Danny Lipford » Lawn and Garden

How to Plant Balled and Burlapped Trees and Shrubs

Julie Day — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:08:44 +0000

One of the best ways to landscape a yard quickly is by planting balled and burlapped (B&B) trees and shrubs. Balled and burlapped plants are usually larger than container-grown plants and can give an instant finished appearance. Other than their size and weight, they’re easy to plant, here’s how.

Balled and burlapped plants are actually transplants.

Balled and burlapped trees and shrubs are grown in the ground while container-grown plants are grown in pots. When large enough, field-grown plants are carefully dug up and the root balls wrapped in burlap to hold the roots and soil together. The burlap may be natural (which biodegrades after planting) or synthetic (which doesn’t). While balled and burlapped may be stored for short periods of time at the garden center, they should be planted as soon as possible.

Select Plant

When choosing a tree or shrub, examine it to make sure the branches look healthy and the trunk is strong. Don’t buy a plant with damaged bark, scratches from too-tight twine, or spots that look rotten or diseased. As much as you can, pull back the burlap to make sure the roots are healthy and white and not girdling (growing in a tight circle).

Planting depth is one of the most important factors.

Preparation

Early spring is the ideal time to plant balled and burlapped trees and shrubs, with fall a close runner-up. In general, you can plant anytime the soil isn’t frozen, though some trees (such as oak, magnolia, dogwood, Bradford pear, willow, and cherry) are slower to establish roots and do better when planted in spring.

Choose shrubs and trees that are compatible with your growing conditions. Native trees and shrubs will establish much faster and will need less soil amendments. Before planting, conduct a soil test to see if amendments are needed, and check your planting site for water drainage. Remember that roots will extend far beyond your planting hole, so don’t rely too heavily on amendments to correct soil problems.

Gardening Tip

To determine soil drainage, dig a hole about 1’ deep at your planting site, and time how long it takes for the water to drain. Less than 1” per hour indicates poor-draining soil, but rapid drainage can cause problems, too.

Tools and Materials

Tools and materials need include:

Shovel and mattock or pick-axe
Work gloves
Tarp or wheelbarrow
Scissors or utility knife
Bolt or wire cutters
Pruning shears
Hose or watering can
Soil amendments
Mulch
Tree or shurb
Tree guard (optional)

Step 1: Dig Hole

Using the shovel and/or mattock, carefully dig a hole that is exactly as deep as the root ball and up to 2-3 times as wide, with roughened sides. The wider the hole, the better, but don’t make it deeper than the root ball. You want the roots to sit on undisturbed soil, so the plant won’t sink later. Put the excess dirt on your tarp, wheelbarrow, or in a container, and stir in any soil amendments that are needed.

Planting hole should be wide and shallow.

Step 2: Position Plant

Lift your tree or shrub by the root ball (never the trunk), and carefully place it in the planting hole. Make sure the root ball is exactly level with the soil surface, never deeper. Untie any twine holding the branches, and turn the plant so that it’s plumb and in a pleasing position.

Step 3: Partial Backfill

Backfill the hole with soil about 1/3 of the way, just enough to hold the plant in place. Firm the soil and add water to settle this first layer.

Make sure tree or shrub is plumb and balanced before filling hole.

Step 4: Remove Wrappings

Once the plant is firmly supported, begin removing the twine, wire cage, and burlap. Some gardeners prefer to leave as much burlap in place as possible (arguing that it will decompose over time), but it’s better to remove as much as you can. If the burlap is synthetic, remove it all.

Using the scissors, knife, and wire cutters, carefully cut away and gently work loose the wrappings and ties. Inspect the root ball carefully, and loosen any tightly wrapped or circling roots so they’re positioned to grow outward and down.

Balled and burlapped trees and shrubs are often grown in clay soil to help hold the roots together. You may want to use your hands to gently remove some of this soil to reduce any problems caused by the difference in soil texture at your planting site.

Step 5: Finish Backfill

Continue adding soil to the hole, gently firming it without heavy pack. Make sure the root ball stays level with the surface of the soil, and don’t heap soil over the top. Use the extra soil to create a small berm around the outside edge of the planting hole to help retain water.

A berm around the hole helps direct water to the roots.

