Landscaping

How to Plant a Shrub

In this article, I’m going to teach you the basics of planting a shrub. I love gardening, planting, and working outside this time of the year. There is just something about Spring, green grass, and warmer weather that gets me motivated to do some planting. Whether planting a shrub in the ground or in a container, this is a great time to get busy doing it.

There are three only three things you will need to plant a shrub; a shovel or trowel, topsoil, and the shrub itself. This process is actually pretty quick but does require a little thinking upfront before doing the actual planting. Selecting the location and type of plant is the hardest and most important part of the process.

Location and Type of Plant

Determining what type of shrub/plant you are going to use has lots to do with the location. It is important to know how much sunlight the area will be getting. This is crucial to the development and life of most plants. Some shrubs require full sun while others only need a certain amount per day.

Digging the Hole

Once you have found the perfect shrub to plant, now it’s time to get planting. The hard part is over, now for the actual fun stuff. When digging, dig the hole about two times the width of the container and the depth about the same as the container height. Make sure and dig up the soil to loosen it up.

Placing the Shrub and Add Soil

Now it is time to place the tree in the ground or container. Cut both sides of the container that holds the shrub. Then grab the shrub by the root ball and place it in the hole. Make sure the shrub is straight.

You can add a little bit of potting soil in with the loose dirt for nutrients, but the shrub tends to grow better in native soil.

Backfill around the shrub with soil and tap the soil in to make sure there aren’t any air pockets. At this point, you are ready for mulch and water.

If the shrub is going into a container instead of the ground, you will obviously need to use potting soil. It is also a great idea to find some good soil from your yard to mix in with it.

Whether in the ground or a pot, make sure after the soil is put in, add a little water to moisten the bottom layer of soil.

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