O'Donal's Nursery Garden Center Serving Southern Maine

1. First, water your container before you begin to plant in order to thoroughly water the soil ball. Dig a hole 2 times the width of the container and as deep as the soil level in the container.
2. Remove the root ball from the container (ask for a demonstration from our employees if needed) and loosen the outside layer of the root system either by scoring with a knife or pulling by hand. This step is extremely important. Circling roots that are not interrupted could possibly endanger the plant's health.
3. Set the plant in the approximate center of the hole. The root ball should be at or slightly above normal ground level. If it is not, then remove the plant and amend the depth of the hole before replacing the plant. Please keep in mind that planting a plant too deeply will eventually kill the plant.
4. Back-fill 2/3 of the planting hole with amended soil. Amended soil will differ depending on what plants are being planted (back-fill information follows at the end of the planting instructions).
5. Fill the planting hole with water. This will result in a "moat" around the soil ball. When this drains completely, re-fill with water again. It is very important to water adequately enough at this time to soak the soil completely to the depth and width or the originally dug hole, or deeper. Root Stimulator can be applied with the final watering.
6. After the water has drained, back fill the rest of the hole to ground level, and tamp gently. Next, form a circular ridge of soil around the planting hole. Formation of this "saucer" within the edge of the hole will enable future waterings and rain to effectively water the plant.
7. Water thoroughly once more to remove any remaining air pockets.
8. Staking may be necessary when planting trees especially in windy locations or if trees are not firmly rooted in the root ball.
9. Mulching over the root zone is a good idea. It should be no more than 2-4" deep but keep the mulch a couple inches away from the trunk or branches emerging from the root ball.
10. Tree wrap may be recommended for winter protection on thin barked trees. Remove tree wrap during periods of active growth.

1. Dig a hole at least 2 times the width of the root ball and as deep as the root ball (no deeper!). Measure from trunk flare to bottom of the root ball.
2. Set the plant into the approximate center of the hole. The root ball should be set at ground level or slightly higher. Correct the hole depth if necessary. Plants with plastic burlap must have the burlap removed. Natural fiber should remain on the plant if the root ball appears in danger of collapsing. In this case, remove the ropes and the top 1/3 of the burlap from the root ball. If the root ball is firm, you can cut away as much of the burlap as possible. Although wire baskets can possibly remain on the root ball, we recommend altering them by removing some wires to allow larger, unrestricted areas. Or by cutting away the top half of the basket.
3. Please follow steps 4 through 10 of "How to Plant from Containers" to complete your planting!

Group 1: Deciduous & Needled Evergreen Trees & Shrubs
Add to a wheelbarrow full of existing soil in the following ratio: 2 shovel fulls of peat to 1 shovel full of manure (or other substituted composted organic material).
* except those that need higher peat/organic content: use Group 2

Group 2: Broad-leaved Evergreens & Related Ericacae Plants (Azaleas, Hollies, Mt. Laurel, Blueberries, etc.)
Add to a wheelbarrow full of existing soil in the following ratio: 3-4 shovel fulls of peat to 1 shovel full of manure (or other substituted composted organic material of low pH).