Strawberries…one of the best plants to grow from bareroots
What is a bareroot plant?
Bareroot plants are perennials (grow back year after year) that are dug up from my gardens and shipped without any soil. This happens during the fall and early spring while the plants are dormant and not actively growing.
Benefits of bareroot plants
Plants are grown in living, healthy soils in my garden where they do not suffer from being root bound. Root systems are large and healthy, resulting in more resilient plants. They will have less transplant shock than potted plants.
One of my favorite reasons for growing bareroots is that no plastic pots are needed! Plants are started in reusable trays, transplanted out to the garden beds where they grow for a few years. Then they’re dug up and transplanted to their new homes. I can reduce my use of plastic by hundreds of pots every year!
Another of my favorite reasons for bareroots plants are that they require little potting soil and less water than potted plants. Reducing my use of potting soil helps reduce my consumption of peat moss and the fossil fuels that go into creating potting soil and then trucking it around the country. Growing plants in well mulched garden beds helps to retain moisture and they need very little irrigation.
Things to consider
While the benefits of bareroot plants are numerous, the one big drawback is timing. Bareroots have a short window of time to be dug up and transplanted. Potted plants will generally be ok to hang out on your porch for a week or so, but not bareroots. Once you receive the plants, they need to go into the ground as soon as possible.
