Plantman video on planting shrubs, trees

When planting a tree, leave the top side of roots exposed to help force roots deeper to provide stability as the tree grows. Planting is easy… when you know how.

It’s like riding a bicycle, playing a guitar and roasting a turkey.

They are all activities that are easy to do once you know how, but are very intimidating when you’re a beginner.

The same is true when it comes to planting trees and shrubs.

To an experienced gardener, it’s second nature. He or she probably doesn’t actively think about the various steps involved; it just … well, it just happens.

For a novice, however, it’s a different story, and perhaps it’s one that has happened to you. You would love to have a lush, beautiful landscape so you go online and see photos of plants that would be perfect for you. Perhaps you even visit a garden center and look at the rows of plants.

But then your nerve fails you.

Of course, most plants do come with some kind of written planting instructions, but even they can seem a bit daunting.

Cheryl and I have received hundreds of e-mails over the years from readers asking for guidance on successful planting, or wondering where they went wrong when a plant didn’t make it

The easiest way to learn any procedure is to watch someone else doing it the right way. You can see exactly how it should be done and suddenly the task doesn’t seem so daunting after all. That might not be true when it comes to brain surgery, but it definitely is when it comes to planting trees and shrubs.

After many years of answering questions about planting, we decided that it was time for some “show and tell.”

As a result, we put together a video showing Cheryl planting a shrub and explaining each step as she does it. It shows how to prepare the soil, how to get the plant mulched, watered and situated for the best results.

Then we posted the video – where else? – on YouTube so you can find it easily and watch it as often as you wish.

Here’s the link: http:// www.youtube.com/user/ GreenwoodNursery.

When you watch the video you’ll see that it really is not difficult, but following a few simple steps can mean the difference between healthy, thriving plants and dry, dead twigs.

We plan to make some more “how to” videos which we will also post on YouTube and we’d love to hear from you about any topics you would like us to address. Drop us a line at steve@landsteward.org.

For more information contact Steve Jones at www.landsteward.org.