Things You'll Need:
- Garden spade
- Compost or potting soil
- Gardening gloves
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Step 1
Inspect your plants as soon as you purchase them. If they seem dry, make sure you keep them moist, but not saturated.
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Step 2
Store the bare root perennials in a cool, dark place for one to two days if you can't plant them immediately. Keep them in their original plastic packaging and keep them moist.
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Step 3
Heel bare root plants in a temporary pot or trench if you still can't find time to plant them after a couple of days. Dig the trench, take the plant out of its packaging, place the plant on its side with its roots in the trench and cover the roots with light soil and water.
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Step 4
Soak roots in a container of warm water for an hour or so just before planting.
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Step 5
Trim away any roots that are too long, rotted, moldy or broken.
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Step 1
Dig a hole deep and wide enough for the roots to fan out into the soil. The width of the hole should be one and a half times the width of the root spread.
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Step 2
Mix the existing soil with compost or potting soil to give roots fresh nutrients to grow.
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Step 3
Mound a cone of soil at the bottom of the hole to hold roots in place as they fan out.
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Step 4
Place the bare root perennial plant into the hole and fan out the roots. Make sure the crown-- the top of the roots--is level with the soil line.
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Step 5
Fill in the hole with a mixture of soil and compost, making sure to surround all roots. Pat down the soil, leaving a small moat around the crown for water retention.
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Step 6
Water the plant well.
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Step 7
Surround the plant, once established, with a layer of mulch to retain moisture.
