Denny's Soapbox

It’s time to start giving some thought to installing new plants to your landscape, maybe a new flowering tree, how about a re-do of the front landscape or a new bed of Knock Out roses. All great ideas and easy projects but before you grab the shovel, let’s review the proper way to install any new plant, from an Azalea to a 15 foot shade tree. The old adage that ‘anybody can dig a hole’ is missing one word – “Properly” for living plants.

Let’s review the correct procedure. The best tool to dig with is a long handled shovel. A spade will work, but it takes longer and is a lot more work than is necessary. Now it’s time to dig a $100 hole for a $10 plant. The way you plant makes all the difference between happy or sad new plants.

First, make sure you’ve chosen a location where the plant wants to grow with the right light and wind exposure, no standing water and where there is adequate space for the new plant to grow to its proper size. All of these questions should be answered before taking the new plants home from the garden center.

Trees and shrubs are available two ways, container grown with the root clump in a pot or balled and burlapped ((B&B) fresh field dug from a nursery). For either type of plant you first need to dig a hole as deep as the root clump, no deeper, and twice as wide. With container plants, roots growing around the outside of the soil clump should be loosened so they are loose and dangling. B&B grown plants should have the top part of the burlap pulled away from the clump after placing the root ball in the planting hole.

The soil in our area is basically clay soil. Because of these soil conditions, we’re tempted to replace the heavy clay we dig out with soil that is amended too much or worse yet, all new topsoil. This is a no-no. Keep in mind the bottom and sides of the hole are heavy clay and that is what the plants roots will eventually grow in. Amending the soil too much will cause a situation called “bath tubbing”. This is when water fills in the new hole very quickly and then can’t drain out in a timely fashion. The plant will end up drowning in trapped ground water that collects with the over amended soil.

You can naturally amend your existing soil by chopping it up so none of the soil placed back around the root clump is bigger than a golf ball. This will naturally aerify the returning clay soil which is as good as adding any amendments. If you choose to amend the clay soil use organic materials like peat, humus and/or pine bark. Still don’t add more than 20% by volume. But please, always, use the majority of your existing soil to backfill.

Water the backfill to settle the soil and mulch no more than 2 inches deep. Check the soil around the soil clump weekly to check for soil moisture. Always check to see if your new planting is dry before applying more water. Apply some liquid root stimulator that contains vitamin B1. There are several brands available. Apply this product after your initial watering.

Every time you disturb the soil as in planting new plants, you expose a lot of buried weed seed to the bed surface. To prevent those weed seeds from germinating I recommend that you apply a weed seed preventer (Preen or Dimension) to the top of the bed immediately after installation of your new plants. Now take a picture and feel proud.