Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

TIA

--

Zone 24/8
So. Calif Coastal

Polar

The message
from Polar contains these words:


Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

Nothing remotely like your zone...but biodegradeable, "plant the whole
thing" pots for roses (and small trees)were a fleeting fashion a few
years back in the UK. I think they were moulded under pressure out of
recycled card and peat. They didn't give good results as roots tended to
circle round inside rather than breaking through; so before the pot had
disintegrated, the plant had made a very bad compacted root structure
which would be difficult to recover from.I haven't seen pots like that
for a while now.

Janet.

In article , Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Polar contains these words:


Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

Nothing remotely like your zone...but biodegradeable, "plant the whole
thing" pots for roses (and small trees)were a fleeting fashion a few
years back in the UK. I think they were moulded under pressure out of
recycled card and peat. They didn't give good results as roots tended to
circle round inside rather than breaking through; so before the pot had
disintegrated, the plant had made a very bad compacted root structure
which would be difficult to recover from.I haven't seen pots like that
for a while now.

Janet.

Absolutely right. Sometimes a plant already rootbound in a pot has trouble
sorting itself out when planted even WITHOUT the added barrier of a peat
pot in the way of its growth. Whenever I've gotten something in a
peat-&-paper pot, I've cut the pot into pieces & tossed the pieces in the
compost. They break down very nicely there.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

the trick I was told with these pots is to make a few holes in the sides
to all the roots to escape and give it more room to grow after you plant it.

J~

Polar wrote:

Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

TIA

--

Zone 24/8
So. Calif Coastal

Polar

On Thu, 6 Feb 2003 17:55:01 GMT, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Polar contains these words:


Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

Nothing remotely like your zone...but biodegradeable, "plant the whole
thing" pots for roses (and small trees)were a fleeting fashion a few
years back in the UK. I think they were moulded under pressure out of
recycled card and peat. They didn't give good results as roots tended to
circle round inside rather than breaking through; so before the pot had
disintegrated, the plant had made a very bad compacted root structure
which would be difficult to recover from.I haven't seen pots like that
for a while now.

Thanks to you and J. for responses. Your reply validates
my inherent suspicions. Will discard pot and proceed w/normal
planting.

Those pots were probably one of those lazy peoples' gimmicks;
sorry to see them still around.

The same nursery used to sell the bare roots in a much more
appropriate fashion: They created a huge deep bin of some shredded
organic material, and buried the roots in the stuff. You just pulled
out what you wanted. That sounds better to me than the
tightly-packaged bare roots on sale in most stores and nurseries.



--
Polar

Polar wrote:

Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

Not exactly your zone, but those fibre pots are extremely biodegradable.
We use them constantly in our nursery and they seldom make it through
the season before the bottom falls out. One of the reasons roses (out of
dormancy) are sold in them is that roses in leaf can easily get
transplant shock - if you plant the entire pot, then there is little
chance of shock. I suggest making a few slashes in the sides and bottom
in case the roots attempt to spread before the fibre gives way. This is
unlikely to be much of a problem with your roses, since they were bare
root only weeks ago before potting up and the root system has not filled
the pot. Be sure to cut off the top of the pot which may show above the
soil level - it can wick water out of the soil and deprive the plant of
sufficient moisture.

pam - gardengal
PNW zone 8




Polar

"Polar" wrote in message
...

Just bought two new "bare-root" roses -- though many in that
huge display were already leafing out (So Calif)

For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

Nursery guy said he has tried both ways with equal results.

Anybody have opinions/experience in my zone?

TIA

--

Zone 24/8
So. Calif Coastal

Polar

Don't do it. They don't rot down as fast as advertised. I transplanted a
White Dawn a year later and most of the pot was still intact. (Good thing I
had punched a few holes in it for the roots to escape.) Roses in smaller
than 3 gallon pots don't have a lot of roots to begin with and need all of
the help they can get. Even worse are those cardboard box hackroots that
masquerade as bare root roses that also suggest planting the box. Those
pitiful things, along with the plastic tube roses, have done more to turn
people off of America's national flower than Michigan Bulb.

Just remember, real roses have roots. And, not 3" ones either.

Sunflower
MS 7b

Polar wrote:


For the last few years, nursery has been selling the bare
roots in biodegradable pots-- looks like some kind of cardboard? or?

One is supposed to plant the whole thing & it will
degrade/dissolve/disappear/whatever.

The theory ius that it willdecompose. the actuality is that it
doesn't ... at least slash the pot in several places, and soak it
well so it goes in the ground totally sodden.

For some reason, I'm suspicious of these, and last year I
removed the pot and proceeded with normal planting.

probably a better idea.

Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré