Some Helpful Tips for Managing Your Landscape

Estimating the number of plants to place in a bedding area

To determine the number of plants you need to buy for a bedding area, follow these general guidelines...

• Space small size plants 8" to 12" apart
• Space medium size plants 9" to 1' apart
• Space larger shrubs 1' to 2' apart
• Space hedges 3' on center
  

Your local nursery can also help in determining proper spacing of plants. Space your new plants so they have room to grow and make sure the plants you purchase are compatible with your hardiness zone.

Before installing plants, turn the soil to a depth of six inches, adding fertilizer and soil ammendments as needed to create a rich growing environment for the plants.

Installing the Plants

To begin, make sure the plants you purchase are healthy and vibrant. Don't purchase plants that are discolored or have wilted leaves. Check to make sure the plants you purchase are not root bound. If there seems to be alot of roots wrapping around the root ball when you pull it out of the pot, take a knife and cut the roots vertically. This will cause them to push out away from the plant once installed instead of continuing to spiral around the root ball.

Using a shovel, dig a hole large enough to accomodate the root ball and still leave enough room around the plant to replace some soil. Fill the hole half way and then sprikle some water into the hole to settle the soil. Finish filling the hole to the top and then create a berm around the base of the plant to collect water.

Staking Larger Trees

Newly planted trees should be staked to prevent the root ball from moving around and damaging new roots as they begin to grow out from the base of the plant. Figure two growing seasons before a tree could be considered sufficiently rooted.

If the newly installed trees are not too large and not in a high wind environment, it's possible to forgo staking of the trees.

The Royal Horticultural Society provides this advice when staking trees... Learn More

Edging of Flower Beds

Keeping your lawn properly edged helps to keep evasive lawns and weeds out of your bedding areas as well as increasing the curb appeal of your landscaping. Plastic edging can also be installed to make the job of edging much easier.

The Renegade Gardner provides this advice on installing plastic edging... Learn More

Watering Your Florida Lawn

The University of Florida provides this advice when watering your lawn... Learn More