Outdoor Steward: Properly transplanting bare-root trees and shrubs this spring and beyond

I planted my first bare-root shrub in 2003. Since then, I have planted thousands of seedlings and seedlings of bare-root trees and shrubs. My track record is pretty good, and most of my failures can be attributed to extreme locations or summer drought.
Since it never hurts to troubleshoot technical issues, I contacted Wisconsin DNR reforestation specialist Jeremiah Auer. Last year alone, Wisconsin DNR state nurseries distributed more than 3.8 million seedlings from more than 50 different trees and shrubs. So Auer knows his way around bare roots.