Plant Care

This section contains links to the plant care sheets that you see at the nursery and information on planting plants when you get them home from the nursery. Whether you are going to take the plant out of it's container and plant it in the ground or if you need help planting a bare root plant, we have information for you. The plant care sheets can be used to assist you with positioning and watering your plants. These plant care sheets will give you information on the climate that the plant will grow in, the sun exposure it needs and the watering requirements. Some of the plant care sheets do not breakdown the information by individual species, so you are advised to check with our professionals if you have any questions.

The links are listed using a mixture of the scientific name and the common name of the plant. We have provided the chart below so you can cross reference the scientific and common name.

Step 1 - Remove the bare root plant from the packaging material and soak the roots in water for approximately 30 minutes.

Step 2 - Whilst the roots are soaking. Dig a hole that is approximately twice the diameter of the existing root system and approximately the same depth as the existing roots. Make the hole a larger diameter at the bottom than it is at the top as this will encourage the roots to grow outward.

Step 3- Build up a cone in the center of your hole with soil. Firm up this soil cone as you are going to put the bare root plant on top of it and spread the roots out over the cone.

Step 4 - Position the plant on the cone and ensure that it is at the correct height. Usually the plant will need to be at the same height or a little higher than it was in the growing field or the container. You can use a shovel handle laid across the top of the hole as a guide. Once you have the plant at the correct height, spread the roots out over the cone.

Step 5 - Hold the plant upright as you backfill the hole with your soil. When the hole is almost full, wet the soil and hole with water. This water will eliminate any air pockets in the soil and help settle the soil. If the plant appears to be settling too low down in the hole, then you can pump it up and down a little whilst the soil is wet to raise it to the proper level.

Step 6 - Finish filling the hole with soil; then water again. Be careful not to over water as a bare root plant is a dormant plant and soggy soil may stop the development of new roots.

Step 1 - Dig a hole twice the diameter and slightly shallower than the existing root system. When it is planted, the top of the root ball of the plant should be 1" to 2" above the surrounding soil, so gauge your depth on this. Make the bottom of the hole a larger diameter than the top and leave a crown of undisturbed ground in the base of the hole that is the same diameter as the root system. Around this crown, you can dig deeper than the depth of the root system. Tip - Ensure the sides of the hole are not smooth, the rougher the sides are, the easier it will be for roots to find their way in.

Step 2 - Remove the plant from the container. At this stage it is important to loosen the roots. This can be done by teasing the roots with your hands and straightening out the roots. Any excessively long roots can be trimmed with clippers. Another method to loosen roots is to spray them with a jet of water and then loosen and uncoil them. If the roots are very tightly wrapped in a root ball it may be necessary to make vertical slits in the root ball with a knife and open the slits up a little. This will stimulate new root growth.

Step 3 - Place the plant in the hole on top of the crown that you created. Ensure that the plant is at the correct height; this can be done with a shovel handle laid across the hole.

Step 4 - Backfill the hole. Add the soil in stages and keep firming the soil with your hands as you go.

Step 5 - Create a berm of soil around the plant to form a watering basin and water gently.

Step 6 - Spread a layer of mulch around the plant, ensuring that the mulch does not touch the stem or trunk of the plant.