Planting many types of plants is better in autumn, to give the plant a chance to slowly get used to it’s new space – but spring is good for planting too. Now – before it heats up too much.
Want a shade tree? It is not too late to plant one. (see “Pick the Perfect Tree“) But it is fast heating up, so do get it in this weekend. Yes, start now even in the Cool Mountains of the Southwest. While planting after Last Frost is recommended, at least you can start digging the hole.
Spring or Fall – for plants in the Southwest I advocate following these five planting tips.
Tip 1. Know Your Soil.
Soils are classified based on three main components: sand, clay, and loam. Any good soil for plants will also include organic matter, such a decaying leaves and old twigs. This provides nutrients for the plants, helps aerate the soil, helps our desert soils be more acidic (which plants prefer), and provides substrate for all the soil microbes who help plants grow in ways we are just beginning to understand.
Sandy soils will drain quickly, the water quickly sinking below the level that plant roots can reach. Plants will dry out rapidly. Add compost to sandy soil to improve the water holding capacity of the soil.
Clay soils easily become waterlogged, drowning the roots of plants. Clay soils are highly alkaline, which few plants tolerate. Add compost to acidify the soil and some coarse sand to promote drainage and air retention in the soil. Don not simply add sand. Clay plus sand is called mortar.
Loamy soils are just right. Desert soils are very rarely loamy. Plan on adding lots and lots of compost no matter what soil you have. Don’t plant is pure compost however, that will provide too good a media for pesky grubs, and your native plants won’t grow well. Instead, plant into a mix of compost blended with the soil you remove from your planting hole. If you don’t have any home-made compost, not to worry, nurseries and garden centers sell compost. I snag the bags of “mushroom compost” when I can.
Tip 2. Dig Big.
When it comes to your planting hole – dig big!
Years ago, Grandpa taught me, “For a twenty dollar tree, dig a twenty dollar hole.” Inflation has set in since then. Now I advise digging a “hundred dollar hole.”
When you factor in what it costs to get a tree growing – labor, soil amendments, water costs, irrigation lines, the plant itself, plus the time waiting for the plant to become established and thrive, the reality is closer to a five hundred dollar hole.
I say “dig big,” this is in terms of width, not depth. The hole should be at least three times the width of the pot. A plant in a one foot diameter pot needs a hole at least three feet in diameter. Wider is fine for trees and any plant with roots that will spread out. That is virtually every plant on earth.
Two things to notice in the above picture of an official tree planting. First – see how the hole is much larger around than the root ball of the tree. Even “back East” a large diameter hole is a good idea. Second – the ball of roots and soil around the base of the tree are not below the level of the soil. They are right at soil level.
The hole should not not NOT be deeper than the pot that the plant is in.
Four good reasons for the hole to only be as deep as the pot.
First. Plants very commonly fail to establish because they are planted too deeply or too shallowly.
Second. If the soil beneath the plant is not sufficiently firmly packed, the plant may lean or tilt. This will be hard to fix.
Third. Many species simply do not need a deep hole. There are exceptions but this is not a topic for today.
Forth. Most desert soils are difficult to dig in! Hole width is more critical than hole depth for plant establishment.
Tip 3. Amend around the Plant.
The plant you are planting is a pampered darling in nice moist and nutritious nursery soil. You will need to introduce in gently to our less than ideal soils that we all have in our yards. If you amend the soil around the plant as you plant it, you give it a chance to spread it’s roost our and get used to it’s new reality.
Closest to the plant, back-fill the hole with a fifty fifty mixture of compost and the soil from the hole. Near the edge of the hole, back fill with 25 percent compost and 75 percent desert soil. This gives the roots a gradient to grow through on their way to desert soil.
Tip 3 1 /2. Stake Trees.
Stake Part 1. Place the Stakes
There are three parts to staking trees. You need to know that staking trees is something that your tree will only need for a year. Then you will take it down.
Use two poles, plastic coated wire, and nails or screws. Site the two poles on either side of the tree, perpendicular to the major wind direction. Our winds mostly come out of the west, so the poles will be on the south and north side of the tree. Site stakes well away from the tree, out near the edge of the hole. This is to give the tree room to grow and ensures that the branches will not rub on the poles and become scarred. Loop the wire loosely around the trunk. Loosely! Nail or screw the wire to the stake so it won’t slip down.
Wire must be loose so the tree can sway slightly in the daily breeze and grow the strengthening cells needed to stand strong on its own. The staking is to help is stand in the face of storms while it is in its first establishment phase of growth. Technically the sway should be 10 to 15 degrees from perpendicular in all directions. Floppy trees, like desert willow, require less sway space, while rigid trees like an ironwood barely need staking at all.
Stake Part 2. Remove Nursery Stakes.
Many plants, trees, shrubs, and especially vines have a stake in the pot when you get them from the nursery. This is to help hold the plant upright while it lives in a pot. This nursery stake must be removed as soon as you are done planting if you ever want your plant to thrive.
Stake Part 3. Unstake Your Tree.
Within one year. Take those stakes out. If the trees falls down or flops over, dig it out and start over. You will not win with that plant.
Tip 4. After Planting – Water Immediately.
Immediately after planting any plant, water deeply to help settle the soil and drive any air pockets out of the soil. This will also show you if you have done everything correctly. If you end up with part of the root ball above the ground, or if the whole plant settles a few inches deeper, you will need to replant. Ideally give your plant a day to dry out a little because a soggy root ball easily falls apart and if that happens it generally kills the plant.
Tip 5. Water to Establishment.
In the nursery, plants generally get watered daily. You will need to do the same at first, no matter if it is a “low water” plant. Water the area well out from the root ball to make sure the soil you want your plant to extend its roots into is amply moist. After the first two weeks you can cut back to every other day, then every third. Native plants will need supplemental water until they become fully established, generally a year, but up to three years in some cases.
More about watering. Link to a free downloadable PDF: Watering and Irrigation Guide.
These 5 Tips Work for Me
Other people advise other ways of planting. The method described is the way I have found optimal to encourage the roots of a pampered nursery plant out of its potting soil and into the desert soil of your yard in the quickest time with an eye to the best long term health of the plant.
Consider a fruit tree!
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Cover Image: Man planting a locust tree on the Natchez Trace, circa 1934.
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