Renowned gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh has warned fellow gardeners about the potential pitfalls they can run into when bare-root planting. Bare-root planting occurs when a tree or shrub is dug up from the ground in winter, and then moved and replanted in a different position without soil around their roots.
According to Alan, this practise was incredibly common during the 20th Century when trees would be dug up in autumn and replanted elsewhere.
Alan highlighted how one long term benefit of bare-root planting has been value for money, as trees will then require less maintenance than those raised in pots, a saving that’s passed onto the consumer.
However, the former Gardeners’ World presenter has said the practice isn’t without its “pitfalls” and that some gardeners can become trapped by impatience.
Writing in Country Life he explained: “Too often gardeners are impatient: they want a tree that looks mature as soon as possible and, consequently, they will buy as large a specimen as they can afford.
“However, it stands to reason that the larger the tree, the more sustenance it needs to draw up from its roots.
“If the root system has been reduced in size — as it must be when a tree is transplanted from open ground — then a large tree with many branches to support will struggle to establish itself and may take many years to get over the shock.”
Going into more detail about why people should plant a bare-root tree before spring, the Gardeners’ World website explained that November to March was the perfect time.
They said: “Planting them in the dormant season means that they should establish well – while the top growth may be brown and twiggy, the roots are busy establishing beneath.”
As to which trees can be bare-rooted in autumn and winter, the website suggesed hawthon, fruit, ornamental, birch, and beech trees.
Describing young trees as “resiliant” in a video on the site, Alan added: “They are in a way sleeping and if we don’t wake them up too much…they don’t mind being moved at that time of year, even when they’re dug up.”
Whilst Alan has been teaching people about how to grow their plants, he has also been reflecting on the growth of his own career. Looking back, the 76-year-old has shared how his “dull” upbringing gave him a “good grounding” for a successful life and career.
Speaking on the Lessons From Our Mothers podcast, he said: “I think I grew up with a strong sense of when I had a family, wanting to look after my wife, children in the same way my mum and dad looked after us.
“Giving us a stable, often quite dull. Sundays were often very boring looking back, you’ve got to go and see granny or go for a walk, which I did like. So it wasn’t spectacular but on reflection, the grounding it gave you as a child was quite good.”
Alan added that whilst his radio and TV work is “quite sociable”, he is still happy in his own company. He said: “I need that time on my own, in our business you see a lot of people going around with an entourage, and they’re never alone.
“That would drive me nuts. I’m happy with my wife and my children and my grandchildren, I love being with them but the counterpoint to that is solitude as opposed to loneliness.”
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