I ordered some hardy Hibiscus from Hallson Gardens. They came bare root. I'm concerned because the roots are cut. These have no green growth at all. Have any of you received plants like this? I hate bare root plants!

I've never received any like this myself. I looked at their website and two things I notice is these plants are field grown and they come from Michigan. Field grown plants are going to have roots that spread much wider than pot grown plants, so they are trimmed. They dig them, trim the roots back and ship them while they are still dormant. Since they are most likely freshly dug and still dormant you won't see any growth yet. Pot them up or plant in your garden and keep them moist they should do OK.

I've gotten them from Walter's Gardens through a co-op and they've all done fine. I potted them up until I saw some decent growth on them and then planted them in the ground. All of the ones that I've posted pictures of on here are from the co-op except for one. I've been really pleased with them all.

These don't even have any green on them at all yet. I hope they start growing soon.

If they're really field grown, please remember that his zone is a lot colder than yours...they may take a little longer than you expect to start showing growth. Mine are up about 6" to 8" here in zone 5. I know hallson' s has a really good reputation, so I'm sure he'll take care of you if there's a problem. Good luck with your hibiscus.

Hallison's are excellent with any of their plants and have a great reputation. I have some their hardy hibiscus. And they are beautiful. They just take a time to wake up in the spring. As it has to be about 60 degrees before they will even think about coming out. They are so worth it I just ordered more this spring from Hallison Gardens as I've looked everywhere and he has the best quality of anyone by far.

I forgot to update this. The plants all grew! I will be ordering more plants from them. They are top notch. This is my best experience ever with bare root plants!

Sorry to re-open an older thread, but rather than start a new one...

I've got a pair of bare root plants arriving tomorrow (Holy Grail and Cranberry Crush) and I've found scant little info on the web about planting them as bare roots, which is bizarre.

Any tips or tricks, advice or suggestions would be appreciated. I don't even really know how deep to plant them which seems like that would be important given than I am in 6a and depth probably = survival this winter.

I've picked a fairly moist spot, all the sun they could want, have already bedded a lot of rich compost for them to find about 10" down roughly in the area I want them to expand into, and I have loosened and enriched the soil in prep for them. They are the anchors to the entire planting area and will be the background plants, so I am pretty eager for them to do well.

i beleive the bare roots usually have old dead stem growing out from the top so you just basically bury it with the dead part from last year sticking out of the ground. I did it this way and the root was a dud for me so hopefully more people reply.

Thanks, Eric!

I did find... 2 to 4" deep, top with 1 to 2" of mulch. Plant with the top of the crown about 2 to 4" below the soil so that a good portion of the old stems are buried. (Hallson Gardens)

I am going to float them out into a bucket with water and a few drops of superthrive for 30-60 minutes so they get good and hydrated. Then I will plant them at least 3" down but probably closer to the full 4" since I my zone is their northern limit. (This is how I treat peonies and hopefully this works fairly well here.)

@Topdecker
They should be just fine planted as you describe. (If you got them from Hallson, the planting depth will be marked on the stem.) I am also in MO in zone 6a. Some hardy hibiscus grow wild here. They struggle in zone 4, but here the summer heat stresses them more than our winters. They need LOTS of water when it gets hot. My Cranberry Crush drops buds if I don't keep its soil fairly soggy during July and August.
They will break dormancy in early May in our zone, so be patient with them.

Thanks, Diana!

The place I have reserved for them will literally make them the plants closest to the hose. I will take your advice and be very generous with watering them, especially during the hotter months.

I did not get them from Hallson - in part because I hadn't heard of them - but if these do well, I will almost certainly add one or two more each year. Hummingbirds seem to love them and I am looking forward to nice flowers with some flying friends.

BTW, the hibiscus didn't arrive today - so hope to be planting them tomorrow.

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Hallson unfortunately closed their nursery this year. I was able to order 4 more hibiscus from their going out of business sale - Cherry Choco Latte, Evening Rose, Candy Crush and Holy Grail. They are in my basement now. I will plant them tomorrow.
I hope yours arrive tomorrow!

I got them planted. I have a little garden area that, when you dig down, you hit a wall of solid clay at 10". It rained 3 days ago, but there was a bit of standing water after I dug out the planting location. The spot is chronically damp. I sure hope that it isn't too much.

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The wild ones grow in standing water with the cattails. They are naturally a swamp plant. "Chronically damp" sounds perfect.

DraDiana said:The wild ones grow in standing water with the cattails. They are naturally a swamp plant. "Chronically damp" sounds perfect.

Sounds like it should work great, then! I know that they were called 'swamp mallow' but I had no idea that they were competing with cattails.