Installing Plant Materials

1. Installing Plant Materials

2. Harvesting Methods Used For Landscape Plants • Trees are usually sold in three different units for sale: Container, Bare Root (BR), and Balled and Burlapped (B&B). • Container Nursery- Grows nursery crops to marketable size in containers. • Field Nursery- grows nursery crops to size in fields. They make BR and B&B available. • Balled and Burlapped and container are best for evergreen shrubs, large trees transplant the best by the balled and burlapped method.

3. Balled and Burlapped Plants • Is a plant harvesting method in which trees are dug out of the ground keeping a ball of soil around the root system. The soil ball is then covered with burlap. The burlap protects the roots. • Steps in Balling and Burlapping Trees • Determine the size or the rootball • Remove weeds from the digging area. • Mark the diameter of the soil ball with a spade. • Dig a one foot deep trench around the rootball with a spade. • Undercut the soil at the bottom of the soil ball. • Slide a piece of burlap under the root ball

4. Appropriate Root Ball Sizes for Balled and Burlapped Trees

5. Bare Root Plants • Is best described as digging the trees without taking soil from the field. • Small and medium sized trees have a high survival rate with this method. • Most rose bushes and fruit trees sold today use this method. • Evergreens do not survive this method.

6. Container Grown Plants • Describes plants grown in pots. • Container plants are easy to handle and move. • Can be grown close together. • Can be planted anytime the ground is not frozen.

7. Bedding Plants • Bedding plants- flowers installed in the landscape beds are usually sold already grown and ready to bloom, rather than from seeds. • Herbaceous plants- are non-woody plants, such as annuals, bulbs, perennials, turf grass, and certain vines that die back to the ground each year.

8. Water Requirements • Refers to the amount of water plants need to live and grow. • Some plants need more water than others. • Drought Tolerance- is the ability of a plant to live and grow with low amounts of moisture.

9. Growth Rate and Maturity • Trees and shrubs are classified by height and spread. • Height is how tall a plant grows. The vertical space needs of the plant • Spread is the size and fullness of the canopy. It is the horizontal space needs of the plant.

10. Hardiness • In Ohio plant Hardiness comes into factor when picking plants to place in the landscape. • Hardiness zones are based on plant temperature tolerance (how cold they can take and still live). • The 11 zones are based on the average minimum winter temperature for example zone 11 minimum winter temperature is 40 degrees F. • Ohio is in zone 5, which is to -20 degrees F.

11. Xeriscape • Is water conservation through creative, appropriate landscaping and water management. • Water Zones- are areas in a landscape based on the amount of water needed by the plants.

12. Planting Techniques for Trees and Shrubs • Soil ball- is the soil surrounding the root system, which has been balled and burlapped. • Always dig the planting hole a minimum of 12 inches larger than the soil ball. This allows for 6 inches on each side for the roots to expand. • Check for the proper hole size by placing the tree or shrub in the hole before taking it out of the container or burlap. • If the plant has been in a container the roots may be pot bound. If that happens break the roots with hand or hand pruners.

13. Back filling the hole • After the shrub or tree is in place you must back fill the hole or put the soil back over the plant. • Break all the large soil clumps with a shovel before putting them back in the hole. • Partially back fill the hole then tamp the soil around the root system, but do not pound the soil. Tamping avoids low spots later on after the soil has settled.

14. Staking or Guying • Is not recommended for trees anymore. • Staking- usually two wooden stakes on two sides of the trees and 2 pieces of wire covered by rubber hose. • Guying- 3 wires attached to the tree and the ground for support. • It was found that supporting the trees made them weak later in their lives.

15. Watering Practices • Newly planted trees and shrubs require deep and thorough watering for the entire first year of planting. • Always water trees and shrubs immediately after planting.

16. Fertilizer and Anti- Transpirant • Do not fertilize trees or shrubs at the time of planting. Too much fertilizer hurts a plant more than not enough with newly planted trees or shrubs. • Transpiration- is the loss of water from the plant through the leaves in the form of water vapor. • Stomata- are small openings in the epidermal layer of the plant tissue where transpiration occurs. • Anti- Transpirant- seals the stomata and reduces transpiration. • - Apply in late fall to prevent winter burn

17. Bed Edging- is the area where the landscape bed joins the lawn area. • Landscape Fabric- is a plastic sheet placed in the landscape bed to reduce weed competition with the landscape plants. • To place over existing bed cut an “X” over each plant, slip plants through the opening and push fabric under plant base. • Many people do not landscape fabric because it is expensive, hard to add new plants to the landscape and soil does not always drain well after installation.

18. Mulch- is the material used around plants to reduce water loss, prevent weed growth, keep soil temperatures uniform, or prevent erosion. • Mulch improves the general appearance of planting beds.