3 Easy Steps to Properly Planting Plants
3 Easy Steps
to Properly Planting Plants
Did you dig a good hole or a bad hole? Who even knew that there was such a thing as a good hole? Or a bad hole for that matter. If you want to be sure that your plants have the best start, be sure to dig a GOOD hole! Here are three steps to lead you to planting success:
Dig a hole for your plant 2-3 times as wide as the root.
It sounds daunting…I know. Doing this would require a ten inch rootball to be placed in a twenty or thirty inch hole. It seems overkill. However, the research shows that if you want higher rates of success, then digging a super wide hole is necessary.
It’s a major misunderstanding— thinking that plants grow roots deeply (we’ll discuss planting depth later). In most cases, plants actually grow roots more horizontally than vertically. Have you ever seen an old oak tree— or any tree really— that’s been toppled in a storm? The root ball looks like a pancake. Roots are growing outwards, yet the depth of the root system is only around a foot or so.
Keep this is mind when planting! Your plant babies are going to want to stretch out— not down. Give them a wide hole to fill and they will fill it quickly.
Dig a hole for your plant only as deep as the root ball.
As I mentioned above, plants don’t necessarily build deep root systems. Therefore, it’s not necessary to soften the soil below the depth of the root ball. If your root ball is 10 inches deep, so then should your hole be.
The main concern with softening soil below the rootball is actually something you might not ever consider. When softening soil below the rootball depth, you’re actually increasing the chance of that soil settling and, as a result, the rootball falling below ground level. The top of the rootball should always be inline with the top of the soil or else, rotting of the plant stem can occur.
If you have shallow soil, you can always “plant proud.” Planting proud is when you plant above the existing soil line by mounding a few inches of soil around a plant’s rootball. It’s usually better to plant a plant higher than ground level and never, ever below.
Super-soften your backfill soil as much as possible.
People think that you need to add lots and lots of organic matter (AKA soil amendment) in order to be successful at transplanting tress and shrubs. Not true! Research shows that soil amendment isn’t just not beneficial, it can be detrimental.
When adding organic matter to the soil, you are physically changing the texture of the soil. Usually, you are making the soil texture coarser. The unamended fine-textured soil surrounding the amended planting hole can actually move water away from your plants’ roots through capillary action. This can lead to dry pockets— killing your precious plant babies.
Ditch the organic matter and just soften the soil to clods no bigger than one inch in diameter. Tilling the soil to a super fine softness would be ideal. Softer soil produces more success. Science says so. So, place unamended, soft soil around your plant roots and watch them take off!
There you go— the three steps for planting success. In this case, you can’t do one and not the other. Be sure to dig a good hole— the best hole— by implementing all three steps the next time you add a new plant baby to your garden.