| Spring is the Best Planting Season for Trees and Shrubs |
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By Lindsay Bond Totten
Scripps Howard News Service Early spring is the best time to plant new trees and shrubs. Temperature and soil moisture -- two of the three most critical factors affecting transplant success -- are perfectly aligned for about six weeks in spring. Equally important is plant selection. And here the gardener has more control, from choice of variety to which specimen to buy. Since plants are living, growing organisms, we can't -- shouldn't -- expect them all to look or grow exactly alike, even if they're the same variety. So how do you pick from a whole row of plants, each with the same name? Check the roots first. Balled-and-burlapped specimens are generally superior to container-grown plants of the same type. Plants with balled-and-burlapped roots were field grown. They have an easier time adjusting to garden soil than those grown in lightweight container mixes. The root ball of a balled-and-burlapped plant should be firm, held tightly in place with twine or a wire basket. A loose root ball may have been handled too roughly during delivery, damaging delicate feeder roots in the process. Also, be sure to look for real burlap, not the plastic type, which never rots. Plastic burlap can choke a plant if not completely removed before planting. But you may not have a choice of balled-and-burlapped stock. Many nurseries favor container-grown plants, because pots are easier for them to handle and water than b&b specimens. If the plant you want comes only in a container, examine the roots to make sure they're not too crowded. Ask for help from an employee to gently pull a plant out of the pot. Roots should be healthy, with plenty of pale feeder roots showing at the edges. Avoid those with thick roots wrapped around the outside of the rootball in a circular pattern. The plant is pot-bound and has been growing too long in that container. Its roots will be hard to untangle. If, on the other hand, the plant appears small for the size of its pot and the rootball is wobbly, it may indicate that the specimen was recently transplanted. That's not necessarily a reason to reject it, but it should be planted very carefully or allowed to remain in its pot for a couple of weeks to establish new roots. Once you've examined the roots, look at the top of the plant. Don't worry about a few broken twigs; that often happens during digging and transport and represents no real setback for the plant. Do not worry if the bark is damaged or major branches are broken. The best plants are short and stocky and well-branched for their type. Potential for future growth is more important than the height of the plant when you buy it. Potted plants get leggy sometimes if the containers are packed too closely together for too long in the nursery. Some, like viburnums and forsythia, willingly push out new growth at the bottom once they're separated and planted in good garden soil. Others, like holly, chokeberry, roses, and redtwig dogwood, have to be firmly coaxed into better branching habits with pruning shears. It's easier - and faster - to start with shorter plants that are nicely shaped from the beginning. Bushy shrubs, such as weigela and spiraea, should have many healthy stems coming from the ground. Single-stemmed trees will have just one, which should be slightly flared at the bottom - indicating that it's planted at the correct depth - with no suckers from below ground. The foliage of healthy plants should have a good color for the species, but don't be too concerned if individual leaves are smaller than normal. It's simply a matter of arrested development. When feeder roots are severed during digging, new leaves have trouble expanding to their normal size. They'll recover. Avoid plants with a lot of dead leaves or foliage that's crispy brown around the edges. The roots probably dried out at some point, and the plants may be permanently stressed. Least important are the flowers. (If I have a choice, I pick those in the row without flowers over those that do; they'll have more energy to grow new roots.) If the plant is healthy, blooms will follow when the plant is ready. Read the label carefully to make sure you're getting the variety, and flower color, you want. Which begs the question: What if the nursery doesn't carry the particular variety you're looking for? Does it really matter that much? Often it does. Doublefile viburnum is a good example. The variety known as Marie's Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosium "Mariesii") grows to about ten feet high and just as wide. "Summer Snowflak" (V. plicatum tomentosum "Summer Snowflake") is a dwarf form, topping out at about half the size of its larger cousin. "Shasta" (V. plicatum tomentosum "Shasta") is intermediate. Would that make a difference in your garden? ( Lindsay Bond Totten, a horticulturist, writes about gardening for Scripps Howard News Service.)
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