By Leslie Cox; Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Dig a $10 hole for a $5 plant.

Prepare your transplanting hole well with the best ingredients you can put in and your plant will reward you.

Dig a good size hole to work the soil loose. This is especially true in hard clay-type soils. It will incorporate air pockets between the soil particles and give the roots a good jump start on spreading out to establish the plant.

Add a good measure…heaping measure…of well-aged manure or compost into the transplanting hole. Humus is very beneficial in providing nutrients to the plant. It also helps greatly with water retention. Humus is also just what is needed to amend clay- and sandy-type soil compositions.

Add in a complete fertilizer (recipe here)…at least a half cup (125ml) for a small plant and up to a cup and a half (375ml) for a shrub or small tree. The amount is really dependant on the size of your transplanting hole. Sprinkle some right in the hole and the rest over the pile of soil to go back in around the plant. Mix the fertilizer into the soil in the hole and in the pile with your fingers.

Now you are ready for your plant…

After pre-soaking the plant in a bucket of water…which you should always do before transplanting…gently remove the plant from its pot and inspect the roots. Working carefully, break up the soil at the bottom to let some of the roots free. If the plant is pot-bound, you may have to take a knife or your secateurs and score the length of the root ball in four places. Like you were going to be dividing up the root ball into quarters. It sounds harsh but if you do not break through the mass of circling roots your plant will just suffer in its new spot. It would also not hurt the plant to shorten really long roots somewhat.

(Note: Just as plants can withstand having a third of their “volume” or branches removed, so can the same be done to the roots…although I would only hack back both branches and roots at the same time if I was moving my plant to a new garden or if it needed serious remedial attention.)

When the plant is ready to go into its new spot, gently spread out the roots and position the plant so its root crown is right at the soil level. The soil should be at the same point on the stem when the plant is in the ground as where the soil was in the pot.

Gently firm the soil around the roots of the plant and then water it in right away. Do not delay or you may forget.