Bare Rooted is Best
 Dec 23rd, 2000
Advantages:
A wonderfully ornamental plant, with great widlife benefit
Disadvantages:
None - there are varieties to suit large or small gardens
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
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  Aspen
About me:
Member since:04.11.2000
Reviews:146
Members who trust:160
Review rated by 7 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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There is such a wide range of trees and shrubs which can be planted at this time of year, bare-rooted. And at a fraction of the cost of container grown plants. But you won’t usually find bare rooted plants in Garden Centres. And certainly not in DIY stores - please, gardeners, buy your composts and sundries in DIY stores by all means, but not your plants. To get bare rooted plants, you will almost certainly have to visit a retail nursery, or deal with a reputable mail-order company. Bare rooted plants are generally available from November to March in the south, or to April, or even May, in the north. (The R in the month old wives tale is not entirely accurate).
Hawthorn is one of those native plants often overlooked for gardens because it so widespread in the countryside. Or was. Our hedgerows are disappearing at an alarming rate, and we gardeners can do our bit for the wildlife which is so dependant on our native plants, by including hawthorn in our gardens. It makes an ideal, intruder-proof boundary hedge, but if you don’t have room for that, hawthorn is also a wonderful specimen plant - in the middle of a lawn, for example. But choose your variety carefully.
Now we’re into Latin names again, I’m afraid. (And no, I’m not going to plug my other ops again - you know where to find me!). Our native hedging hawthorn is Crataegus Monogyna. Commonly known as May, or Quick, or Hedging quick, or Quickthorn. Unfortunately, Crataegus oxycantha is also known commonly as May. So don’t go to the Garden Centre and ask for May. You could get either.
If you want a good specimen tree for your garden, to grow on its own, buy a Crataegus oxycantha Paul’s Scarlet. It is usually sold as a half standard - which means a plant grown with a clean stem and a developed crown (in other words, it already looks the shape of a tree when you buy it). If you want plants for a hedge, buy Crataegus monogyna, and if you want a good thick hedge, plant them in a double row, rows about 30cm apart, plants within each row about 50cm apart, with the plants in the rows staggered. (I’d love to draw a diagram, but Ciao can’t cope with that -yet).
Above all, don’t accept pot grown hawthorn, whatever the variety. Search out the places which will supply you with bare rooted plants (between now and mid-April) - they will be healthier, will transplant better and with less of a setback, and won’t have the problem of being pot-bound. And if you can’t find a nursery to supply you with hedging hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), around the 40 - 60 cm size (ideal size for establishing a hedge), for less than 40p a plant, email me and I’ll point you in the direction of some good mail-order nurseries!
And finally, if I was limited to only one piece of advice, this would be it. Never, EVER, buy plants raised in a location further south than where you’re going to plant them. This is a big problem when dealing with mail order nurseries. They tend to be in areas of favourable growing conditions - naturally - but that may not suit your climate. If buying in a garden centre, ask where the plants were raised. Many garden centres buy in from Holland, even Italy.. And this is the commonest cause of disappointment. Remember, if the plant was raised in a more northerly climate than yours, it will be hardy and survive. If it has come from some more southerly cosseted environment, its chances will be slim. Be warned.
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25.12.2000 02:22
Hi Mike You're right. We really should be tucked up in bed, but what the hell. Here's lookin' at you, pal. Have a good yin. Best wishes of the Season to you and yours Ken J (cujimmy)