Step 6: Water

Water your new tree or shrub thoroughly, filling the reservoir you’ve created and allowing the water to soak in slowly. After the water has been absorbed, add soil to any sunken spots. Water your new tree or shrub regularly for the first year. Once you see new leaf and stem growth, you can add some balanced fertilizer to the waterings.

Step 7: Mulch

Add 3”- 4” of mulch to help insulate the roots and hold in moisture. Don’t pile mulch up against the trunk – the crown of the plant should not be smothered or buried any deeper than it was already growing.

Step 8: Inspect and Support

Prune away any dead or diseased branches. Remove any remaining tags and twine. Firmly tie or stake your tree if needed.

Step 9: Add Tree Guard

If desired, add a tree guard to protect the trunk from critter and sun damage.

Tree guards often come as a soft wrapping.

Further Information

How to Plant a Tree (Casey Trees, PDF 3mb)
How to Plant a Balled and Burlapped Tree (Fine Gardening, video)
Planting and Transplanting Landscape Trees and Shrubs (Purdue)
How to Plant Container Grown Trees and Shrubs (article)
How to Choose a Tree for Your Yard (video)
How to Plant a Bare Root Tree (video)

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality with Houseplants

Danny Lipford — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:50 +0000

Houseplants can filter toxins and pollutants in stale indoor air and replace carbon dioxide with oxygen. Even though almost any plant can do this, some plants are better than others, especially when it comes to having them in your home.

Philodendrons and spider plants are the best for removing formaldehyde, while daisies and chrysanthemums filter out benzene. But make sure you talk with an expert before purchasing any plants to determine whether or not they pose a danger to children or pets, and if the plant prefers the sun or the shade.

A good rule of thumb is to have one houseplant for every one hundred square feet of living space. For more information, check out our article on Best Houseplants to Improve Indoor Air Quality.

Environmentally Friendly Way to Mow Your Lawn

Danny Lipford — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:04 +0000

Changing the way you mow your grass can save water by reducing the need for lawn irrigation. Here’s how:

Use a mulching mower and blade. Leaving the grass clippings on the lawn will provide natural, organic nitrogen and help retain moisture.
Don’t cut the grass too short. Set your cutting depth to leave 2½” to 3” of grass. Taller grass protects the stem from sunlight, makes a stronger root system, and reduces evaporation.

Homemade Rain Barrel for Your Yard

Danny Lipford — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:28 +0000

Rain barrels are a great way to save and store water for use on your lawn or garden. While commercial models are available, you can also make your own rain barrel from a plastic garbage can. Watch our video on How to Make a Rain Barrel for Your Yard to find out how.

How to Make a Rain Barrel for Your Yard

Can I Plant Trees and Shrubs in Late Fall or Winter?

Julie Day — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:27:27 +0000

We just bought some shrubs at a late fall sale. Can we plant them now, or should we try to store them until spring? -Dee

Go ahead and plant them. Even though it’s late in the season, your shrubs will be happier in the ground than in pots. Ideally, trees and shrubs need about a month to establish roots before a heavy freeze, but it’s actually OK to plant them anytime the ground is workable, and many bare-root trees and shrubs are planted in very early spring while they’re still dormant.

I’ve planted well into December with success, though the plantings looked pretty pitiful until the weather warms up in the spring.

Here are a few tips for seeing your late-season plantings through the winter:

Avoid stimulating growth: Don’t fertilize or overly amend the soil. You can add a little compost and bone meal (to stimulate root growth), but hold off on fertilizer until spring.
Don’t disturb the plant: Avoid pruning, and be very gentle with the roots while planting. The shrub won’t have time to recover from damage, and it’s going to be stressed enough as it is.
Keep plants watered: The worst part of cold damage is caused by desiccation, or drying out. Keep new shrubs watered every week or two until the ground freezes, and especially right before a heavy freeze.
Watch out for frost heaving: Make sure the plants stay firmly plants when the ground freezes.
Apply Mulch: Add mulch to keep newly planted shrubs insulated. If you’re planting cold-sensitive trees or shrubs, you can add extra protection by wrapping or banking the plants with burlap or leaves on cold nights. Be sure to uncover in the morning.

If the ground is frozen solid and unworkable, you can store unplanted shrubs in a sheltered spot with a southern exposure. Bank with leaves or mulch to keep them insulated and water every few days. When growth starts in early spring, prune away any damaged branches, shape up your plants, feed with a balanced organic fertilizer, and they should recover nicely.

