As a lover of gardens, picking the right plants for a space is one of my favourite things to do. When you get it right and you can watch a plant mature into the space, filling it perfectly adding character and layers to your garden. Get it wrong and you only add to the compost pile! I’ve been lucky enough to be picking plants for over 25 years and here are a few of the tips I use to help me get it right.
Picking Your New Plants
First up, you need to study where your new plant baby is going to go. This will stop you from buying things you like the look of but won’t grow in the spot you want them to grow in. Work out how much sun the spot gets, if it’s full sun, semi-shade or full shade. Then dig a hole and pour a big bucket of water into it and see how quickly it drains away, this will tell you a lot about your soil and how it drains.
When you’re at the nursery don’t be scared to ask for advice, plant people love to share their knowledge and now you know your sun requirements and how the soil drains you stand a good chance of getting the right plant for your spot.
Finding the Right Place for Your New Plants
The leaf of a plant will tell you so much about it, as a rule of thumb small leaves can take lots of sun and large leaves need more shade. If they are hairy, silver, or succulent, chances are they like baking in hot sun too.
Research the plant and find its mature height so you can plan your planting scheme, these are often given in perfect growing conditions in a natural habitat, so for your personal garden you can plan for it to get to 75 per cent of this height. If you are adding plants to an existing scheme, buy them at large as your budget will allow, as the existing plants will compete and can out-shade your new plants before they are established.
Planting in New Garden Beds
If you are planting a new garden bed buy slow growing plants as larger specimens and fast growers in smaller sizes. This will make your dollar go further and fast-growing plants establish quicker when planted in smaller sizes – as long as the soil preparation is done correctly.
Improving Your Soil
Improve your soil with compost, known as black gold, it helps to bind sandy soil together and break up clay by bringing in worms. (Heavy clay can also do with a handful of gypsum to improve the structure). If you are planting into full sand, it’s a good idea to treat the soil for hydrophobia, this is where the soil cannot absorb water and adding compost will only exacerbate the issue if used by itself.
Planting Your Garden
When planting, soak your plant in its pot in a large bucket of water before placing it into the hole to ensure it’s completely hydrated; leave it in there until all the air bubbles have stopped to maximise hydration. You can add some seaweed tonic or some half-strength liquid fertiliser if you want to help settle it in quicker. Remember, your plant is used to living like a king at the nursery, so keep this up and establish it with plenty of water, as this will ensure good root growth.
Choosing the Right Lawn Type
All these points stand true for your lawns too, you need to make sure your future variety can handle the amount of sun you have and the drainage. Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo has a large leaf so can handle more shade than a finer leaf couch such as TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda. If you are unsure your local Lawn Solutions Australia member will be more than happy to advise on the best turf for your aspect and soil type.
Soil for New Turf
Most turf varieties like good drainage but adding some compost to sand will be of benefit to help in nutrient and water holding capacity of the soil. For heavy clay consider raising your soil with a new layer of sandy mix, but it’s important to combine a layer of the clay and sand before this top layer otherwise you can create a perched water table where the water doesn’t drain through and not many plants will tolerate that!
Establishment is key to the ongoing success of your lawns too, try to stay off them until roots have bedded in and water appropriately for your weather conditions and time of year.
For more lawn care tips and advice, make sure you check out our other lawn care blogs here.
