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By: Michael McGroarty
Spring means that the garden centers are packed with people,
and car trunks are packed with plants. Everybody has dirt
on their knees, dirt under their nails, and is excited about
gardening. To make certain that this excitement yields positive
results, let's discuss the basics in this article of spring
planting tips.
Installing new plants and having them grow successfully
is not difficult, nor is it as complicated as some would
have you think. Is it as easy as just digging a hole and
setting the plant in? Yes, it certainly can be. I won't
get into bed preparation, as I have covered that in other
articles that are available at http://www.freeplants.com
Let's start with B&B plants. B&B is short for balled
in burlap. Closely examine the ball on the plant that you
have purchased. Did the diggers wrap twine around the ball
to hold the plant secure? If they did, you should at least
cut the twine and lay it in the bottom of the hole, or remove
it completely. Pay close attention around the stem of the
plant where it emerges from the root ball, as diggers often
wrap the twine around the stem several times as they tie
the ball. This is extremely important because if the string
is nylon, it will not rot and will girdle and kill the plant
two or three years from now.
When B&B plants are stored in the nursery for extended
periods of time it becomes necessary to re-burlap them if
the bottom starts to rot before the plants are sold. If
the plant that you buy has been re-burlaped it is possible
that there could be nylon stings between the two layers
of burlap, so check the stem carefully. As long as the nylon
string is removed from around the stem of the plant, it
is actually harmless around the rest of the ball, and you
do not have to remove it.
Is the root ball wrapped in genuine burlap, or imitation
burlap made of a non-biodegradable plastic material?
Genuine burlap will rot quickly underground and does not
have to be disturbed before planting. If you're not sure
or suspect a poly type burlap, you don't have to remove
it completely, but should loosen it around the stem of the
plant and cut some vertical slices around the circumference
of the ball.
Now here's the critical part. What kind of soil are you
planting in?
If your soil is heavy clay, I highly suggest that you raise
the planting bed at least 8” with good rich topsoil.
If you can't do that for some reason, install the plant
so that at least 2” or more of the root ball is above
the existing grade and mound the soil over the root ball.
Keep in mind that plants installed this way could dry out
over the summer, but planting them flush with the ground
in heavy clay can mean that the roots will be too wet at
other times of the year.
The “experts” suggest that when planting in
clay soil you dig the hole wider and deeper than the root
ball and fill around and under the plant with loose organic
material. That sounds like a really great idea, doesn't
it? Some of these experts also recommend that you dig the
hole extra deep and put a few inches of gravel in the bottom
for drainage. Where do you suppose they think this water
is going to “drain” to?
Keep in mind that most B&B plants are grown in well
drained soil. That means that the soil in the root ball
is porous and water can easily pass through. Now imagine
if you will, a root ball about 15” in diameter, setting
in a hole 30” in diameter. All around and under that
root ball is loose organic matter. Inside of that root ball
is porous soil. Now along comes Mother Nature with a torrential
downpour. There is water everywhere, and it is not going
to soak into that hard packed clay soil, so it is just flowing
across the top of the ground searching for the lowest point.
When it reaches our newly planted tree surrounded by loose
organic matter, it is going to seep in until the planting
hole is completely full of water. (Remember my article on
getting rid of standing water and the French drain system?)
By using this planting technique we have actually created
a French drain around our poor little plant that cannot
tolerate its roots being without oxygen for long periods
of time. Because the bottom of this hole is clay, even though
we've added gravel for drainage, there is nowhere for the
water to go, and this plant is going to suffer and likely
die.
If you cannot raise the planting bed with topsoil, and are
planting in clay soil, I recommend that you install the
root ball at least 2” above grade and backfill around
the ball with the soil that you removed when you dug the
hole. Backfilling with the clay soil that you removed is
actually like building a dam to keep excess water from permeating
the root ball of your newly planted tree. The plant is not
going to thrive in this poor soil, but at least it will
have a chance to survive.
Once again, raising the bed with good rich topsoil is the
best thing you can do to keep your plants healthy and happy.
No matter what kind of soil you have, be careful not to
install your plants too deep. They should never be planted
any deeper than they were grown in the nursery. Planting
too deep is a common problem, and thousands of plants are
killed each year by gardeners who just don't understand
how critical planting depth is
Staking newly planted trees is always a good idea. If your
new tree constantly rocks back and forth when the wind blows
it will have a very difficult time establishing new roots
into the existing soil. Stabilize the tree with a stake.
You can use a wooden stake, a fence post, or for small trees
I often use 1/2” electro magnetic tubing, (conduit),
available at any hardware store.
You can secure the tree to the stake with a single wrap
of duct tape. In about six months or a year the sun will
dry the glue on the duct tape and it will fall off. Check
the tape to make sure that it has fallen off. You don't
want to girdle the tree with the tape.
Container grown plants are much easier. Follow the rules
for depth of planting as described earlier. Before gently
removing the plant from the container, check the drain holes
in the bottom of the container for roots that might be growing
out the holes. If so, cut them off so they will not make
it difficult to get the plant out of the container.
The easiest way to remove the plant from the container is
to place your hand over the top of the container and turn
it completely upside down and give it a gentle shake. The
plant should slide right into your hand.
Examine the root mass as you hold it in your hand. Sometimes
when plants have been growing in a container for a long
time the roots start to grow in a circular pattern around
the root mass. This is not good, and you should disturb
these roots before planting so you can break this circular
pattern. You can take a knife and actually make about three
vertical slices from the top of the root mass to the bottom.
This will stimulate new roots that will grow outward into
the soil of your garden. Or you can just take your fingers
and loosen the roots that are circling the root mass and
force them outward before you plant them.
What about fertilizer, bone meal, peat moss, and all those
other additives they are going to try and sell you at the
garden center?
Raise your planting beds with good rich topsoil and forget
about the additives. Be very careful with fertilizers, they
can do more harm than good. I landscaped my house 14 years
ago and I haven't got around to fertilizing the plants yet,
and have no intention of doing so. They look great.
As far as bone meal and all those other soil additives are
concerned, don't get too caught up in all that stuff. The
only thing that I know for sure is that they will make your
wallet thinner, but I don't think you'll see a difference
in your plants. Over the years I've landscaped several hundred
homes with fantastic results, and I never added any of these
additives to my planting beds.
Did I mention planting in good rich topsoil? That's the
secret!
About the author:
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit
his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com
and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter.
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