected nursery. A single bare root plant costs $6 and if you buy more than 12, they are $3.50 a piece. A quart sized potted plant from a nursery would typically sell for $9 to $15 each.
There are some great reasons to buy bare root plants by mail. Do you know of more sources? Please do share. As always though, the very best place to get your native plants is at your local favorite native plant nursery!
Happy Gardening.
