At Autumn Ridge
Nursery, we like to help folks like you get the most out of
our fine plants. Below you'll find tips and advice on the
best ways to plant and maintain our easy to care for products.
Take care of your nursery stock immediately
upon its arrival. Thaw out gradually in its packing if it
arrives frozen. If dried out in transit, soak the entire plant
in water for a few hours or bury it in wet soil. If possible,
plant at once when shipment is received. If the weather is
too cold for planting, put the box or bundle in a cool but
frostproof place. It is best to unpack the material, sprinkle
tops and all with water, cover the roots with damp packing
and cover with sacks or canvas. If the weather is warm and
you are not ready to plant, heel the stock in.
Heel-in your trees in a place where they will have
protection from the sun and wind, and their development will
be retarded. All packing material and grass that might harbor
mice should be removed. Spread out roots and fill in with
pulverized earth rather firmly over them.
- Dig hole 1 1/2 times depth of root mass and about twice
width of plant. Partly fill hole with soil.
- Remove all packaging materials from around the roots,
and cut off broken or damaged roots.
- Place shrub or tree in hole so that crown or graft is
at ground level.
- Fill hole to ground level, working soil in carefully
around roots and packing it down.
- Sink hose nozzle into root zone and water until surface
is flooded.
- After water settles away, add soil to ground level and
form soil dam around perimeter of area.
- Mulch area with organic material.
Ground Covers: Soil requirements for
ground covers vary. Plant shallow-rooted types in easily crumbled
soil so that they will be less susceptible to winter freezing,
thawing, and other root stresses.
Small ground cover plants, including most
perennials and low shrubs, should be spaced from 6 to
12 inches apart depending on species and size of plants.
Large, woody plants, such as boxwood, bittersweet, and needled
evergreens, should be planted much farther apart. However,
if ground cover plants are placed too far apart, the ground
between may erode or fill with weeds before plants grow together.
Hedges: Hedges that
drop their leaves can be planted in spring or fall.
Set the hedge plants a little lower than they were in
the nursery to get a dense hedge at bottom.
Set all small plants, except evergreens, a foot apart. The
smallest hedges, such as privet, may be set closer. Large
plants are set farther apart, either in a trench or in individual
holes.
To be assured of a straight hedge, stretch a string between
two stakes over the proposed planting area, or dig one side
of trench straight and in line and place plants against straight
side. Visually line up any plants that are not symmetrically
balanced.
All hedges, except evergreens, should be severely cut back
at planting to encourage bushing from the base and to reduce
excessive loss of water while plants are establishing root
systems.
Plant in good garden soil 3 to 5 feet apart in
rows 6 feet apart. Set Red Raspberry plants 1 to 2 inches
deeper than they were in the nursery and Black Raspberries
1 inch deeper. Firm soil over roots and water. Cut back
all plants to about 6 inches in height. Don’t
let any fruit set the first year. Allow new shoots to
make rows 6 to 8 inches wide.
After fruiting each year, cut out
old canes and burn, leaving a few vigorous new ones
to grow for fruiting the following year. These fruiting
canes should be cut back to about 2 1/2’ early
in the spring to encourage fruiting laterals. Mulching
always pays. In the spring, spray raspberries and blackberries,
just before the buds open, with lime sulphur or Bordeaux
Mixture.
Blueberries: Blueberries
require an acid soil containing an abundance of organic material.
They need a good supply of soil moisture, with good drainage.
Most good gardeners will mulch their plants rather than cultivate
them, since the plants are shallow rooted and do not tolerate
close working.
Good blueberry soil can be created by use of quantities
of compost or other organic material, worked into the surface
of the soil. Use aluminum sulphate to bring the pH level down
to an optimum 5 to 6 range.
Blueberries need pollination, and at least two varieties
should be planted.
These plants require an acid soil (about pH 5) either
maintained or created artificially, a moist situation but
one with excellent drainage and a light soil with a high proportion
of humus. As they are shallow rooted, plant them high, maintain
at least a 3” mulch around them and never cultivate.
Where winter protection is necessary, spraying the foliage
with plastic spray is helpful.
Planting can be done either in spring or fall. Spring
planting can be done as early in spring as the ground can
be worked.
Usual spacing is eight by eight feet, but if space is limited
a seven-foot spacing will do. Holes should be dug 12 to 14
inches deep and 16 inches in diameter. To prevent drying the
roots, leave a slight depression around the stalk to hold
rainwater.
Hill System: 12 to 18 inches apart in rows
2 to 3 feet apart. Keep all runners nipped off.
Matted Row: Rows 4 to
5 feet apart, plants set 24 inches apart in row. Allow runners
to fill to 24 inches wide.
Plow or spade land deeply before planting.
Plant by pushing spade into ground to its full depth in spot
where plant is to be. Press it to one side, insert roots and
spread them out in fan shape and hanging down to their full
length. Set plants with crown after surface or a little below
it.
After planting, water once a day until plant begins to put
on new growth. After new growth starts, water at least three
times a week for the first growing season. A good soaking
rain can take the place of watering, but a brief sprinkle
or shower will not meet the tree’s needs. After growth
starts the second season, water the trees thoroughly once
a week, unless there has been a heavy rain.
Use decomposed compost or straw or hay
as a first-season mulch. Mulching with compost will stimulate
feeder root growth and ensure that the tree takes hold rapidly.
Cover the ground around the tree up to the dripline but keep
a few inches to a foot of clear space around the tree to keep
mice and rodents away from the tender bark. A protective bank
of wire mesh around the tree will also deter rodents. Make
it 18 inches across. Press it firmly and deeply into the ground
so that rodents cannot burrow under it.
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