Pre-Dormancy Bare Root Plant Harvest (AKA Hot-Lift): Lessons Learned
Start Date
3-16-2026 11:20 AM
End Date
3-16-2026 11:29 AM
Abstract
A new study on harvesting, or lifting, native plants was completed this year to tackle challenges thought to reduce success in restoration projects. In the northern Willamette Valley, millions of native plants are planted each year for riparian and wetland restoration. Typically, bare root plants are lifted after they reach dormancy in late November through January. Plants are then shipped to organizations engaged in restoration activities, with planting often occurring in late January through March. While this standard lift timing has proven to be an effective method of establishing plants on the landscape, potential challenges include planting area inaccessibility due to flooding, limited nursery capacity, and contractor availability. These issues can result in late plantings, reducing the opportunity for root growth ahead of summer drought conditions, impacting both survival and early growth.
Pre-dormancy harvest of bare root plant material, also known as hot-lift, is one way to address many of the challenges associated with the standard bare root harvest and out-planting timeline. This involves harvesting bare root materials in the fall, before they have achieved winter dormancy, and installing them on the restoration site, generally with a short harvest to planting interval. Previous studies have demonstrated that this technique, which has been utilized in forestry throughout the Pacific Northwest, can improve survival and growth in Douglas fir. We compared survival and growth rates between hot-lift and standard-lift bare root plant material for 15 tree and shrub species commonly used in riparian restoration and observed significant differences for several species tested.
Subjects
Habitat restoration, Plant ecology
Creative Commons License
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Pre-Dormancy Bare Root Plant Harvest (AKA Hot-Lift): Lessons Learned
A new study on harvesting, or lifting, native plants was completed this year to tackle challenges thought to reduce success in restoration projects. In the northern Willamette Valley, millions of native plants are planted each year for riparian and wetland restoration. Typically, bare root plants are lifted after they reach dormancy in late November through January. Plants are then shipped to organizations engaged in restoration activities, with planting often occurring in late January through March. While this standard lift timing has proven to be an effective method of establishing plants on the landscape, potential challenges include planting area inaccessibility due to flooding, limited nursery capacity, and contractor availability. These issues can result in late plantings, reducing the opportunity for root growth ahead of summer drought conditions, impacting both survival and early growth.
Pre-dormancy harvest of bare root plant material, also known as hot-lift, is one way to address many of the challenges associated with the standard bare root harvest and out-planting timeline. This involves harvesting bare root materials in the fall, before they have achieved winter dormancy, and installing them on the restoration site, generally with a short harvest to planting interval. Previous studies have demonstrated that this technique, which has been utilized in forestry throughout the Pacific Northwest, can improve survival and growth in Douglas fir. We compared survival and growth rates between hot-lift and standard-lift bare root plant material for 15 tree and shrub species commonly used in riparian restoration and observed significant differences for several species tested.