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 are excited about gardening.
To make certain that this excitement yields positive results, let's
discuss the basics of spring planting.
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 previous articles that are still available.
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, 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 your
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 it in a hole 30” 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.
By using this planting technique we have actually created
a French drain around our poor little plant that can not 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 can not 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.
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 12 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. Did I
mention planting in good rich topsoil?
Michael J. McGroarty is the author and owner of the popular
gardening website http://www.freeplants.com
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