These must be started indoors for the first two weeks and no direct sun for the first week.

Planting Bare root trees and Raspberry plants are so named because the plants are dug from the ground when they’re dormant ( and sometimes leafless), usually in fall, and their roots are shaken free of soil. Immediately upon receiving a bare root tree, I remove it from its packing soak the roots in water for at least an hour. Roots that seem at all dry need to be soaked in a bucket of water for about eight hours. It’s best to plant bare root trees as soon as possible. Summer planting has to be planted completely out of full direct sun and heat. Morning and late afternoon sun is better.

For the first two weeks these need to be planted indoors. For raspberry plants, if there are no leaves, then no sun is needed. It will stress out the plant. For when transplanting outside, please put them in an area with only morning or late afternoon sun. You will also need to mulch the top of the soil. For the soil, use at least 30% sand mixed into the soil. Pure potting soil can damage bare root plants because it is too damp for new root growth. These small roots will drown and die if over moist for a period of time.

Beyond the planting hole, I just spread these amendments on top of the ground; by the time roots extend this far, the lime or sulfur will have leached into the soil. Do not mix fertilizer into the planting hole, since it could burn new roots. And don’t add peat moss, compost, or other organic materials, or the roots won’t venture beyond the amended soil.