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gtw7983

Bareroot Trees Shipping

gtw7983
12 years ago

Anybody has experience with tropical fruit trees shipped to you barerooted?

I am trying to buy several 3 gallon mango trees and lychee trees from a nursery in FL and have them shipped to CA. The nursery told me they ship their trees barerooted and wrapped in sphagnum moss. I am very worried that the trees will have a hard time surviving the transit and even if they make it, they will have difficulty to flourish once I plant them out. Anybody has positive or negative experience with such situations? Any input will be appreciated.

Michael

Comments (6)

  • murahilin
    12 years ago

    Mango trees are pretty tough and should handle the bare rooting fine. Just remember to take proper care of the trees once you get them. I've included a link with some good tips on the proper care for a bare rooted mango tree.

    I think the lychee trees are a bit less hardy but with the proper care, they too should be fine.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bare root mangos

  • jsvand5
    12 years ago

    Now is a pretty good time of the year to do it. I think closer to the spring may be a little better but I would bet they will be fine either way.

  • tropicdude
    12 years ago

    I just recently bare rooted a few mango trees, last month.

    compared to how a nursery prepares them, you could say I butchered my trees, I had to fit them in a cardboard poster tube, so i --
    1) removed them from their pots, and used water to remove all the
    soil, carefully as to not break any roots.
    2) Cut the stem, so that the length was just right.
    3) Removed all the leaves ( next time I will leave a few on ).
    4) I dipped the roots in water in which I mixed in some Clonex Gel
    5) Sphagnum probably would have been better, but I used moist
    paper towels then wrapped the roots in plastic.
    6) I used parafilm-M on the stim.

    My technique is not what most would do, its risky, but I can say it worked out great for me. every single one I brought over this way, has pushed out new growth, even a couple of small seedling trees, which I had my doubts about, because they were so small.

    As murahilin mentioned Mango trees are pretty tough.

  • Andrew Scott
    12 years ago

    High Michael,
    As long as the nursery your buying from doesn't have a name that starts with "Top", you should be fine.

    Good luck!
    Andrew

  • ohiojay
    12 years ago

    Sheehan included a good link there. Lots of discussion concerning this. As you will see...there was quite a bit of confusion going on there towards the end with one of the members.

    Bottom line is humidity humidity humidity. Do whatever you can to boost it around your plant. That is the only way they will be able to intake any moisture until the roots start picking up. Water them good then be very careful when you water again and how much. Keep in mind that the roots will not be taking in any moisture at this point so you don't want to keep throwing too much water at them. Good luck and keep us posted.

    I'm going to assume you are getting your plants from Pine Island. I'm sure they will do a good job on the packing and shipping.

  • Zigmund
    11 years ago

    Hi there!
    My bareroot mahachanok tree came out of it just fine. Was shipped with leaves, but they soon fell off after transplanting. It was normal for barerooted plants to be "shocked". They have since flushed with new vegetative growth.

    The seller, bkinterfruit from ebay included a big transparent plastic bag to wrap around the tree to keep in moiusture. He advised to keep the plant moist but be wary about overwatering as this may cause roots to rot. Be mindful of the underpot pans that keep water at the base. These, he said contribute to root rot specially for barerooted plants that are not yet at the peak of health.

    Finally, he advised me to use a root starting hormone solution with vit b1 everytime I water the plant. It's something you mix with the water. Brand is Hormex.

    I'd be very glad to know which nursery that ships bareroot you are refering to. POG just won't ship bareroot.

    Thanks!
    Zig

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