GROW WITH GABRIELE
Many gardeners are guilty of heading out to nurseries and buying a plant or two on impulse, but this often comes at a price.
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It is often hard to bypass that stunning flowering plant just beckoning for a place in the garden. Every plant purchase should be made with a clear idea of what function the plant will serve.
Plants put in the wrong place, failing to establish, growing poorly, or causing major problems structurally and financially because of inappropriate choice and placement, can be avoided.
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Forward planning will help ensure success. The most important part of planting is preparing the soil first.
Plants can't grow unless their roots have room to expand into surrounding soil.
Choose the right tools for the task, larger holes will require the use of a long handled round mouth shovel or sharp spade and for smaller plants a hand trowel may be all that's required.
It's essential to prepare the soil prior to planting, creating a planting hole to at least twice the diameter of the root ball of the plant.
Remember the rule; you don't plant a twenty-dollar plant into a two-dollar hole. So, the time spent preparing the planting hole will get newly acquired plants off to the best possible start in life.
Once you've broken up the top layer of soil, incorporate some organic matter like compost, manure, mushroom compost or planting soil mix thoroughly with the existing site soil and break up any large clods.
This will help improve water retention and increase microbial activity.
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Organic matter is the silver bullet of gardening. Incorporate organic matter at a ratio of 50-50 with the existing site soil or higher ratios for poor quality soils. In heavier soils adding a handful of gypsum will help to break up clay and improve the structure of clay soils.
Once the hard work is done it's time to plant out. Remove plants from containers carefully. Place the plant into the hole. Backfill with soil keeping it clear from the stem and gently firm soil around the plant, do not stomp or compact soil around the roots.
Apply organic mulch around the plant to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Water plants in immediately after planting and every day for one week, then once every three or four days until plants have established
- John Gabriele is a horticulture teacher with a love for green spaces.
