It is easy to overlook shrubs as part of your overall landscaping strategy. Sure, they play an important role in many designs, but they tend to be forgotten as homeowners pay more attention to their lawn and the flowers. Of course, if your shrubs are going to thrive and play the role in your landscape that they were meant to fill, you will need to both plant and maintain them correctly. Let’s look at a few helpful tips.
Making a Smart Choice
As is always the case when purchasing something to plant on your property, you need to make sure that the landscaping shrubs you choose are a good fit for the location at hand. If you don’t know much about picking shrubs, ask for advice at your local garden store. There are many different shrubs available at most nurseries, so it should be pretty easy to find something that fits your needs.
Test Your Positioning First
You don’t want to start digging a hole for your new shrub until you see how it is going to look in a given location. Set it in a spot while still in a pot and walk away for a minute. Look at the shrub in that position from a variety of angles to make sure you like it. Does it have enough room to grow in the months and years to come? Is it going to quickly become crowded with other plants, or will it start to grow into your driveway or walkway? Think it through and only put it in the ground when you are sure you’ve made the right choice.
Dig and Plant
At this point, you probably know what to do. Planting a shrub isn’t much different from planting anything else in your garden. You’ll want to dig a hole which is big enough to allow the shrub room to take root in this new location. Plenty of water is important at first to make sure the plant survives its transplant in good condition.
Learn to Prune
Pruning is an important task when caring for shrubs. You will be able to improve the look of the shrub when you prune properly, and you will also be able to help keep it healthy. It is often a good idea to prune in the spring but research the kind of care that you should provide to your specific shrubs to make sure you are taking the right action.
Food and Water
Just like people, shrubs need food and water in order to survive and thrive. Keep an eye on the weather and water as necessary to make sure your shrubs have all of the moisture they need to stay healthy. In terms of fertilizer, you probably don’t need to apply any when first planting a shrub on your property. Light fertilization may be beneficial later on if certain shrubs are struggling, but always follow the instructions which came with the plant originally.