When you are planting all those gorgeous new trees and shrubs you pick up here at EJC this month, remember these simple steps and products to make your new landscape addition thrive! We will do everything we can on our end to protect your investment and make your growing efforts a success, including expert advise on how to plant new trees and shrubs, soil amendments, planting procedures and depths, mulching, and more. (Ask for details on our exclusive EJC Lifetime Tree & Shrub Guarantee, too!) All this, so that your newly installed tree or shrub gets the necessary kick start to not only live, but to thrive and develop beyond your expectations
- Site Selection – Obviously it is imperative to plant your tree or shrub where it will receive the appropriate amount of light for that particular species. The information is available on signs in and around the tree and you can always ask any of our Tree/Shrub associates for details – we love to talk to our customers! Once proper sun exposure is located within your landscape, be sure to allow for its size when fully matured.
- Preparing the Hole – We advise digging a hole at a minimum of 2 x the width of the existing root ball so that there is plenty of space around the perimeter of the new root ball to apply the mixture of soil recommended below. If the ground is severely rocky or hard at the base, you may want to loosen an additional 6”-8” depth below the depth of the root ball. Blend a bit of cow manure in the bottom and refill to a position where the final root ball surface will be 1-2” above ground level. This allows for some settling which can occur. Blended soil can be sloped up to the sides of the existing root ball but we stress do not add soil over the surface of the original root ball.
- Mulching – We always recommend managing a 3-4” layer of pine bark or other form of bark mulch beneath the planted item whether in an individually mulched ring in individually planted items, like trees, or mulching the entire landscape bed area where multiples of shrubs & perennials are planted. Outside of its decorative nature, mulching provides temperature insulation to the soil, holds in moisture around the root ball, and assists in minimizing weeds.
- Watering & Root Stimulator – After planting, slowly and thoroughly soak the soil around the tree or shrub. This deep watering helps compact the soil around the roots, which gives support to the plant. On the day after the initial planting, we recommend that you apply 3-4 applications of Fertilome Root Stimulator to the root ball area. This serves as an awesome aid in rooting as it includes a phosphorous enhanced fertilizer, Vitamin B1, and IBA, a rooting hormone, all designed to stimulator quick and fast root development.
