> Next: Planting Shrubs and Hedges
Soil Needs of Shrubs
Choosing the right shrubs for your site and soil is an important first step. It’s always best to match the plant’s required pH, or acid-alkaline balance, for example, to the native pH of your site’s soil.
Also choose shrubs you plant that match the light conditions and soil fertility, soil mineral content, and soil texture naturally present at your site, a factor in water retention and drainage.
You’ll find information and recommendations for each of these requirements for each plant included in this website’s plant guides [see Shrubs and Trees].
Add soil amendments and fertilizers as needed when planting shrubs to enrich soil and improve your soil’s texture so it retains proper moisture, neither drains too fast nor too slow, and helps get the shrubs off to a great start.
Remember, however, that these added organics and soil buffering amendments are consumed over time, and soils will revert slowly to their native state and become compacted.
Mulching with organic materials that decompose gradually helps slow this process and replace amendments as they are used. Adding fertilizers and soil amendments during annual cultivation also helps maintain good soils in the root zones, a measure that helps keep your shrubs strong and healthy.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Amend and fertilize soils for shrub before planting, but for best results always plant trees in unamended, native soil.
Test your soil to determine what amendments and fertilizers you’ll need [see Testing Soil].
Most amendments improve soil texture, adding air, retaining moisture, or slowing or speeding drainage. Fertilizers add extra nutrients shrubs need to grow. Other additives, such as garden sulfur and lime, change the soil’s acid-alkaline balance acidic- or alkaline-loving species.
Gather rakes, shovel or spading fork, a tarp, tiller, wheelbarrow or garden cart, amendments, and fertilizer, then follow these steps:
Pre-Planting Soil Preparation
Begin by clearing all weeds and plants you plan to remove. Remove rocks and debris at least 18 in. (45 cm) deep.
Dig a trench 9–12 in. (23–30 cm) deep and one shovel width wide along an edge of the bed, placing the removed soil on a tarp. Loosen the next 9–12 in. (23–30 cm) of soil within the trench with a spading fork or shovel.
Widen the trench a second shovel width, placing the top 9–12 in. (23–30 cm) of its soil into the first trench. Progress across the area until all the soil has been dug. Fill the last trench with soil from the first. Use a tiller to thoroughly mix the topsoil.
Cover the area with a 4-in. (10-cm) layer of organic soil amendment, as needed. Add synthetic or organic fertilizer, as needed, following package instructions.
Turn the soil amendments into the top 9–12 in. (23–30 cm) of soil using a shovel or fork.
Rake the top of the bed smooth. It will be high and fluffy with air and amendments; avoid compacting it to retain its texture. Water with a sprinkler and allow it to settle and dry for at least 24 hours before planting.