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Quite soon, those of you who have ordered bare root shrubs, trees, roses etc., to be sent by mail order or courier service, can expect them to arrive as field lifting starts soon.

You will know that orders are delivered in sequence based on when they were confirmed – first in, first served.Ìý The trade will continue right through the dormant months, with plants arriving sometimes when weather and/or ground conditions are not amenable to planting.Ìý So, what’s to be done when that happens?

If you really have no time within the first few days to cope with them, do not panic, for a start the packaging is usually first class and in my experience, there is no harm in leaving the delivery intact and stood in the coldest corner of a shed or garage for about a week. You have breathing space.

When you do get to open the packaging, check that the plants correspond to the order form regarding number and variety. Examine each one looking for damaged tissue and obvious signs of disease and report back to the supplier accordingly. The roots should then be plunged in water and left to soak for a couple of hours or so. After that it may be possible to plant as intended. Whilst doing so, you may have to prune damaged roots or shorten some to facilitate planting.

This is often the case with roses which tend to have long fang-like roots, indeed, you may receive roses with roots that are bent unnaturally, some turned at right angles.Ìý This happens when the rootstocks are machine planted, if the seedling stock roots have not been trimmed to a uniform length to match the setting of the depth bar on the planter.

Sometimes, the planting location may not be ready or the soil conditions are bad – saturated with water, covered in snow or frozen.Ìý What’s to be done?ÌýÌý In many cases, there will be an area of garden ground under a hedge or along the back of a wall where the soil conditions are quite reasonable.Ìý The plants can be heeled in temporarily in such a location and remain quite safe for several months if necessary, until the final positions are ready to receive them. We have our own word for this process, based on the Scots word for a ditch -Ìý a sheugh!Ìý That actually helps you to visualise the process if I say the plants are sheughed in!

I have known of cases where the plants were heeled in, in a cold greenhouse and in the worst scenario, they can be planted in tubs or planters and held in a sheltered corner. The essence of all these options is to keep the roots from drying out by having them surrounded with soil, which has to be friable enough to shake down through the tangle of the root systems and then be firmed around them.

At the same time, the top growth may need to be supported to prevent damage.

PS – We have snow forecast for later this week.

If you would like to ask Jim a question about winter protection or keeping your winter garden looking and smelling good then you can add your questions to the Message Board and Jim will answer as many as possible in his next post.

Jim McColl presents ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland's .