Planting Evergreens in My Pinetum

September 18, 2024

Planting evergreen shrubs is a great way to layer in color and texture in the garden.

Near my Winter House were some potted evergreens that were in need of transplanting. While a couple of the pots had broken, other plants had just grown too big for their containers. I instructed my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, to transplant some of them into the pinetum, an arboretum of pine trees and other conifers. This time of year, late summer into early fall, is ideal for transplanting specimens into the ground as temperatures are cooler and less stressful on the plants.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: As a serious and passionate gardener, I am always looking for ways to add more beauty and texture to all my garden beds. One area that is constantly evolving is my pinetum – an arboretum of pine trees and other conifers.

: Some of these hypertufa pots had chipped or cracked, so I wanted the plants to be moved. This is a hypertufa container. Hypertufa is a lightweight, porous, man-made material that looks like stone and is often used to make garden containers and ornaments. It’s made from a mixture of Portland cement, peat moss, and either sand, vermiculite, or perlite.

: The plant removed is a long-lived, fast-growing, needled evergreen juniper with lemony fragrant leaves.

: Ryan starts by digging the hole at least twice the size of the plant.

: We’re using Scott’s Evergreen, Flowering Tree & Shrub Continuous Release Plant Food, which is great for evergreens, dogwoods, hydrangeas, magnolias and many other acid-loving trees and shrubs.

: Ryan sprinkles a generous amount of food into the hole and mixes it with the existing soil.

: Then he place the evergreen into the hole and backfills.

: Ryan is removing another evergreen from a container so it can be transplanted into the ground. It had outgrown this small container and will do much better here in the pinetum.

: Ryan removes as much of the root ball as possible to minimize root damage.

: He places specimens strategically around the pinetum taking into consideration the size of the plant at maturity, its light needs, and its proximity to other plantings.

: On this shrub, Ryan lightly packs the soil around and under the root ball to eliminate air pockets.

: Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. They are hardy evergreens that thrive in most US growing zones. Junipers are deer resistant, salt tolerant, and extremely low maintenance.

: On this evergreen, Ryan trims out the four Ds of pruning – dead, damaged, diseased, and deranged – those branches that cross or rub against each other.

: He also cuts off the bottom of the root ball. Scarifying helps promote healthy growth and nutrient absorption by loosening the roots and allowing them to expand into the new soil.

: These were actually two plants in one container, so Ryan splits it up to plant separately.

: Once again he sprinkles a goodly amount of fertilizer into the hole.

: Notice that the hole is about twice the size as the root ball itself.

: In time, this cypress will fill out in this space. Cypress are loved for their gorgeous and deep blue-green color. This will grow nicely in the pinetum.

: Here’s Ryan planting a taller evergreen tree. Some of these newer specimens had grown fast. When planting be sure specimens are 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.