Planting
Most plants that die in their first year were not killed by the weather. They went in too deep, into a hole the size of the pot, and nobody watered them after the first fortnight.
Best timeAutumn to early spring
I dig the hole wider than the rootball rather than deeper, break up the sides so the roots have somewhere to go, and set the plant at the depth it was already growing at. Then it gets backfilled, firmed in with my heel rather than stamped, and watered heavily on the day, which settles the soil around the roots as much as it waters the plant.
Autumn is the best time for most things. The ground is still warm from the summer, the rain does the watering, and the roots have the whole winter to get established before the plant is asked to put on any growth. Bare-root shrubs and hedging are only sold while they are dormant, roughly November to March, and they are a fraction of the price of the same plant in a pot.
Hedging goes in as a staggered double row so it thickens up rather than growing as a line of separate bushes. Tell me how thick you want it and how soon, and I will space it accordingly: closer costs more plants and fills in faster.
Planting, before and after
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Questions people ask
- When is the best time to plant?
- Autumn, for most things. The ground is warm, the rain waters it for you and the roots get established over the winter. Bare-root plants are only available while they are dormant, from about November to March. Planting in high summer can be done, but everything then depends on somebody watering it.
- How deep should a plant go?
- At the same depth it was already growing at, so the top of the rootball sits level with the soil around it. Planting too deep is the commonest way to kill a shrub: the stem sits wet, rots at the base, and the plant dies back over its first year.
- How much watering does it need?
- A proper soaking rather than a sprinkle, and less often than most people think. Once or twice a week through the first spring and summer, enough to wet the ground properly each time, encourages the roots down. A daily splash keeps them at the surface where they dry out.
- Can you plant a whole hedge?
- Yes. Bare-root hedging goes in between November and March in a staggered double row, which is what makes a hedge thicken rather than grow as a row of separate bushes. Tell me the length and how quickly you want it to fill in.