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Bare Root Problems


earthworm73

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I usually have to buy palms off of the internet if I can not find them locally . Unfortunately some online growers like to send plants bare root which I'm assuming to keep the cost of shipping down (I know bare root & mail order is tough on plants). I don't have much luck with keeping most of these plants alive past a couple weeks. Right now I have two needle palms that look awful and I've only had them about 10 days. They were sent to me with roots systems that were not very good (slightly brown, not many feeder roots and too few IMO).

What do you do to bare root plants when you get them in the mail to ensure survival?

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13 hours ago, Pip said:

Soak the plants in a bucket of seaweed solution for an hour or so before potting them up.

That's what I do. Works reasonable but there's always a percentage of plants that don't make it. I use a palmbooster solution with slightly warm water and soak for 30 minutes before potting up. After potting up keep temperature and humidity as optimal as possible for the species and light conditions a bit low. Photosynthesis will commence after the roots have found their way in their new soil (couple of months). You will notice when growth starts up again.

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Thank you gentlemen. The needle palms I mentioned above appear very dried out. Hardly in feeder roots if any.  I removed one of them from the more heavier potting soil and made up some more porous mix (70% conifer bark,20% calcined clay, 10% Pro Mix) to see if that will help it. I am also built a small "greenhouse" that will raise the soil temperature a bit in hopes of speeding up root development. I also let the plant soak in a bucket of warm water with kelp and vitamin B-1 solution before re-potting. But I'm not holding out much hope for these two.

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+1 soak them.  I ship a lot of stuff bare root but bare root doesn't mean wash the soil off and then just stick in a box.  The roots must be kept moist during transport and a mix of newspaper, moss and aluminum foil or plastic to retain the moisture is critical.

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Texascoldhardy sent me some great bareroot T.Fortunei last week.  Roots where wrapped in moist newspaper and inside a plastic bag.  Plenty of roots and moisture. Only been a week but they look perfect and I dont expect any issues because of the bare rooting.  usually I will bare root most anything I mail order anyways because then the soil mix I make is 100% of what the plant starts growing in here. These will go in the ground eventually but for now in pots.

mike    

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I ship bare root because no one will pay the huge shipping cost of potted plants. First, I make sure palms are well hydrated and healthy. I remove them from the pot and most potting mix. Then I wrap roots in damp orchid moss, clear wrap, then foil. Generally I ship Priority Mail early in the week to avoid weekends and holidays.

Some species I won't ship at all because of root sensitivity: Bizzies and Archonotophoenix sp for example

True story - Several years ago I ordered a C. baileyana from a seller on eBay. Apparently, he yanked it out of its pot, tossed it in a box (no packing material) then sent it parcel post. When I opened the box I almost had a heart attack. I knew this little palm was doomed but I potted it in a 14" tree pot anyway. A month later the roots were escaping the drain holes so I planted it on my garden lot. There it grows happily, albeit slowly. But I never bought from that guy again.

Meg

Palms of Victory I shall wear

Cape Coral (It's Just Paradise)
Florida
Zone 10A on the Isabelle Canal
Elevation: 15 feet

I'd like to be under the sea in an octopus' garden in the shade.

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I contacted the seller and I told him I was not impressed with the roots on that palm. He (she) said they understood and "almost" didn't mail them because the roots were inadequate and they yank the add. I explained to him that if my palms died here in the next week or two (which looks like it might) he needed to replace or refund and he agreed. On the same day I got two S. Riversides from a different vendor (bare root) and the roots looked much healthier and have not declined since I've put them onto their pots.

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Needless to say I buy A LOT of palms I have by mail order and yes, most are shipped bare root vs in their pots like I prefer. That being said, I think a lot has to do with the seller and I've lost very few getting them shipped bare root as they are usually packed very well, wrapped with damp moss that is held in with aluminum foil, plus I have soil and pot ready for when palms arrive.

I have only bought from one nursery in Florida that really sent their plants "bare root" and I mean bare...hence  all of the palms I bought in that first order died either right away, or within weeks of getting them. I won't buy from them again.

I've learned that soil drainage is paramount for palm survival, as well as buying the largest option for any species that you can. Sometimes a seller has larger options that aren't advertised so you have to ask.  If you get a smaller seedling, and drown the roots in water it's easy to see why they might fail. Of course some species love and need more water than others.

Luckily the majority of sellers on Ebay and individual nurseries try and do a good job. It's too easy now a days to give a bad review to a seller or nursery and have word quickly get out to steer clear from them.

I'm awaiting two more today as a matter of fact! from a Ebay seller that I've only recently bought from in the past because he offers some really exotic stuff but have been less than thrilled with communication compared to others.

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On 3/25/2016, 5:22:13, sashaeffer said:

Needless to say I buy A LOT of palms I have by mail order and yes, most are shipped bare root vs in their pots like I prefer. That being said, I think a lot has to do with the seller and I've lost very few getting them shipped bare root as they are usually packed very well, wrapped with damp moss that is held in with aluminum foil, plus I have soil and pot ready for when palms arrive.

I have only bought from one nursery in Florida that really sent their plants "bare root" and I mean bare...hence  all of the palms I bought in that first order died either right away, or within weeks of getting them. I won't buy from them again.

I've learned that soil drainage is paramount for palm survival, as well as buying the largest option for any species that you can. Sometimes a seller has larger options that aren't advertised so you have to ask.  If you get a smaller seedling, and drown the roots in water it's easy to see why they might fail. Of course some species love and need more water than others.

Luckily the majority of sellers on Ebay and individual nurseries try and do a good job. It's too easy now a days to give a bad review to a seller or nursery and have word quickly get out to steer clear from them.

I'm awaiting two more today as a matter of fact! from a Ebay seller that I've only recently bought from in the past because he offers some really exotic stuff but have been less than thrilled with communication compared to others.

Thanks for the response.

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On 3/25/2016, 8:22:13, sashaeffer said:

Needless to say I buy A LOT of palms I have by mail order and yes, most are shipped bare root vs in their pots like I prefer. That being said, I think a lot has to do with the seller and I've lost very few getting them shipped bare root as they are usually packed very well, wrapped with damp moss that is held in with aluminum foil, plus I have soil and pot ready for when palms arrive.

I have only bought from one nursery in Florida that really sent their plants "bare root" and I mean bare...hence  all of the palms I bought in that first order died either right away, or within weeks of getting them. I won't buy from them again.

I've learned that soil drainage is paramount for palm survival, as well as buying the largest option for any species that you can. Sometimes a seller has larger options that aren't advertised so you have to ask.  If you get a smaller seedling, and drown the roots in water it's easy to see why they might fail. Of course some species love and need more water than others.

Luckily the majority of sellers on Ebay and individual nurseries try and do a good job. It's too easy now a days to give a bad review to a seller or nursery and have word quickly get out to steer clear from them.

I'm awaiting two more today as a matter of fact! from a Ebay seller that I've only recently bought from in the past because he offers some really exotic stuff but have been less than thrilled with communication compared to others.

Same here,who are the seller?

Rio_Grande.gif

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10 hours ago, foxtail said:

Same here,who are the seller?

Did you mean Ebay seller that sells some rare stuff?   MDA1515      auction only, and posts daily for same day auctions which makes you have to look every day. Most of what he sells are tropical plants with some palms mixed in. He/she ships in pot which I like and uses US priority mail so I get stuff in two days. The only downside to them is slow communication at times.

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