Assessing each site is the first step
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Q. I want to add perennials and shrubs into empty spaces in my garden this spring. I’d appreciate some guidelines on choosing plants and settling them into the landscape for long-term enjoyment.
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A. Begin by assessing each site. Measure the space it offers and its sun exposure. Check the soil. Is it fertile, humus-rich and moisture retentive, or does it dry out quickly in summer?
Next, decide what kind of plant(s) you desire in the site. If it’s a shrub you want, do you prefer evergreen or deciduous? Are flowers important?
As you begin looking for plants, check labels carefully to choose plants whose requirements match those of your planting sites’ conditions. Most labels give a plant’s needs for sun exposure and soil moisture. Note the plant’s ultimate height and spread, to make certain it will fit without eventual crowding into the location you have for it.
Too often, digging a small hole in the site and plunking the plant in leads to disappointment. Instead, clear the ground of weeds and debris, and incorporate into an area, ideally twice the width of the plant’s root ball, a generous layer of a nutritious compost, a balanced fertilizer, and lime except for acid loving plants.
Dig a hole a little wider and deeper than the pot. Check that the soil is moist and slip the plant out of its container. If roots have been running laps around the pot, they need to be teased away and spread outward. With clean cuts, shorten overlong roots.
Settle the root ball into the hole, adding firmed soil underneath it enough to make sure the plant ends up at the same soil level it was in the pot – unless the label indicates otherwise. Firm the soil down and around the plant as you fill in the hole.
If the soil is even a little on the dry side, add water to the partly filled hole and let it drain before filling in the hole and tamping it down with gentle firmness.