Transplanting Container or Root-Ball Plants

Container plants, similar to bedding plants, have their roots established in a growing medium. Unlike spring bedding plants though, it is best to transplant container plants when doRmant.

Perennials. Grow them in containers or special beds in the garden. Transplant at any time, but spring and fall are preferable. Top-growth is slower at these times, yet roots are still developing. At this stage the plant has the greatest chance of establishing roots before going dormant for the winter. The fun part about planting perennials is planning where you will plant them. Try arranging extensive borders using just the plants you propagate yourself (or sneak in a few store-bought plants if you must).

Make sure you plant perennials at the proper depth. Transplant most perennials at the same level they grew in the container or the field, usually with the crown at soil level. Perennials that tend to rot at the base grow better if planted higher. Plants that require dampness near the crown, such as Solomon's Seal and hostas should be planted lower.

Prepare a perennial bed by tilling and amending the soil at least a few days before planting. Ideally, this is a job for the previous fall. This gives the soil time to settle and mellow. If adding to an existing planting, begin by digging a hole about twice as big around as the roots of the plant and a few inches deeper. As for bedding plants, you can sprinkle in a little fertilizer or compost in the bottom and cover with soil. Water the potted plant and gently slide it from the container without breaking any roots. Carefully loosen some of the root soil. Tease any roots that have begun to grow in circles free of the root ball. Set in place and remove; refill the hole if necessary to adjust the planting depth. Backfill with soil from the hole and water well. As with bedding plants, pay perennials a little special attention until the roots are established.

Vines or climbers. Transplant vines or climbers from containers the same way as perennials. It is usually best to transplant in the spring to give the plant a chance to establish.

Install a trellis when planting climbers, or place the new plant near an existing support, such as a fence or tree. Supports, while necessary for climbers, pose a few challenges. Supports shelter the growing plant from essential rain or sprinkler water. If you use another plant as a support, the two will compete for water and nutrients. Plant climbers at least 1 foot from a support to reduce water deflection and allow for adequate air circulation. But plant them nearer tree trunks, however, since competing feeder roots spread out near the drip line rather than near the trunk.

Plant climbers grafted to a rootstock, such as wisteria and climbing roses, with the graft union below the soil level. This protects the union from extreme temperatures, and prompts the climber to send out its own roots. Also, clematis develops more buds if set about 2 inches deeper than it originally grew.

Shrubs and Trees. These are sold in containers or with the roots wrapped in burlap. The method for transplanting shrubs and trees is similar to the method used for other container plants, but on a larger scale. For roots wrapped in burlap, treat as you would a container plant, unless the soil crumbles. In that case don't worry, just proceed as for a bare-root plant. (See next section.)

Place the plant in the ground. Without burying the plant any deeper, backfill about halfway and water well. Finish filling the hole, water again, and gently firm the soil down. Shovel a ring of soil around the drip line. This forms a water-retaining well that pools water and funnels it to the plant's roots. Remove the well before hard frost or during heavy rains.

Trees require an additional Step. Many trees suffer root damage due to the effects of wind-rock. Winds rattle the tree, shaking it clear down to its unestablished roots. The motion tears tiny feeder roots, creates air pockets, and may prevent the tree from thriving. Place stakes or guy wires to keep the trunk in place while the roots gain strength. Don't make the common mistake of tying the tree down tightly. Tree roots need a little natural stress in order to grow strong. Make sure there is a little give in the tension of wires, or use a section of old rubber hose to tie the tree in place.

Transplanting Bedding Plants

Bedding plants and other small plants are easy to establish in the garden. They are already growing and have an active root system. Plant them in the spring as soon as it is warm enough for the species. But don't rush out with a new flat of plants, and stick them in the ground. First you must harden them off. Most bedding plants are grown under greenhouse conditions and are not yet ready to take on the real world. Here are four critical steps to success.

Hardening off. Toughen bedding plants first to stretch your plant dollars. Hardening off is a physical toughening of plant tissues. It takes only a few days and pays off in the survival rate and vigor of transplants. Whether bringing home plants from the garden center or preparing your homegrown transplants, this is a crucial step. Begin by placing the plants outside for about thirty minutes in a protected site, near a south wall for instance. Even a gentle breeze can seem like a howling gale to pampered plants. The next day increase the plants' time and exposure to the elements. Continue this routine for about a week.

Site preparation. While the plants are hardening off, prepare the site by removing all weeds, turning and amending the soil, and dusting with diazinon or diatomaceous earth to kill soil-dwelling bugs. Transplanting. Transplant on an overcast day or in the late afternoon. Use a garden trowel to dig holes for the transplants 1 to 2 inches deeper than the roots of the plants. Sprinkle a little fertilizer or 1 inch of compost at the bottom of each hole. Refill the hole so that the transplant rests at the same depth it grew in the container. Gently loosen the transplant's roots, and place in the hole. Pat into place, and water. Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) makes a cheap fertilizer substitute for tomato transplants.

