Care of your plants
By Meadow Beauty Nursery
561-601-9673
The plant should be installed so that the top of the roots are level with the ground and the soil is firm beneath, with no organic matter added directly under the root ball.
After pulling the plant from the pot, run your thumb from top to bottom, one to two inches deep on three sides of the root ball to straighten out roots that have circled the pot. After placing the plant in the hole and pressing most of the soil around the roots, leave a circle of the extra soil around the plant to prevent runoff when watering.
Wildflowers: Require a week of daily watering and may need additional if showing signs of stress.
Shrubs and Trees: Require two weeks of daily watering and every three days for an additional one to six months depending on soil moisture and rain. Watering should be done by hand with a moderate amount of force coming from an unobstructed garden hose. Open the soil surface with a small shovel to make sure that the ground is wet for a foot or more down.
There is a period from March to July that may be especially dry and usually ends with the summer rains. During this time trees and shrubs planted for less than a year may require watering every three to seven days. Always keep an eye on your plants and water them if necessary.
Florida has a variety of soils to deal with. Coastal and scrub soils, which run from the beach to just west of I95, are very dry. Plants in these soils require more weeks of watering as well as frequency. Traveling west of this zone the soil becomes moister. Wetlands may be found mixed in this area. If your soil is always moist, your plants will only need the first week of watering and as needed thereafter.
Use a slow release fertilizer to help your plants send down their roots. The three-month 13-3-13 fertilizers work well. Or use compost. Flowers will need one treatment and trees and shrubs may need three.
Call me if you have any further questions
Carl Terwilliger
561-601-9673