\u201cHeeling in\u201d bareroot plants means to bury their roots in soil for storage prior to planting. <\/p>\n
No, you don\u2019t need to heel in if you don\u2019t want to. \u201cPeople telling you to heel in are creating work for you. If you can heel in, you can plant! Otherwise, plants will be OK in the bags for weeks: wait until the snow thaws, then plant.\u201d<\/p>\n -Forestry replanting manager who manages orders of 100,000+ trees each year<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Heeling in is a practice that dates back to Antiquity, before plastic bags existed to protect a bareroot plant\u2019s roots from drying out while being transplanted. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not that there is no point heeling in. This applies to any bareroot plants, whether it\u2019s a fruit tree<\/a>, soft fruit bush<\/a>, rose<\/a>, hedging plant<\/a> or large ornamental tree<\/a>.<\/p>\n Heel in plants at a 45 degree angle. This serves a vital purpose: they can\u2019t blow around and fall over in the wind if they are already lying down. If the weather is already freezing when your plants arrive<\/a>, keep the plants in their bags outside till it thaws.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The essential thing <\/strong>is that the roots stay moist<\/strong>, and undisturbed if frozen<\/strong>.
They can stay moist perfectly well in the plastic bags they are delivered in.<\/p>\n\n
It is the best way to store your plants if planting is going to be delayed by several weeks, especially at the tail end of the Winter planting season, when the plants are close to waking up.<\/p>\nHow to Heel In Plants<\/h2>\n
As a bonus, you will remember that they are heeled in, rather than planted! If your garden is a bit wild, it may help to mark your heeled in plants with a cane or something to tell you what\u2019s there if it\u2019s covered in snow.<\/p>\n