Whether you are potting up new flowers for Spring or planting a new veggie garden, proper planting depth is critical to the success of your plant. All plants have surface level roots that are responsible for taking up water and nutrients to the rest of the plant; if the root ball is planted too deep, these roots can suffocate or rot. This causes the plant to decline rapidly. Here’s what those surface level roots look like:
When digging your hole for planting, dig twice as wide but only as deep as the root ball. If you dig too deep, soil can mound over the top and suffocate the feeder roots.
Once you have finished digging, place your plant into the hole to make sure you have the right depth. It’s okay for your plant to sit high in the hole – make sure the top of the root ball is not below ground level.
Now you can fill around the sides making sure that you don’t put any new soil over top of the existing root ball. As tempting as it may be, you should not cover the top of the root ball with pretty new soil! Covering it up with mulch is A-OK, just be sure not to stack mulch up against the trunk.
-Wyatt
Jeanette says
Thank you so much for this helpful tip.