ISN’T it great to get such lovely rain just when you want to plant.
Now is the time to buy your deciduous trees and roses and get them settled in before the spring.
With so many species and varieties to choose from how do you decide what to plant? The first thing is to choose trees that will not be unsuitable for the position with respect to size and growth habit.
Invasive roots and ones which will overhang buildings should be avoided, fortunately nowadays there are quite a number of cultivars grown that are suited to smaller suburban blocks.
Growth habit is important to know and the “fastigated” or upright narrow ones are now more readily available making them very useful, so keep them in mind when selecting trees for a confined space. There are also quite a few smaller growing cultivars available. This is particularly so with fruiting cultivars, with most of the fruits having dwarfed varieties.
Another great way to use space efficiently is to espalier trees and shrubs so they are two dimensional. Not only are many of the fruit varieties suited to this type of pruning, but it is also very useful with ornamental plants. Camellias espalier very well on walls, I am also espaliering Ceanothus which seems to be working well.
The next thing to decide is what you like in the way of foliage shape and colour in both summer and autumn and whether you want spring and or summer blooms. Being deciduous, you will need to look at some photos now as they are bare sticks at present.
When planting a feature in your garden always look at the selected site from vantage points such as windows of different rooms, garden seats, barbecue and outdoor entertaining areas so that your make the most of the view.
Once you have done your homework your fun begins, as there are so many lovely plants to choose from.
If you can prepare the site in advance you will give your new plant a better start in life. It is great if you can loosen the soil and incorporate some soil improver, compost or aged manure, water it and let it sit before you plant as this lets the soil microbes, earthworms etc multiply before you plant.
If you have a heavy clay subsoil don’t dig a hole in it as you will simply be planting into a bucket which will fill with water and drown your tree.
It is far better to build up enough soil above ground level and then let the roots penetrate the clay without disturbance. Roses love a clay subsoil as long as they have a good organic topsoil.
Once the planting is done, water in well and then mulch heavily with a good quality mulch that will breakdown and feed your soil.
Relying on rain for new plantings is not sufficient, I find the finger test is the best way to judge whether something needs watering. If you can’t poke your finger into the soil then it needs watering.
Well what are you waiting for? Happy gardening.
