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How To Plant Shrubs

Planting shrubs provide a background and serve as the anchor for most landscape beds. The process for planting shrubs is the same for any other type of plant and below are some helpful tips to common questions about how to plant shrubs.

How to Prepare Soil for Planting Shrubs?

Soil provides most of the nutrition a shrub needs to grow and bloom. In addition, the surrounding soil will help determine how much water the shrub has access to. It’s also important to know if the shrub you’re planting needs a certain level of acidity to thrive or if it has particular drainage needs.

When preparing soil, mix any additives needed to your existing soil when planting. We always recommend keeping at least 50% of the native soil so that your shrubs will learn to live within the existing soil.

When is the Best Time to Plant Bushes?

Assuming you are planting bushes that are appropriate for your hardiness zone, bushes can be planted all year round.

When planting during the colder seasons, especially when plants are dormant, you should not expect much if any growth from your bushes, but they can certainly be planted and expected to survive.

How Close to the Property Line Can I Plant Hedges?

As a courtesy to your neighbor, you want to avoid planting hedges that will encroach onto their property.

To determine where to plant your hedge, you will need to know the mature growth habit of the particular shrub you intend to plant. For example, if you plan to install a shrub with a mature width of 6 feet, you can plant your shrub 3 feet from the property line and it should mature right up to the line and still give room for shrub trimming as needed.

Can I Plant Shrubs in Clay Soil?

Yes. You can absolutely plant shrubs in clay soil. However, the biggest challenge of planting in clay soil is drainage.

Clay soil allows water to pass through, but very slowly. Therefore, it’s important to know if the shrub you intend to plant requires better drainage than clay offers. If so, you will want to amend the clay soil prior to installing landscaping plants.

How Far Apart to Plant Bushes?

To determine the planting distance between bushes, you will need to know the mature width of the bush.

Take the mature width number and divide it in half. This measurement will be the planting distance needed if you want your plants to eventually just touch.
You can subtract an additional 1 foot from the measurement if you prefer an overlapping or hedged look or add to the measurement if you want to maintain distance between the bushes.

This is important to discuss with your landscape designer before assembling your design plans.

Can I Install Burlap Wrapped Plants?

Some shrubs are grown in the ground at a nursery and are transported with burlap around the root ball of the plant. While you can certainly remove it when planting, it’s not necessary as natural burlap will eventually disintegrate into the soil.

Should I Wait to Install Bushes after Spraying Roundup?

Yes, the recommended waiting period before installing bushes is 24 hours after spraying Roundup.