\u2018Is it too late to plant?\u2019 This is a question we hear a lot this time of year.<\/p>\n
The answer: You can plant anytime during the growing season!While planting in the heat of summer poses some challenges, container grown perennials and shrubs are always happy to get their roots into the ground.<\/p>\n
The key is water. \u00a0High temperatures and intense sunlight cause plants to make strong demands on their root system to keep up with transpiration (think of the plant \u2018sweating\u2019 to cool off). When the roots have to work hardto keep the plant hydrated, it can\u2019t use that energy for growing roots. Even worse, if the roots can\u2019t find the water it needs the plant suffers.<\/p>\n
For successful summer planting, make sure your plants are well hydrated before you transplant and plant in the cooler hours of early morning or evening.\u00a0 This reduces the stress of transplanting.\u00a0 Make your hole the same depth and twice as wide as the container your plant came in.\u00a0 Larger plants, shrubs and trees will benefit from pre-moistening the soil.\u00a0 Fill the hole with water and let is seep into the ground completely. While the water is seeping into the surrounding soil, mix 1 part compost with 2 parts of the soil you removed from the hole. Remove your plant from its container and gently loosen the roots. Place the plant with its roots spread out. For perennials, annuals and shrubs, match the same soil level as the container grown plant.\u00a0 Avoid burying it any deeper.\u00a0 For trees, CSU recommends planting with the root ball elevated from the ground, as trees will settle over time.\u00a0 For 1\u201d caliper trees and smaller, plant 1\u201d above the grade.\u00a0 For 2\u201d-4\u201d caliper trees, plant 2\u201d above the soil grade. Add some of the soil\/compost mixture if it sits too low. Fill the hole with the remaining soil\/compost mixture while gently tamping down to stabilize the plant. \u00a0Avoid packing the soil tightly.\u00a0 Our goal is to eliminate air pockets while still making it possible for roots and water to penetrate the soil. \u00a0Top with compost or mulch to retain moisture and water deeply one more time with a root simulator. Check your plants both morning and evening if it\u2019s been hot and dry, for several weeks. \u00a0Moisture meters are handy tools to keep an eye on the moisture level surrounding the roots of your new transplants.\u00a0 For larger trees and shrubs, be sure to check in several places around the root ball, as they can dry unevenly while they establish.\u00a0 The long handle of a wooden spoon or a sharpened pencil can be used as a substitute if you prefer not to stick your fingers in the soil. Exposed wood absorbs moisture.\u00a0 Poke your utensil into the soil a few inches and pull it up.\u00a0 Feel the end of the utensil.\u00a0 \u00a0If it is dry, then water.\u00a0 For plants with smaller root masses, check the soil about 2 inches below the surface for moisture. For larger plants like trees, check 3 to 4 inches into the soil.\u00a0 If dry, give it a deep soaking.\u00a0 Once your plants are settled and appear to be growing well, you can begin to reduce your watering frequency depending on your plants particular needs.\u00a0 Drought tolerant trees, shrubs and perennials will still need a deep soaking at least once per week during the hottest part of their first summer.<\/p>\n Remember to winter water trees, shrubs and perennials, too.\u00a0 Our climate is arid and young plants are the most susceptible during this time. Even established trees will suffer.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t have a decent snowfall for 3-4 weeks then watering will be necessary to maintain your plants health.\u00a0 Failure to winter water is the most common reason for plant loss each spring.<\/p>\n The key is water. High temperatures and intense sunlight cause plants to make strong demands on their root system to keep up with transpiration (think of the plant \u2018sweating\u2019 to cool off). When the roots have to work hard to keep the plant hydrated, it can\u2019t use that energy for growing roots. Even worse, if the roots can\u2019t find the water it needs the plant suffers.<\/p>\n For successful summer planting, make sure your plants are well hydrated before you transplant and plant in the cooler hours of early morning or evening. This reduces the stress of transplanting. Make your hole the same depth and twice as wide as the container your plant came in. Larger plants, shrubs and trees will benefit from pre-moistening the soil. Fill the hole with water and let is seep into the ground completely. While the water is seeping into the surrounding soil, mix 1 part compost with 2 parts of the soil you removed from the hole. Remove your plant from its container and gently loosen the roots. Place the plant with its roots spread out. For perennials, annuals and shrubs, match the same soil level as the container grown plant. \u00a0Avoid burying it any deeper. For trees, CSU recommends planting with the root ball elevated from the ground, as trees will settle over time. For 1\u201d caliper trees and smaller, plant 1\u201d above the grade. For 2\u201d-4\u201d caliper trees, plant 2\u201d above the soil grade. \u00a0 Add some of the soil\/compost mixture if it sits too low. \u00a0Fill the hole with the remaining soil\/compost mixture while gently tamping down to stabilize the plant. Avoid packing the soil tightly. Our goal is to eliminate air pockets while still making it possible for roots and water to penetrate the soil. Top with compost or mulch to retain moisture, but keep the mulch at least 3″ away from tree trunks. \u00a0Water deeply one more time with a root simulator. \u00a0 There is no need to fertilizer trees and shrubs their first season. \u00a0 Check your plants both morning and evening if it\u2019s been hot and dry, for several weeks. Moisture meters are handy tools to keep an eye on the moisture level surrounding the roots of your new transplants. For larger trees and shrubs, be sure to check in several places around the root ball, as they can dry unevenly while they establish. The long handle of a wooden spoon or a sharpened pencil can be used as a substitute if you prefer not to stick your fingers in the soil. Exposed wood absorbs moisture. Poke your utensil into the soil a few inches and pull it up. Feel the end of the utensil. If it is dry, then water. For plants with smaller root masses, check the soil about 2 inches below the surface for moisture. For larger plants like trees, check 3 to 4 inches into the soil. If dry, give it a deep soaking. Once your plants are settled and appear to be growing well, you can begin to reduce your watering frequency depending on your plants particular needs. Drought tolerant trees, shrubs and perennials will still need a deep soaking at least once per week during the hottest part of their first summer. \u00a0Stake trees while they establish.<\/p>\n Remember to winter water trees, shrubs and perennials, too. Our climate is arid and young plants are the most susceptible during this time. Even established trees will suffer. If we don\u2019t have a decent snowfall for 3-4 weeks then watering will be necessary to maintain your plants health. Failure to winter water is the most common reason for plant loss each spring.<\/p>\n We also suggest using tree wrap on young trees to prevent the trunks from splitting during winter. \u00a0The usual rule of thumb is to wrap at Thanksgiving and remove the wrap at Easter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes! You can plant. \u2018Is it too late to plant?\u2019 This is a question we hear a lot this time of year. The answer: You can plant anytime during the growing season!While planting in the heat of summer poses some challenges, container grown perennials and shrubs are always happy to get their roots into … Continue reading Can I still plant?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trees-shrubs","tag-trees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2433,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions\/2433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"planting-tree-6l\"](\"http:\/\/echters.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/planting-tree-6l.jpg\")
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