PlantinG and renovation 45
Planting and Renovation
PLANTING A NEW BED
Now that you have devoted time and money to preparing your site and creating
fabulous soil for your perennials, you’ll want to plant them properly. Many
different variables need to be considered, such as plant size, time of year, and
planting depths, in addition to the appropriate mulch, watering practices, and
weed control.
Plant size
Once you have decided which types of plants you want to grow, you need to select
the appropriate sizes for your garden area. You can choose from a variety of
perennial sizes. The most common are 1-quart (sometimes called 4-in., or
properly 4 1/4-in.) and 1- and 2-gallon sizes, and bare root (a plant that is sold
without any soil around its roots). With a well-prepared soil and rapid growth of
the perennials in the first season, starting with larger size plants usually is not
necessary. I use predominantly 1-quart sizes. For ornamental grasses I like to use
2-gallon containers; it takes forever for a 1-quart miscanthus, for instance, to
attain the scale and impact in the landscape that I am looking for, although it
may be appropriate for other gardeners’ needs. Out of desperation in those
limited cases where the larger size of a grass wasn’t available, I have used 3 or
more smaller plants grouped together. Smaller-growing genera of grasses such
as Carex and Festuca usually come in 1-quart or 1-gallon containers. Perennials
like astilbes, hostas, and various ferns are most often available in the larger size
pots, including 3-quart sizes. For autumn installations I use 1-gallon sizes, with
the belief that the larger plant with a more extensive root system has a better
chance of establishing and is less likely to heave (pop out of the ground) with
fluctuating soil temperatures in winter. Irises, peonies, and poppies are often
sold as bare root plants.
Keep in mind that a new perennial garden planted with quart-size plants is
going to appear small immediately after installation. If you are in the horticul-
ture or landscaping industry, it is good practice to show your clients photographs
of previous jobs taken right after planting and then of what the same gardens
looked like 3 months later, and so on. It will be more comforting for them than
trying to visualize in their heads how a lush perennial garden will develop from
such small plants.
This interesting and diverse
mixed planting was a renovation
of a stagnant garden filled with
overgrown boxwood. It now
features a weeping redbud,
heirloom dahlias, zinnias, and
asters.