Coddle transplants. Coddle the transplants for a few days even though they have been hardened off. They will suffer less shock and will grow more quickly. Water frequently, but don't drown them. If the weather is windy, give them a wind break by placing a board or bale of straw between them and the prevailing wind. If it gets too hot or sunny, rig a shade cloth over them. A good start will result in more robust and productive plants when they mature.

Windowpanes or Grow Lights

The final consideration for starting seeds indoors is their individual light requirements. Most seeds germinate best in darkness, but some won't sprout without a little light. Knowing the light requirements of the seeds you sow prevents mysterious disappointments.
The light level is just as important after the seeds sprout. If grown at room temperature, they need supplemental light to prevent spindly growth. Plants grown on windowsills will do fine if the microclimate near the window is cool enough.

The alternative is to purchase cool-watt fluorescent lights. Sold as shop lights in 4- and 8-foot lengths, the lights are inexpensive and perfectly adequate for the task. They do not radiate the full sun spectrum, but unless you intend to hold seedlings until they flower, they won't need the full sun spectrum. The range of light waves from shop lights are just what seedlings need. Hang the lights within a few inches of the plants' tops, and adjust the lights as the seedlings grow.

Start Your Own Seeds in Containers

You can start transplants either indoors in containers or in a cold frame. Start them under controlled conditions to get a jump on the growing season. For gardeners in areas with short growing seasons, this is standard practice. Also, plants that originated in the tropics, such as tomatoes or peppers, require a long, warm growing season to ripen fruit. Start them as transplants.
Starting seeds in containers requires seeds, a growing medium, and containers. Quell that stingy urge to use garden soil in containers. As discussed in Chapter 1, it compacts and carries disease organisms to which seedlings may succumb. A bag of seed-starting medium is not a bad investment, or mix your ow.
The next consideration is the container. The only requirements for transplant containers is that they must be at least 21/2 inches deep to allow for young, spreading roots, and they must have drainage holes. Those nicely matching plastic models at the garden center are a landfill nightmare. If you must buy them, use them carefully, wash thoroughly, and re-use them.

Do you need some suggestions to get started looking for free containers? Piece together wooden flats from scrap lumber, but make sure they are not painted or coated with a toxic preservative. Don't use old painted wood or treated lumber as it may contain toxins that could leach into the container soil. Cut milk cartons lengthwise and slice a few holes
in the bottom for drainage. Large, wax-coated cereal boxes and styrofoarn take-out containers are made to order. For a built-in greenhouse effect save plastic boxes from delis or bakeries. Poke holes in the bottom, fill, plant, and put the lid on. Wash out used margarine or yogurt cups and plastic trays from snack foods. Save toilet paper rolls, cut in half, arrange on a tray, and fill. Learn to find food-safe containers.

If you start seeds indoors, scrounge up trays to place beneath the draining containers. A shallow box lined with plastic wrap, plastic container lids, or cookie trays will work in a pinch.

Temperature is critical to how many seeds germinate and develop. Room temperature, 65° to 70°F works well to germinate most plants. Heating mats or tape underneath the seed containers encourage roots to grow downward. Once plants sprout, however, remove the bottom heat as cooler temperatures produce sturdier plants.

Sow the seed as for direct seeding. Don't worry about spacing. As soon as the seedlings show two to four leaves, carefully lift by the leaves and transplant into individual containers. Never pick up tiny seedlings by the stem because they will crush easily.

Planting Bulbs, Corms, and Tubers

Not all plants start best from seed. Many, such as tulips, gladiolus, and dahlias, propagate best from underground storage organs (as discussed in Chapter 3). The methods for planting bulbs, corms, and tubers are similar to planting seed, except bulbs used for naturalizing or planted in grass. In these cases, don't prepare the soil in advance, instead use a handy bulb planter for forming holes.

For perennials, use a hand trowel to dig holes about three times deeper than the width of the bulb. This insulates the bulbs from extreme temperatures. Irises are one exception. Plant them with part of the rhizome above ground. Planting irises too deeply will kill them. Likewise, plant onions and garlic with the tops nearly exposed.

It is absolutely critical to place bulbs, corms, and other underground storage organs in the soil with the growing tip facing the sky. If you are not sure which end is the growing tip, check for roots. The growing tip is on the opposite end. Dahlias and other tuberous plants should have small growing shoots coming out of the tuber. Plant them so the tips of the shoots point up. Make sure you don't break or damage growing tips. Sprinkle a little bone meal in the hole before placing the bulb to help the roots develop. Place the bulb in the hole, fill with the soil removed from it, and press down gently.

