How to plant a hedge with bare roots?

Advantages and disadvantages of planting a hedge with bare roots?

Planting bush hedges with bare roots has many advantages:

• A low price: a bare root bush is generally sold cheaper than a plant sold in a pot or container. The reasons: its production period is shorter at the nursery, requiring less handling, less maintenance, less water, and it is easier to store. Additionally, it is less bulky and lighter, which reduces shipping costs. This is the most economical solution for planting large hedges.
• Better establishment: if planted under good conditions, a bare root bush roots more easily. As they have not been compressed in a pot, their roots are flexible, ramified, and evenly distributed; they do not form a root ball, and this is visible to the naked eye!
• A more vigorous growth: a bare root bush has been grown in open ground, making it naturally more resilient than a plant grown in a container. It is already accustomed to varying climatic conditions and temperature fluctuations.

There are also some disadvantages:

• Plants with bare roots are not available all year round, but only during the limited period from October to March.
• There is less choice among the available species.
• They can only be planted during the dormant period, which is from October to March, so be prepared!
• As they are sold without soil, transplantation must be done very quickly (no storage possible).

A hedge of privet planted with bare roots

Which bare root bushes to choose for a hedge?

Bare root shrubs are deciduous plants that can be safely uprooted and transplanted during their dormant period. The following are primarily available as bare roots:

• hedging shrubs (elms, beeches, oaks, hornbeams, …)
• fruit trees (hazels, cherry trees, pear trees, gooseberry bushes, …)
• roses

When to plant a hedge with bare roots?

Bushes with bare roots should be planted during their dormant period, after leaf fall and before the arrival of the first buds in spring, that is to say, between October and February-March, avoiding frost or snow periods and steering clear of waterlogged soil. At Promesse de fleurs, our bushes with bare roots are therefore lifted from the ground during this period before dispatch. They should be transplanted as quickly as possible after receipt, as the roots, not being protected by a pot or clod of soil, dry out very quickly. A bush with bare roots cannot be stored out of the ground for more than 3-4 days after lifting, but rest assured, there are solutions to help it wait!

The preparation

The necessary equipment

• A pruning shear
• A large bucket
• Some ready-to-use pralin or homemade
• spade, fork, pickaxe
• Compost or potting soil
• Stake(s)

Before planting

Root dressing

This is the first necessary step before planting or heeling in. The root system must be healthy and appear homogeneous. Using a well-sharpened and disinfected pruning shear, cut 1/3 of the length of the roots and remove any dried or damaged parts.

• Find out what you need to know about root dressing

Coating the roots

It is highly recommended before heeling in to promote recovery, heal the long roots shortened before planting, and avoid the formation of air bubbles: the coating of tree and bush roots with pralin. You can prepare a homemade pralin by mixing garden soil, potting soil, and water to coat the roots with this muddy paste or find ready-to-use pralins on our site.

• Everything you need to know to coat the roots of trees and bushes

Coating the roots is a process that promotes good recovery

Heeling in

If you cannot plant your bush with bare roots in the days following its purchase due to lack of time or poor weather conditions, heel it in: plant it in the shade in a hole large enough and cover it with sand or light soil. It can wait in its temporary location for about a month, or a little longer, and must be planted before the vegetation resumes, in February-March.

Heeling in hazelnut trees in preparation for creating a plant arch (© Gwenaëlle David)

Planting

In a hedge, it is generally recommended to maintain a planting distance of 60 to 80 cm between each bare root plant. Small bushes that do not exceed 1 m in height (such as gooseberry bushes or roses) can be spaced just 50 cm apart.

We advise you to prepare the ground a few weeks before planting: weed, loosen the soil, and amend the planting hole or trench with well-decomposed potting soil or compost.

• Dig a trench twice the volume of the roots, approximately 60 to 80 cm in all directions (it can be narrower than it is deep)
• Start by digging to a depth of 25-30 cm, making a first pile with the excavated soil
• Dig again to a depth of 25-30 cm, forming a second pile
• Loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole with a fork
• Remove stones and weeds
• Mix the soil from each pile with compost or potting soil and river sand if the extracted substrate is too clayey
• A bare root tree needs to be staked as it lacks wind resistance. Drive a stake 50 cm deep, slightly offset from the centre of the hole
• Place your dressed and pruned bush upright in the middle of the hole, with the collar level with the soil, and spread the roots, adjusting the height by adding soil if necessary
• Fill the planting hole first with the soil from the second pile, then with that from the first, which is richer and more fertile. Firm it down as you go to avoid air pockets and ensure the tree is secure.
• Secure your bush with tree ties (coconut string, rubber straps).
• Firm down with your foot
• Water generously
• Spread a layer of mulch 10 cm thick

For more tips, check our sheet on How to plant a hedge?

After planting

• Water regularly throughout the first year after planting and keep the soil cool during periods of high heat.
• To prevent adventive plants from invading the base of your hedge, use a good organic mulch or install groundcover perennials
• After 1 to 2 years of planting, remove the stake from the bush
• Prune your bushes regularly at the end of winter: cut off damaged or broken branches, remove dead wood, shorten the longest branches

For further reading

• All the advantages and disadvantages of different packaging for trees and bushes: bare roots, balled or potted?
• Olivier shares all his tips to help you choose your hedging bushes: bare roots, clumps, pots, potted bushes
• Discover François’s techniques and advice on how to heel in your plants before planting
• Check out Olivier’s advice in the video Planting bare roots, good or bad idea?