Caring For Your Newborn ... Plants
When you order starter plants from us, you're essentially receiving a shipment of fragile, newborn plants. Depending on the type of plant you order, they can range in size from 4-12 inches and will be completely dependent on you for survival. The first two weeks of your plant‘s life with you are the most important. We include instructions in the box with your plants but, just in case, you can always refer back to this post!
When you first open your box, it will look a lot like what is pictured below.
This is a three pack of our Big Daddy blackberry starter plants. We make sure that your plants are securely attached to the shipping box to prevent any damage from movement during transit. If you order one of our three pack starters we package the root systems together, so while it may look like you have one plant inside the box, they just need to be separated. Carefully remove the plants from the box, and unwrap the roots. Once they have been unwrapped, you will be able to see the individual plants.
From here, you will need to pot your plants. Choose a pot that has drainage holes in the bottom and one that is large enough to allow for growth of the plant. Fill the pot with a high quality potting mix, place your plant, and be sure to water well. Your plant has been deprived of water during it's journey home, so when you initially water, water until you see water coming from the bottom of the pot. From here you will place your plant in a space where it is protected from extreme temperatures and direct sunlight. Over the next 7-10 days you will continue to keep your new additions out of direct sun and ensure they are being watered well.
After about 10 days, you can start to SLOWLY introduce your plants to direct sunlight. The best way to do this is to choose a time when you can check on your plant frequently and immediately after watering them. Place your little guy in the direct light and check back on him in about 15 minutes. If he's doing well, leave him be and check back again in another 5 or so minutes. If he is starting to droop or just look like he's not doing well, move him back into indirect light. The first time you do this, your plants may not make it past the 15 minute mark, or they may be totally fine even an hour after you place them out there. Even if they're doing well, we recommend not leaving them in direct sunlight for more than an hour the first time. The next day you can do this again and you can leave them out longer than an hour...just make sure you keep an eye on them. Then each day you can progressively leave them in direct sunlight longer and longer until they are spending the entire day there. This won't be a super long process. We usually do it over a 4 or 5 day period. Once you're able to leave them outside in direct sunlight, their root systems are usually established enough for them to be transplanted into their permanent home. Depending on the size of pot you initially used, you may even be able to see roots coming from the bottom of the pot.
From here, you'll be able to plant them directly in the ground or into a pot, planter, or bag depending on the plant and your needs! You can search our blog for the method you want or to see the different options. You can also always contact us if you have any questions or need any help!
You can also check out our video below from our YouTube channel that actually shows this process in less than two minutes!