When you buy a container shrub and plant it in your yard,
you think it’s
suddenly a landscape plant. But it’s not.“It’s still a container plant for the first few weeks,” said
University of
Georgia horticulturist Jim Midcap. “Or at least you have to
treat it as one.”Midcap, an Extension Service specialist with the UGA College
of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, said you have to remember how
that plant has spent
the first part of its life.“Container plants are grown in nurseries in a mixture of
bark and sand,”
he said. “That’s because those mixtures drain so well.”
Fast-draining
Mixtures
The fast-draining mixtures help nurseries avoid the root rot
problems they
might have if they used potting soils that hold moisture
better.The only problem is that the bark-sand mixtures also dry out
quickly. “And
once the mixture gets really dry, the bark is hard to get wet
again,” Midcap
said.With many yards already dry, that could prove disastrous if
long-range forecasts
of a dry spring and summer are borne out.
Dry Root Ball Hard to
Rewet
“If you let the root ball dry out,” Midcap said, “you may
think you’re watering
enough, but because the bark is so hard to rewet, the plant
really isn’t getting
enough moisture to survive.”For the first four to six weeks, he said, all of the plants’
roots are still
in that original potting mixture. “That’s what you need to
water as if it
were still in the container,” Midcap said.Most people know to water newly planted shrubs often. But
they don’t realize
how critical it is.
Bark Dries
Fast
“On very warm or windy days, the original bark mixture can
dry out thoroughly
in 24 to 48 hours, even though the backfill soil around it
stays wet,” Midcap
said.If you buy a container plant and delay planting it, be sure
to water it several
times a week, he said. Water it two to three straight times
before planting.
Make sure the root ball is thoroughly soaked.If the root ball still feels dry, he said, soak it in a
bucket for a while
just before planting. Don’t plant it if the root ball is
dry.
Keep Potting Mix
Exposed
When you plant a container shrub in a clay soil, Midcap
said, keep the top
of the potting mix exposed.“If you cover it with a clay soil, it can seal it up. So
moisture can’t get
into that sand-bark mixture,” he said.Keep watering it two to three times a week for the first
four to six weeks.
Until the roots grow into the surrounding soil, the plant
still depends for
moisture on the bark-sand mixture in the root ball.
Don’t Overwater
In sandy, well-draining soils, it’s hard to water too much.
But be careful
not to overwater in clay soils and other areas that don’t
drain well, Midcap
said. Overwatering in clay soils can kill plants just as
surely as not watering
at all.Water often, he said, and direct the water to the root ball.
Keep rewetting
the sand-bark mixture without overwetting the surrounding
clay soil.Dry, windy weather can dry out sand-bark potting mixtures
fast and send your
plants into a quick decline.
Don’t Give Up on
Plants
“Most plants start wilting first,” Midcap said. But some —
hollies, for
instance — don’t reveal moisture stress until their older,
inside leaves
begin yellowing.If that happens, he said, don’t give up on your plants.
“Get that root ball wet again and keep it watered properly,”
he said. “What
happens when it dries out is that the root system shuts down,
and then a little
later the top begins showing stress.“Give it enough water to make sure you get the root ball wet
again,” he said.
“The plant will start regenerating absorbing roots to take up
the water.”
