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I ordered some bare root blackberries for myself and a friend. They left the nursery last Friday, but my friend won't be able to pick them up and plant them until Saturday.
What can I do to ensure the plants are still viable on Saturday, presumably 8 or 9 days after they were dug up, or do I even need to worry?
These are just the stem and roots; they weren't packed in a growing medium of any kind.
Usually, bare root plants are supplied with wrapped roots - that might be burlap or fabric or some plastic, so hopefully that's what they've done. When you get them, soak the roots in a bucket of water for at least 2 hours, then plant out. If its a good supplier, they may come with instructions, and these often tell you how long to stand them in water for.
UPDATE: Sorry, I hadn't quite grasped the situation, I thought you meant you couldn't collect them from wherever they were waiting. As you've got them already, if you mean, by wrapped in plastic, each one is contained within a plastic bag from top to bottom, they should be fine left outside in a shady spot. If only the roots are wrapped, then can you find somewhere to heel them into the ground? That just means digging a bit of a hole and burying the roots in it temporarily until they can be planted permanently -its often done if the weather isn't right for planting when the plants are delivered. Best done in a shady spot.