Further Information

Advantages of Rechargeable Cordless Lawn Mowers

Danny Lipford — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:54 +0000

You can’t beat the convenience of cordless tools. But there’s another advantage to battery power when it comes to thinking green, especially when it comes to yard work. You might be surprised to learn that an hour of mowing your yard with a gas-powered lawn mower causes as much pollution as driving 250 miles in a car!

But there are alternatives. The old hand-powered mowers are still available, but my vote goes to rechargeable, cordless models. These mowers operate using a sealed lead acid battery, and usually have enough power to mow up to a half-acre lawn on one charge. There are no emissions, no noise, and no expensive gasoline to buy.

Keeping Perspective in a Busy Season

Julie Day — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:34:17 +0000

I wonder if they’ve ever tasted the mulberries from this tree?

This morning, I’d like to be pondering the many ways that gardening increases our sense of beauty, harmony, and self-sufficiency—especially as we move into the quiet starkness of winter—except that my thoughts are completely blasted to bits by the three (yes, three) backpack leaf-blowers hard at work in the neighbor’s yard. And after they finish relocating every leaf, twig, and gnat within a half-mile radius; they’ll come back with a truckload of store-bought, triple-ground, hardwood mulch to spread underneath all those now-chilly trees and shrubs.

Oh, wait. Now, the three leaf-blowers are standing in a circle, aiming a cloud of leaves at a huge riding lawn mower, which is spinning in circles (shredding and vacuuming the leaves, I guess) like a dancing elephant in a tutu made of greenhouse gases. Sorry, I’m entranced – or rather, assaulted – by this display, not to mention the noise. The only thing that could make this better is if, after they’re finished, they all go to the gym to work out those muscles that could have been used to pull a rake.

I’m not a totally unplugged gardener—at least, not yet—although I’m happiest with tools that don’t scare away the birds. But it’s so easy to get caught up in chores and tasks and forget our actual purpose, to let our desire for things to be “just right” distract us from the rightness of things just as they are.

In the fall, the leaf crusade is only the beginning. In just a few weeks, the holiday season will kick into high gear, inviting us—if we’re not careful—to work ourselves silly while completely missing the point.

Thankfully, nature reminds us of our purpose with quite a sense of humor, if we just get outdoors and look around. In fact, nature is laughing right now, in the form of a breeze that is fluttering bright yellow mulberry leaves down onto that perfect green lawn next door.

LED Outdoor Solar Lighting

Jodi Marks — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:00:29 +0000

These solar powered landscape lights use LED technology to provide a brighter light to illuminate your walk or drive at night. Hampton Bay LED solar landscape lighting is available at The Home Depot in several styles and finishes.

How to Help Houseplants Cope With Winter

Julie Day — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:49:32 +0000

This palm needs to be moved away from the fireplace.

Now that the weather’s getting cooler, my houseplants are beginning to protest a little – they know that they belong in the tropics, and they’re not too keen on spending their winters in an artificially heated climate. I can identify with that!

Try the following to help plants cope with the cold:

Go Slow: Growth slows down in the winter, so stop fertilizing houseplants and reduce watering until spring growth resumes.
Cold Damage: Low light plants in northern windows can get too cold. Move them to a sunny eastern or southern exposure until spring. On freezing nights, keep foliage from touching cold window glass.
Boost Humidity: Everything seems a little dried out after the lush, humid summer. Even though you can reduce watering in the winter, a humidifier or pebble tray helps keep tropical plants from suffering in a dry, heated house.
Heat damage: Move plants away from heat sources, including fireplaces and heating registers.

During the coldest part of winter, I often gather my houseplants into a makeshift “tropical paradise,” by grouping them in the sunniest window with a humidifier nearby and a closed door to hold in the sun’s warmth. It makes a nice getaway for me, too.

I also give my plants permission to draw in on themselves and dream away the winter. Something I plan to do as well!

Wireless Moisture Sensor for Your Lawn or Garden

Jodi Marks — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:45 +0000

It’s important to keep you lawn watered during dry weather, but timed sprinkler systems often cut on when watering isn’t needed. The Wireless Moisture Sensor from Vigoro uses a remote sensor to monitor moisture levels in the soil. It then relays the information to the timer to prevent it from cutting on unnecessarily. The Vigoro Moisture Sensor is available at The Home Depot.

(695) Room with a View, Part 2