Planting Shrubs and Trees
My Bedford, New York farm continues to transform with the planting of several interesting evergreen shrubs and trees.
As a serious and passionate gardener, I am always looking for ways to add more beauty and texture to all my garden beds. Yesterday, my gardeners planted a selection of Japanese holly, junipers, and cypress along one side of the farm near my long daffodil border and across the carriage road from my tree peony bed. I always try to incorporate unique and appealing plantings - all of these will be great additions to the ever-evolving spaces.
Enjoy these photos.
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- The day was just perfect for some spring planting. Here are Brian, Ryan and Phurba heading out in our trusted Polaris ATV Ranger. These vehicles are so handy around the farm, and they have lots of room for all the plants and needed supplies. I always instruct the crew to take everything they may need to complete a project, so there’s no scrambling for items later.
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- The day before, I bought several pretty evergreen shrubs and trees – golden holly, Japanese holly, a couple junipers, and a selection of Leyland cypress. I wanted to plant them along the carriage road leading down to my stable.
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- Ryan placed the trees where they would be planted. It is always important to consider the needs of the specimen when planting – make sure it gets the right light, the right soil, and enough room to accommodate the plant’s growth habit.
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- Phurba starts by digging the hole at least twice the size of the plant.
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- The Leyland cypress, Cupressus × leylandii, often referred to simply as leylandii, is a fast-growing coniferous evergreen tree often used for hedges and screens because they grow so fast – plants have been known to grow 50-feet in about 15 years.
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- Phurba uses his hands to scarify the roots of this specimen. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, he breaks up small portions of the root ball to loosen the roots a bit and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
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- Phurba checks to be sure this tree is planted at the right depth. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk.
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- Then he adds some good fertilizer.
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- I always say, “if you eat, so should your plants.” For all of these plants, we’re using M-Roots fertilizer with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
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- Here it is all planted – and it has a lot of room to grow and spread.
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- Brian moves closer to the carriage road where the holly and juniper shrubs are positioned.
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- Once this juniper ‘Sea Green’ is placed into the hole, it is turned, so the best side faces the carriage road, and then backfilled. After putting a new shrub into the ground, be sure to keep it slightly moist for its first year as it takes root.
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- ‘Sea Green’ is a compact, evergreen shrub with a fountain-like, arching habit. It grows grows four to six feet high and up to eight feed wide. This shrub features dark green foliage which is attractive year-round.
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- Here, Brian uses his pruners to scarify. This is okay also. Remember, a tree or shrub will usually be a bit pot bound before transplanting, that means the roots have started to curve around the shape of the pot with no where to go. If left in this condition the roots will continue to wined around and around and never spread into the new soil, so it is important to always scarify the root ball.
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- Again, a generous handful of fertilizer is dropped into the hole before planting.
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- And here is Phurba planting another specimen nearby – always making sure the plant’s best side faces out.
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- These shrubs will grow so nicely here. The tufts of grass are called ornitholagum. A member of the Hyacinth family, Ornithogalum or ‘Star of Bethlehem’ are bulbous perennials grown for their clusters of typically star-shaped, white flowers in spring or summer, depending on the species. They quickly form large clumps of grassy or strap-like leaves before blossoming.
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- Next, Brian and Phurba plant the Ilex, or ‘Golden Helleri’.
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- Golden Heller Holly is a slow-growing dwarf evergreen shrub with a low dense mounding habit and very small spineless foliage. The foliage slowly emerges yellow in spring and early summer, with the first leaves maturing to dark green while the later leaves remain yellow through winter. These shrubs are best planted in moist, slightly acidic well-drained soils.
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- This shrub grows to about two-feet tall and slightly wider when mature.
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- It’s perfect in front of this Cornus mas. Cornus mas, commonly known as Cornelian cherry dogwood, is a deciduous shrub or small tree that is native to central and southern Europe into western Asia. It typically grows over time to 15 to 25 feet tall with a spread to 12 to 20 feet wide.
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- In early spring, the Cornus mas shows off a profusion of small rounded clusters of tiny, bright yellow flowers open on the naked branches that last for several weeks.
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- The last of the new plants is the Heller holly – an evergreen shrub that grows up to five feet tall and is considered a dwarf form of Ilex crenata. It is dense, rigid, and compact with a spreading mound and non-showy green foliage.
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- These are the leaves of the Japanese ‘Helleri’ – alternate, crenate, evergreen, and small.
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- And look – the daffodil border just behind these new plantings is coming up beautifully. I can’t wait to show you this area once the daffodils are blooming – we’ll soon have gorgeous swaths of yellow, white and orange. You will love it.
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