Miscanthus Rhizome Storage and Delivery
Miscanthus planting material is not stored like seed. A rhizome is alive: from the moment it is lifted, it draws down the starch and moisture reserve held in the root stock. How many plants come up in the field is decided not only by the quality of the material at lifting, but also by the conditions it sat in until planting. That stretch is ours to manage.
Why storage decides establishment
The moment a rhizome leaves the soil it becomes vulnerable to desiccation and decay. From then on, storage conditions bear directly on how many plants emerge.
The margin is narrow. Anything above 1 °C combined with high humidity produces a predictable result: the rhizome loses germination energy, viability drops, and the material begins to rot. The Terravesta protocol sets the same boundary from the other side — a moist, cold, dark place at 2 °C.
Cold storage does not postpone the problem, it removes it. Research has shown that six weeks at 2 °C does not reduce rhizome viability. A proper store therefore widens the planting window: you can wait for the soil to come right instead of planting in haste because the material is deteriorating.
Terravesta places rhizome quality maintenance through cold storage alongside soil moisture and weed control — the three factors that determine whether a plantation establishes.
How we store the material
Rhizomes are held in our own refrigerated storage facility under a managed micro-climate. Three systems — cooling, humidification and ventilation — maintain a regime in which the material neither dries out nor overheats. The working temperature is around 1 °C.
This is not a standard option on the market. An industrial cold store is a capital structure with refrigeration equipment, and most farms do not have one. That is precisely why newcomers take their heaviest losses before the field: not on agronomy, but on storing the planting material.
Every batch is traced to a specific block of our mother plantation. The variety is registered in Ukraine — certificate No. 24553001 and patent No. 250152. The establishment rate of Terravesta Athena, at roughly 86%, only holds under a maintained storage regime: material that has sat in the warm will not deliver it, whatever the variety.
Packing and delivery to the field
The Terravesta standard we work to: rhizomes are packed in bags of up to 12 kg holding a minimum of 450 rhizomes each, so they can be unloaded by hand and fed into the planter easily. One pallet covers roughly 1.5 hectares. Until the moment of delivery to the field, the material is kept under controlled temperature and humidity.
Batch volume, release date from the store, transport and the unloading point are agreed in the quotation for your specific area.
What the buyer does on arrival. Bags are not left in the sun or inside a closed truck — keep them in shade or in the cold and plant as soon as possible.
This is not a formality. The market has a documented case of an imported consignment delivered in polythene sacks: the temperature inside reached 30–35 °C and the material had spoiled before it ever reached the field. That mistake does not cost you a batch of rhizomes — it costs you the first year of a plantation meant to run for twenty.
When to order
Rhizomes are not held in stock — they are lifted to order. At Terravesta, the order deadline for spring planting falls in December of the preceding year.
The planting window in Ukraine is April to May, roughly six weeks. It is better to start in mid-April while there is still moisture in the soil: that moisture determines how strong a root system the plant builds over its first summer, and therefore how it overwinters and what it shows in year two.
Orders are placed well ahead so that material is lifted and stored to meet your planting date. Prices and the payment schedule are on the page.
FAQ
At what temperature are rhizomes stored? Around 1–2 °C, in a moist, dark space. Above that threshold the rhizome loses germination energy, and at high humidity it starts to rot.
How long can rhizomes be held before planting? Under a correct storage regime, six weeks at 2 °C does not reduce viability — this is supported by research. In practice, the shorter the gap between lifting and planting, the better the start.
How are rhizomes delivered? In bags of up to 12 kg, a minimum of 450 rhizomes per bag, on pallets. One pallet covers about 1.5 hectares.
What if the weather shifts my planting date? Tell us. Cold storage allows the release of your batch to be moved without loss of quality.
Request a quotation for rhizomes with delivery
We will calculate the volume for your area and agree the release date and delivery to your field.