Planting Preparation

Autumn is nature's best time for planting.

Preparation is the key to success when putting new plants in your garden.

Some plants manage well in poor soil and therefore feeding the ground too much could be more destructive than constructive.

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It is vital you do a little bit of homework, to find the plants best native growing conditions, as this will increase your chances massively for successful growth.  For example, a plant that needs poor soil and is planted in rich soil will often become oversized and grow fewer flowers.   

If you are planting a climbing plant, then the key is to dig a really deep hole, 2 foot or more, and mix some good compost together with some of the soil you have dug from the hole add some grit if you are have heavy soil and feed that back into the bottom of the hole, so that the new roots can grow down easily.  A climbing plant sends its roots straight down, in search of moisture .

If you are planting a tree, then I would be digging a large hole in both depth and width, banging a stake into the ground, while the hole was open and mixing well rotted compost, together with some of the soil you have dug out for the hole and feeding it around the new tree roots.  It is quite helpful to be able to tie the tree to the stake, so that this will hold the tree, while you are putting your mix around the roots.  The stake should always be positioned so that the tree is blown away from it, when it is windy .

If you are planting shade loving plants, then add well rotted leaf mould and compost in with your existing soil.

If you were planting full sun loving plants, then incorporating horticultural grit with the soil that is already there and just the smattering of compost, just to get them started.

In some gardens where old tree roots have taken over, it is often best to import new soil, in volume, to create new planting areas.

If you are reshaping borders then it could mean that you are removing areas of lawn, to do this.  It is imperative that you incorporate plenty of organic matter, ideally, by double digging as this will loosen up the area, ready for planting.  The organic matter can be your compost heap, old manure that has had woody material mixed into it, (this should be full of worms), old ash from the bonfire.

Definitely the more preparation you do, and the more you can emulate the wild, the more likely it is that your plants will survive and thrive.

The pH is also vital to the result as acid Loving plants will not tolerate alkaline and alkaline loving plants may not be happy in acidic soil.

Preparation is the key to the success, and be prepared for the bigger the planting scheme, the more plant preparation time you need to allow and obviously the more grit and compost you will need.

Don't cut corners!!

Give the young plants a fantastic start and your results will be proof for all to see.  Good luck!!