Written by Adam Latham
You’ve spent money, time, and energy locating, selecting, and then finally determining the proper placement of the perfect plants for your home. Now you’ll want to do all you can to help them survive the upcoming summer. Perhaps the primary factor in determining plant survival is the supply of adequate soil moisture in the root zone. If a plant doesn’t survive, you can assume it was either loved to death or abandoned to fend for itself.
To survive after planting, a plant needs to either:
Replace the root system lost in transplanting if it was dug out of the ground (whether bare root or Balled and Burlapped, also called B&B), or
Extend its root system out into the surrounding soil in the case of containerized plants.
An estimated 90% of the plant’s root system is cut away when it is dug at the nursery. The plant needs to recover from transplant shock and replace the fine, fibrous roots it used for the uptake of water and nutrients. Likewise, plants raised in containers have a significantly smaller root system than the same-sized established plant growing in the landscape. Although they generally have a more extensive root mass than B&B plants, containerized plants still need to be encouraged to send roots out of the growing media and into the surrounding soil.
Water, Water, Water
To help a plant replace or extend its root system, you need supply the proper amount of water to prevent the plant drying out. Keeping average garden soil adequately moist requires about an inch of water per week. An inch of water will percolate through the soil to a depth of eighteen inches. However, the amount of water required by a plant can vary widely depending on the type of soil, season, temperature, humidity, and the amount of exposure to the sun and wind in your garden.
Observe your newly installed plants, they may be telling you something. Are the leaves wilting or is the leaf color not quite right? Before you water a plant that appears to be wilting, it’s best to check the soil. Sometimes a plant’s physical appearance to overwatering is the same as underwatering. Fine textured soils such as clay and silt require less watering than coarse or gravely soils. Be careful not to drown your plants with love — more water is not always better. Applying more water than the soil can adequately drain or the plant can take up spells disaster. Too much water in the soil displaces the tiny air spaces in the soil that allow oxygen, needed for respiration, to reach the roots. Not enough oxygen in the root zone equals a dead plant.
Don’t assume that because you watered them when they were installed, have an irrigation system, or that it has rained recently that your plants have enough water. Water trees weekly with three to five gallons of water per inch of trunk caliper (the diameter of the trunk six inches above the soil line). The root systems of containerized shrubs and perennials may need to be thoroughly soaked two or more times per week for several weeks, as these plants tend to dry out quickly.
As the season progresses, remember to care for your investment. Extended periods of high summer temperatures, wind, or drought warrant supplemental watering of landscape plants. And don’t forget about them next year either. Continue to monitor their health and apply adequate amounts of water when necessary.
Mulch
Applying mulch around newly installed trees and shrubs is essential to their survival. The use of mulch conserves soil moisture, suppresses the growth of weeds, and adds organic matter to the soil. A two-to-three-inch-deep layer of aged, shredded bark, composted yard waste, pine needles, or similar organic material substantially increases the rate of survival. Buckwheat hulls work very well for mulching perennials and annual beds. They are lightweight, easy to spread, and won’t scorch or smother tender plants like shredded bark mulch can. You can buy buckwheat hulls as a bagged product at your local garden center. Before applying mulch around newly installed trees or shrubs, form a ring of soil two to three inches high outside the limits of the rootball, forming a saucer to hold water. Be sure the mulch covers the entire area of the saucer and that the mulch is not piled against the trunk or stem.
“Mulch Volcanoes,” as stacks piled against the tree are called, are detrimental to the health of trees. Piling mulch in this way creates a moist environment at the base of the trunk that can cause the bark to rot and invite disease-causing organisms to infect the tree. In the winter, mice looking for a home or a bite to eat can tunnel into the mulch pile and gnaw the bark off the base of the tree, killing it. The correct thing to do is to remove the excess mulch and install a mulch ring three inches deep.
Tools for the Job
Soaker hoses, drip bags and pans, watering cans, hose timers, and garden hoses with soft-spray nozzles are the best methods to apply water to newly installed trees, shrubs, and perennials. You can also use a hose turned on at low pressure without a spray nozzle. All of these methods will permit the maximum amount of water to go to the place the plant needs it most, instead of running off across adjacent surfaces.
How about installing a rain barrel if the plantings are adjacent a downspout? If you live in a village or urban area, the use of rain barrels has the added benefit of reducing the amount of runoff entering the street stormwater system. If you have an irrigation system, don’t assume that it will do the job. Often, the coverage of the spray heads is inadequate to apply water in the proper amounts and locations. If you’ve had a drip system installed, water may not be reaching the root systems of newly installed plants. Again, it is important to check the condition of your plants as well as probe the soil to observe the depth of water percolation.
It’s not rocket science, but properly caring for your newly installed plantings does require time, energy, close observation, and dirty fingernails. But in time you will be rewarded with flowers, fruit, and foliage for many seasons to come.
