By: Stephen Drommonsy
Submitted: 2010-10-07 09:42:55 | Word Count: 914
Setting up new plants and getting them to grow successfully seriously is not hard, nor is it as problematical as some would prefer you to to think. Is it as unproblematic as digging a hole and setting the plant in.
Balled in burlap (B and B).
Closely look at the ball around the plant that you have purchased. Did the diggers wrap cord around the ball to carry the plant safely? If they have, you should at least cut the cord and lay it inside the bottom of the opening, or get rid of it completely. Pay close attention around the stem on the plant where it emerges on the root ball, diggers often wrap the cord around the stem a number of times as they secure the ball. It is exceedingly important because if ever the string is nylon, it won’t rot and will choke and kill the plant two or three years down the line.
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When B and B plants are stored at the nursery for extended periods of time it results in being essential to re-burlap them if the bottom begins to deteriorate before the plants are sold. If the plant which you buy has been re-burlaped it's always possible that there can be nylon strings relating to the two layers of burlap, check the stem cautiously. As long as the nylon string is removed from around the stem of this plant, it it is actually harmless around the rest of the ball, and you don’t need to remove it.
What sort of soil are you planting in?
If the soil is heavy clay, I would suggest you elevate the planting bed a minimum of 8” with good rich topsoil. If you can't do that for any reason, install the plant so that at the very least 2” or more of the root ball is above the existing ground and pile the soil over the root ball. Remember that plants put in using this method may dry out over the summer season, but planting them flush with your soil in heavy clay can mean the roots will likely be too soaked at other times of the year.
The experts advise that when planting in clay soil you dig the opening wider and deeper than the root ball and fill up around and under the plant with loose organic material. It seems like a really good idea doesn't it? Some of these specialists also suggest that you simply dig the opening extra deep and put one or two inches of gravel in the base for drainage. Where do they think this water is going to drain to? It's going to in point of fact sit in the base of that hole.
When water reaches our recently planted tree surrounded by loose organic matter, it's will seep in until the planting hole is absolutely filled with water. By employing this planting practice we have actually created what's known as a French drain around our poor little plant which cannot tolerate its roots being starved of oxygen for lengthy durations of time. Since the base of this hole is clay, despite the fact that we've added gravel for drainage, there is nowhere for this water to travel so it lays in the bottom of the hole, this starves the plant of oxygen which means that it is going to suffer and porbably die.
In the event you cannot lift the planting bed using topsoil, and you're planting in clay, I suggest that you just install the root ball no less than 2” above ground and backfill around the ball with your soil that you just dug out when you created the hole. Backfilling using the clay soil that you removed is essentially like constructing a dam to prevent excess water from permeating the root ball of your newly planted tree. The plant is not going to thrive in such a poor soil, but at least it could have the chance to survive.
Container grown plants are much less complicated.
Follow the rules for depth of planting as described earlier in this article. Before gently taking away the plant out of your container check the drain holes at the base of the container for roots that might be growing through the holes. If there is any, cut them off so they will not allow it to become tricky to remove the plant from the container.
Examine the root mass while you hold it in your hand. Sometimes when plants are growing within a container for a long period the roots begin to grow in a circular pattern round the root mass. This is just not healthy, and you should agitate these roots before planting so you can break this circular pattern. You should take a knife and actually make about three vertical slices from the top of the root mass towards the bottom. It will stimulate new roots that should grow outward into the soil of the garden. Or it's possible just use your fingers and loosen the roots which have been circling the root mass forcing them outward before you start planting them.
Author Resource:-
I have always had the gardens of my properties that I own maintained by exactly the same gardener london company and through the years they've saved me a lot of money, just by giving me some very useful advise.