Planting Seed at the Right Temperature

It is important to know the temperature tolerance of the seeds you plant. Cool-season plants will sprout and grow at 40°F. Due to the process of microbial breakdown, however, cold soil has few organic nutrients available to plants. But warm-season plants will rot at 40°F. Most plants germinate very well at temperatures between 60° and 70°F.

Saving Money on Seeds

When buying plants, seeds are much cheaper than transplants. Compare two extremes. Tetraploid pelargoniums cost $2.95 for a packet of only five seeds, nearly 60¢ for each plant. A transplant, however, costs around $3. Of course, you have to factor in the cost of growing the seed, but after doing that, even expensive seed is still a bargain. Then there are the seeds you buy on sale or wholesale, or those you save from your own plants. Outside of a few pennies for seed, soil, and water, the costs are negligible for a homegrown transplant.

Tucked away in its cozy little hiding place, protected by a tough seedcoat, a baby plant waits to make its grand entrance into the world. When conditions of light, temperature, and moisture are just right, which varies by the type of seed, the embryo bursts forth. It carries just enough nutrition in the seed for the incredible feat of breaking free and stretching upward. Afterwards, it makes its own food. Through the miraculous process of photosynthesis, plant cells convert light, air, water, and soil nutrients into sugars, starches, and proteins. Seeds may be direct seeded, which means planted directly into the garden where they will grow, or started in containers for later transplanting. Most plants are better suited to one method than the other.

Direct Seeding
This is the original plan for seed-bearing plants. They flower, set seed, and some seeds manage to get a foothold. Some types of garden seeds, especially those that develop extensive root systems, are best suited to direct seeding. Direct seeding begins with preparing a seed-bed. Begin by removing all weeds and cultivating the soil. Rent a rototiller or get a good workout turning the soil by hand. Rake the soil to remove any clumps, sticks, or rocks, and break the soil into fine particles. Water the area the day before planting so the soil is moist. You may want to treat the soil with an insecticide, such as diazinon (one of the less toxic of the chemical insecticides) or diatomaceous earth (an organic alternative), especially in soil freshly turned from sod. If soil-dwelling insects such as army-worms or cutworms get your plants before they emerge, you not only waste the money, time, and effort of planting, but you fall behind in the growing season. Space seed plantings to avoid wasting seeds and having to pull out healthy plants later.

You can broadcast seeds or plant them in rows. Spice dispensers, such as those for salt substitutes, make handy, free seed broadcasters. Those with smaller holes work for small-seeded crops, such as carrots; those with larger holes, are great for bigger seeds, such as marigolds. Fill the dispenser and gently scatter the seeds evenly over the prepared area. Scatter tiny seeds more evenly by mixing with fine sand for a carrying medium. To plant in rows, use a dibble, made from a stick or your finger, to poke a hole the appropriate depth into the soil, and drop a seed or two in each hole. Use either method for raised beds or wide rows.

I include broadcast seeding because many gardeners use it, but I don't. I think it wastes seed. It is faster than placing each individual seed where it belongs. Much of the time saved is imaginary, because thinning the thickly sprouted seeds takes time. Since it is more difficult for me to justify yanking out a perfectly healthy seedling than it is to space my plantings in the first place, I take the extra few minutes spacing seeds according to their size at maturity. Since I plant wide rows in raised beds, I space the seeds a certain distance apart from a center point. For example, carrot seeds are 3 inches apart on all sides and bean seeds are 4-inches apart.

Once planted, cover seeds lightly with fine soil. The standard rule of thumb is cover seeds with soil two or three times as deep as the seed's thickness. Gently press on soil over the seeds until dirt is firm. Remember to keep moist. Tender seedlings will die if allowed to dry out.

When starting vining plants, such as pole beans, scarlet runner beans, or sweet peas, plant a support along with them. Another prime candidate for direct seeding is a lawn. Till and amend the soil; most lawns benefit from tilling in peat moss or other organic matter. Rake until as even as possible, then compact with a roller, a large metal drum you rent and fill half-full with water for weight.

Seed evenly with a spreader by walking across the area first in one direction, then perpendicular to the first pattern, and finally at a diagonal. This pattern prevents bare spots.

The best germination depends on good seed, warm temperatures, and constant moisture. Until the grass is about 1 inch tall, water it every day. Spread a grass seed mulch over the seed to reduce water loss. You will save money substantially by planting your own lawn rather than laying sod or hiring someone else to install it either way.