The first thing to do upon arriving at home with all you healthy, fragrant, and beautiful selections is to place the tender young plants in a shaded area or begin setting them, pots and all, where you marked with your spray paint; do not leave them in your hot SUV or car! There are two ways to go about setting your plants out, either all at once or in manageable sections; either way you choose you will be able to stand back and get a view of the yard/garden before a single plant is in the ground. When you are happy with the placement of the plants it is time to dig!

I would recommend planting any trees you have chosen first. With trees and with most shrubs, you will want to make and "x" in the landscaping fabric with a utility knife. This opening you cut only has to be large enough for you to dig the hole. The hole should be larger around than the root ball but only about 2/3 as deep. In essence you will have a wider but shallower hole than it appears you need. This will be the case for all your plants. The reason for this is you want the trunk and top of the rootball of the plant to be above the ground level. Keeping soil and mulch away from the trunk of your plants can help to avoid "collaring" your plants which could lead to many problems including a diminutive mature plant.

Once the hole is dug, many people recommend filling it with water to eliminate any air pockets prior to planting. For me, I only do this for trees and large shrubs as I have not encountered any issues with smaller plants. Once you have dug the hole for your larger plants gently remove the plant from its container; you may have to use your utility knife to cut the container away. If the plant has become rootbound, you will need to break the mass of roots apart so that the roots can grow down and out rather than around itself. Again you can use your utility knife to cut on all four sides through the mass of roots. I know this may seem harsh but if your plant is rootbound like the one pictured on the right, it will do much more good in the long run. Free of it container, there is one more step before placing it in its new home. I put a handful of stones in the bottom of the planting hole to help with initial drainage but that is by no means required. The plant is now ready to be set, backfilled with garden, potting, or top soil and then watered very well. I would definitely recommend leaving the hose on very low at the base of the plant, moving the hose from plant to plant as they are set. After planting your trees and large shrubs, I would highly recommend working from the back of your garden to the front repeating this process for all of your plants. *Note: Smaller plants with shallower root systems can be planted in soil on top of the landscape fabric. This does include bulbs. The less cuts to the landscape fabric, the less you will have to weed.

Once the plants are in the ground, there is only one step left, mulch! Regardless of whether you are using traditional mulch, pine straw, bark, etc, this will be the final step. Mulch serves a couple of purposes. It is both decorative and it helps to retain moisture. While rocks are attractive, they do tend to hold and radiate the heat which can be damaging. To cut down on watering, I recommend a porous mulch about an inch to three inches thick, like pine nuggets and using larger rocks as accents! That is it! Just make sure you water your new garden for at least 30 days to help it get established, then it is sit back and enjoy! Thanks to careful planning and use of landscape fabric, weeding will be minimal while satisfaction will be maximum!

I hope you have enjoyed this five part series. If you have missed any, please click on the links below!

Curb Appeal...Your Yard...Part 1!

Curb Appeal...Your Yard...Part 2!

Curb Appeal...Your Yard...Part 3!

Curb Appeal...Your Yard...Part 4!

About the Author

If you are in the market to purchase a home or even refinance an existing loan and you want a loan officer that will walk with you every step of the way, then contact Danny or Rich of the Thornton Team at Home America Mortgage today. We can have you pre-approval in as little as 4 hours. You can visit our website or send an email to thorntonteam@homeamericamortgage.com or call us @ 865-951-0522.