Tips For Planting Trees And Shrubs

container tree southeastern growers

Most trees and shrubs these days are grown in containers. This method of cultivation ensures that the roots do not get disturbed by anything in the ground or surrounding area, especially when selected for the planting process. While transferring from pot to ground isn’t too disruptive to the tree or shrub, they still require some help during the process.

Here are some of our best tips:

  1. Prepare the area: Your potential tree or shrub has been grown in a specific growing environment, optimized by the grower for the best results. You want the soil where you’re going to plant to be appealing to the tree. Churn up the soil in the entire area where your plant will sit at least as deep as the rootball of your tree, even deeper. Consider mixing in some compost or planting mixture to the soil in preparation.
  2. Water thoroughly BEFORE planting: Planting a tree or shrub with dry roots will make it more difficult to contain water in the future. Therefore, make sure the plant is thoroughly watered before placing it in the ground. If it is especially dry, water it until it is fully saturated and then plant.
  3. Dig a big enough hole: Always dig a hole bigger than your rootball ensuring that you have prepared the soil around the hole enough and when you pack the soil down around the roots, it wont get squashed or cramped in any way.
  4. To loosen or not to loosen: When removing your plant, you might consider loosening its roots but make sure you really take a look at the condition: is there a lot of soil between roots? If so, you might want to leave the rootball as is, so you disturb the roots as little as possible. However, if you take the rootball out and there are roots coiled around at the bottom or simply around the rootball, you can carefully spread the roots apart a bit so the roots grow out and away.

Planting Bulbs In Containers

growing plant southeastern growers

Container gardening can start with transferring your favorite plants into your choice of pot or container and maintaining it as necessary. OR, you can grow a plant by cultivating a bulb, growing your own flower, herb, fern, etc. from bulb to bloom – start to finish!

When considering planting bulbs, there are a few things to keep in mind: when, where, and how to plant the bulbs…

WHEN

Since you are planting indoors and in a container, you have ultimate flexibility when it comes to when you can plant and grow. Usually, when planting bulbs outdoors, you should be considering when those plants will be blooming. You do not have this concern with indoor growing, however, some bulbs do require chilling before planting in order to properly sprout and grow. Make sure you find out the necessary course of action with whatever bulb you plan on growing indoors.

WHERE

While planting bulbs in containers adds convenience to your gardening, there are still some stipulations you must adhere to. Some bulbs thrive in warm, sunny areas with great drainage; other bulbs may require cooler, more moist soil. So, while you can basically plant any time of the year with indoor container gardening, it is recommended to provide your plants with their ideal growing environment.

HOW

The majority of bulbs grow perfectly in containers, but there are some things you should keep in mind when cultivating your indoor garden.

  • Plant the bulbs deep enough (three times the bulb’s size) and one bulb (width) apart
  • Once your plant has grown, water it regularly (or as directed). Once the plant begins to wilt and enter dormant season, you can decrease watering (not entirely), but not enough to let it dry out completely.
  • Feed your bulbs with a liquid tomato feed (high-potassium) to ensure good blooms year after year, season after season.