You’ve spent money, time, and energy locating, selecting, and then finally determining the proper placement of the perfect plants for your home. Now you’ll want to do all you can to help them survive the upcoming summer. Perhaps the primary factor in determining plant survival is the supply of adequate soil moisture in the root zone. If a plant doesn’t survive, you can assume it was either loved to death or abandoned to fend for itself.
To survive after planting, a plant needs to either:
Replace the root system lost in transplanting if it was dug out of the ground (whether bare root or Balled and Burlapped, also called B&B), or
Extend its root system out into the surrounding soil in the case of containerized plants.
An estimated 90% of the plant’s root system is cut away when it is dug at the nursery. The plant needs to recover from transplant shock and replace the fine, fibrous roots it used for the uptake of water and nutrients. Likewise, plants raised in containers have a significantly smaller root system than the same-sized established plant growing in the landscape. Although they generally have a more extensive root mass than B&B plants, containerized plants still need to be encouraged to send roots out of the growing media and into the surrounding soil.
Water, Water, Water
To help a plant replace or extend its root system, you need supply the proper amount of water to prevent the plant drying out. Keeping average garden soil adequately moist requires about an inch of water per week. An inch of water will percolate through the soil to a depth of eighteen inches. However, the amount of water required by a plant can vary widely depending on the type of soil, season, temperature, humidity, and the amount of exposure to the sun and wind in your garden.
Observe your newly installed plants, they may be telling you something. Are the leaves wilting or is the leaf color not quite right? Before you water a plant that appears to be wilting, it’s best to check the soil. Sometimes a plant’s physical appearance to overwatering is the same as underwatering. Fine textured soils such as clay and silt require less watering than coarse or gravely soils. Be careful not to drown your plants with love — more water is not always better. Applying more water than the soil can adequately drain or the plant can take up spells disaster. Too much water in the soil displaces the tiny air spaces in the soil that allow oxygen, needed for respiration, to reach the roots. Not enough oxygen in the root zone equals a dead plant.
Don’t assume that because you watered them when they were installed, have an irrigation system, or that it has rained recently that your plants have enough water. Water trees weekly with three to five gallons of water per inch of trunk caliper (the diameter of the trunk six inches above the soil line). The root systems of containerized shrubs and perennials may need to be thoroughly soaked two or more times per week for several weeks, as these plants tend to dry out quickly.
As the season progresses, remember to care for your investment. Extended periods of high summer temperatures, wind, or drought warrant supplemental watering of landscape plants. And don’t forget about them next year either. Continue to monitor their health and apply adequate amounts of water when necessary.
Mulch
Applying mulch around newly installed trees and shrubs is essential to their survival. The use of mulch conserves soil moisture, suppresses the growth of weeds, and adds organic matter to the soil. A two-to-three-inch-deep layer of aged, shredded bark, composted yard waste, pine needles, or similar organic material substantially increases the rate of survival. Buckwheat hulls work very well for mulching perennials and annual beds. They are lightweight, easy to spread, and won’t scorch or smother tender plants like shredded bark mulch can. You can buy buckwheat hulls as a bagged product at your local garden center. Before applying mulch around newly installed trees or shrubs, form a ring of soil two to three inches high outside the limits of the rootball, forming a saucer to hold water. Be sure the mulch covers the entire area of the saucer and that the mulch is not piled against the trunk or stem.
“Mulch Volcanoes,” as stacks piled against the tree are called, are detrimental to the health of trees. Piling mulch in this way creates a moist environment at the base of the trunk that can cause the bark to rot and invite disease-causing organisms to infect the tree. In the winter, mice looking for a home or a bite to eat can tunnel into the mulch pile and gnaw the bark off the base of the tree, killing it. The correct thing to do is to remove the excess mulch and install a mulch ring three inches deep.
Tools for the Job
Soaker hoses, drip bags and pans, watering cans, hose timers, and garden hoses with soft-spray nozzles are the best methods to apply water to newly installed trees, shrubs, and perennials. You can also use a hose turned on at low pressure without a spray nozzle. All of these methods will permit the maximum amount of water to go to the place the plant needs it most, instead of running off across adjacent surfaces.
How about installing a rain barrel if the plantings are adjacent a downspout? If you live in a village or urban area, the use of rain barrels has the added benefit of reducing the amount of runoff entering the street stormwater system. If you have an irrigation system, don’t assume that it will do the job. Often, the coverage of the spray heads is inadequate to apply water in the proper amounts and locations. If you’ve had a drip system installed, water may not be reaching the root systems of newly installed plants. Again, it is important to check the condition of your plants as well as probe the soil to observe the depth of water percolation.
It’s not rocket science, but properly caring for your newly installed plantings does require time, energy, close observation, and dirty fingernails. But in time you will be rewarded with flowers, fruit, and foliage for many seasons to come.