Choosing and planting flowering shrubs

Water, water, water
Before planting, give the shrub a good, long drink of water. Let it soak up the water for a few hours or overnight before removing it from the container.

Easy planting

Digging the hole is one of the most important steps in ensuring the health of your plant. Be generous. The hole should be twice as wide as it is deep, yet deep enough to accommodate the roots of the shrub. To encourage the roots to grow into the surrounding ground, loosen the soil by scoring the sides of the hole with a shovel. At the bottom of the hole, place a few shovels-full of the existing soil mixed with some compost, peat moss or Triple Mix (a commercial combination of topsoil, manure and compost). Sprinkle the bottom with some bonemeal in the proportions recommended on the package. Before placing the shrub into the hole, tease out the roots, spreading them out into the hole. (Plants that are very pot-bound may need to be scored with a knife to loosen the roots.)

Back-fill the hole with the remaining soil mixture so that the shrub sits at the same level as it was growing in the pot-not so high that soil covers the base of the branches and stems, and not so low that the tops of the roots are exposed.

The best head start you can give your newly planted shrub is water. Keep it well watered with long, deep drinks from a soaker hose or sprinkler applied at least once a week for the next four to six weeks. To help the plant conserve water, mulch it with shredded pine bark or leaves.

After giving your shrub all this attention, stand back and watch it show off its fancy foliage and flowers.

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