Project guide
Planting shrubs
Wide hole, right height, an amended bed, deep water. The material list is short; the mistakes are the expensive part.
- TimeAn afternoon for a few shrubs
- DifficultyEasy, and easy to get wrong
How to plant shrubs?
- Compost at 3 inches: one cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches, so 300 square feet takes about 3 cubic yards (roughly 2.3 tons).
- Colored mulch at 3 inches: one cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches, so 300 square feet takes about 3 cubic yards (roughly 1.2 tons).
What the job involves
Digging a wide, shallow hole, planting at the right height, backfilling with the soil you took out, and watering deeply through the first seasons. An afternoon for a few shrubs.
What you need, and roughly how much
Shrubs
The shrubs
Shrubs go through a quote here rather than a checkout: what is on the bench changes daily and container sizes vary, so a nursery answers with price and availability rather than this page guessing at either. Name the species and the container size and the request is put to the nurseries nearest you.
176 listed yards carry shrubs. Price and what they have today are theirs to answer, so this goes through a quote rather than a checkout.
Compost
Worked into the whole bed before planting
3 inches worked into a new bed (two to four inches)
Where several shrubs go into one bed, amend the entire area rather than each hole: 3 inches of compost worked in for a new bed, within a range of 1 to 4 inches. Amending only the hole, and heavily, is the classic way to make a bathtub the roots never leave.
One cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches, so 300 square feet takes about 3 cubic yards (roughly 2.3 tons).
4 listed yards publish a price for this.
Colored mulch
A ring around each shrub, off the stems
3 inches planting beds, trees and shrubs
A ring of mulch around each shrub, 3 inches deep and kept off the stems, does more for a new planting in a dry climate than anything else on this list. Keep it within 2 to 4 inches over the root area, and do not pile it on top of the root ball itself.
One cubic yard covers about 108 square feet at 3 inches, so 300 square feet takes about 3 cubic yards (roughly 1.2 tons).
Does the same job at this layer: Natural mulch, Cedar mulch, Bark.
5 listed yards publish a price for this.
What else you will need
- A spade and a tarp for the soil you take out.
- A hose. New shrubs want slow, deep watering rather than a daily sprinkle.
How to do it
- Dig a saucer-shaped hole two to three times the width of the root ball, and no deeper than the ball.
- If the bed is new, work 3 inches of compost into the whole planting area first, not just the hole.
- Set the shrub so the top of the root ball is slightly above the surrounding grade, then remove every container, wrapping, tie and wire.
- Backfill with the soil you dug out, firming gently, and water partway through so it settles without treading.
- Build a low ring of soil at the edge of the hole to hold water, and soak it slowly.
- Mulch a ring 3 inches deep around each shrub, off the stems and not on top of the root ball.
Common mistakes
Digging deep instead of wide
Roots go sideways. Dig the hole two to three times as wide as the root ball and no deeper than the ball, so the shrub sits on undug soil and cannot settle.
Planting too deep
The top of the root ball sits slightly above the surrounding grade, never below it, with no backfill over the top of the ball.
Backfilling with pure compost
It feels generous and it makes a container out of a hole: heavily amended backfill can hold too much water and stop roots spreading into the soil around it. Amend lightly if at all, only a small fraction of the backfill, or amend the whole bed instead.
Leaving the wrappings on
Every container, netting, wire basket, burlap wrap and twine comes off. Leaving burlap, twine and wire on the sides of the ball is named as unacceptable planting practice.
Watering little and often
Newly planted shrubs need water more often than established ones, applied slowly so it soaks the root ball rather than running off. They are not established until the roots spread as wide as the canopy.
Work out how much
Add your area. The depth is already filled in.
Yards near you that carry it
288 listed yards carry compost; 600 listed yards carry mulch; 176 listed yards carry shrubs. Set your area and the nearest come first, by distance and never by price. Every yard, by state · Compost prices · Colored mulch prices