Blue Hydrangea Plant (2L Pot)

Planting Large Garden Shrubs

Containerised garden shrubs can be planted any time of year, however the best time for any garden planting is between the months of September & March as this is the dormant season and the time when garden shrubs are not actively growing. The process of planting shrubs can start right back at the design phase when we choose the best plants for our garden.

Below is a quick guide on how to plant large shrubs to ensure they get the best start & give maximum results in the garden.

Planning

Planning your borders is an important process & it will ensure that you make the right choice when buying plants. When you plan your garden's planting layout, you should choose & position plants in the following order.

1. Large & structural plants
2. Architectural & focal point plants
3. Medium & decorative plants
4. Small & ground cover plants
5. Infillers & herbaceous plants

Large plants are chosen & positioned first because these will form the structure & backbone to your flower beds. These large garden shrubs create the divisions, boundaries, privacy & year round form to your garden & borders.

As well as choosing these plants first at the design stage, these large shrubs are also positioned in the garden first. The position, shape & size of these plants will determine your decision making on all other plants that follow.

Once you are happy with the choice and position of your larger plants you can move on to planting & preparing your soil.

Preparing Your Soil

To ensure your plants settle in quickly & start growing as soon as possible, it is important to handle your plants carefully & provide your plants with the best soil & growing conditions. Your plants will need water, light, nutrients & space to grow and to ensure they get this you should improve your soil & allow sufficient space between plants.

Start by digging your planting hole. This hole should be roughly twice the width of the plant’s container & 1½ times its depth. Plant roots like to grow downwards, so to encourage this you can loosen up the soil in the base of the planting hole with a garden fork. If your soil is sandy, stony or very shallow then you will need to dig an even bigger hole & back fill with rich loam topsoil.

Once the hole is dug, add a small amount of john Innes No. 3 compost or add farm yard manure and mix it through the existing soil. At this point you can also add a small amount of fertiliser, for large plants you can add 70 grams of growmore plant food.

Planting

Handling your plants with care is very important. Your plants will already be experiencing the shock of being moved which will lead to a stunt in plant growth. So any additional stress caused to the plants at this point should be avoided.

If your plants are dried out, it is essential that you soak the root ball for 10 minutes before planting. To do this you can fill a bin or very large bucket with water and push the plant’s rootball & container down into the water. While the plant is soaking, you can prepare the planting hole as mentioned above.

Carefully lift the plant from its pot, gently ‘tickle’ the plant's root ball to free up the roots and encourage them to start growing outwards. Next, you need to determine the plant's best side and then position the plant in the hole.

Before back filling, ensure the plant is both level vertically & also level with the surrounding ground. It is very important to not plant a shrub too deep (will lead to stem rot) or too shallow (can lead to poor establishment & root ball drying out). Once you are happy you can back fill the soil & then press the soil in well with a strong tap of your foot.

Aftercare

The immediate after care of your plant is simply to water it in. Keep an eye on the plant for the first few months & make sure the soil never dries out. In very warm Summers you will need to water in new plants every 2 to 3 days.

If there are any bamboo canes or supports with the plants these need to be loosened now. Feed your plants every Spring & make mulch in Winter to keep your plant insulated & free from weeds.