Question
Hello ~

I have about 2 dozen "bare root" carnations that I would like to plant, but I have no idea how to put them in the ground, even after searching the internet.
The carnations are long, bare roots. Do I plant them sideways? I can't really tell which is the root and which is the top of the plant. How deep should the roots be planted? I want to put them in the ground, not a container.  

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

I live in San Diego. I have "prepped" the soil with some bags of potting soil since our regular dirt is in pretty hard and alkaline.

Thanks ~ Richard

Answer
Richard,
Are you planting these are garden plants or as future cut flowers?  Is there no slightly green part where all the roots come together? There should be a place where the roots all come together - this is the "crown" of the plant and should be pointed up and the roots going down. If you can see this area then dig a wide hole for each plant then make a "cone" of soil in the center (think volcano!) that stops just below the surface of the soil. Drape the roots over this cone with the crown at the top so that it gets covered with only an inch of soil but the rest of the roots are deeper. Fill with soil and gently pat it down. Do not press the soil around the roots too firmly - when you water it will settle everything well.

If you can't tell at all, what I'd do is make a trench (or several trenches) about three inches deep and lay them sideways in this trench. Keep each set of roots from touching the others so that you'll be able to move the plants in the future if needed.

After you lay the roots out in these fill them with soil and gently pat the soil down - do not press tightly. Water the area well to settle the soil. Next year you can move these plants around if you want to design the garden differently at that point.

I hope this helps,
C.L.