Landscape

Caring for your new plants

Whether you planted a single tree, a group of perennials or a master plan you can expect your plants to go into some sort of shock in the days following installation. Because they have been moved from a perfect environment (a greenhouse) with near perfect growing conditions, to their new home and they will need some time to adjust. They may drop some or all of their leaves, they might force their fall color, and some perennials might shut down all together and actually appear dead.! However, try not to panic or be discouraged and continue to keep them watered as instructed and keep an eye on them, because it’s likely they’ve simply shut down much of their growing habits and are concentrating on establishing a new root system. They may bounce right back and produce new growth that year or even the next spring, but there's a very good possibility they are not dead.

Most perennials will give you their normal growth rate the very year they are installed in their new home. Trees and shrubs are a little different. Each individual species of plant has an average growth rate depending on the species. You will not see this normal growth until the third season after installation. So if you have planted a River Birch and they have a growth rate of 8-12” per year don't expect to see 12” the first year of installation. In fact the first year you may not get any new growth. The second year you should see a significant improvement but it is not until the third year that you should see the normal average of 8-12” of new growth.

Deer love to eat young new plant material. Make sure you take the proper precautions to keep them away from the plants they seek out as well as most all newly installed plant material with some type of repellant. They will nibble and damage anything even if it is labeled a “deer resistant” plant.

Keep your new plants watered and happy until they are established and you should enjoy a properly designed and installed landscape for many years to follow.

Watering Guidelines