Hi Gardencasualty, and welcome to the forum. Btw, there is no such thing as dumb questions. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?

I'm trying to remember an old garden saying about perennials. It goes something like, the first year they sit, the second year they creep and the third year they leap. Which is pretty much what I've found with about 90% of the perennials I've planted. Some are slower and some just don't make it thru the first winter. Oh well, you win some and you lose some ;)

My advice to help plants get a good start, is the soil preparation before planting. I've got heavy clay soil to work with here and I'm always adding compost of some form to it. If your soil is nice and loose and has lots of nutrients, then your plants will grow to their potential quicker than if they were in poor soil. Since you've already planted, you can always work in more compost around the plants now too. Also for the first year, make sure everything is well watered and deep, soaking waterings once a week are better than a little sprinkle every day. You want those roots to grow down deep to search out water.

Also adding a couple of inches of mulch will help to retain the moisture in the soil, helping out the plants in the long run too.

I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice here, and good luck with your new plantings!

Laurie

Welcome to the FN forum gardencasualty!

Close Laurie, the old saying is the first year they sleep, second year they creep and third they leap ;)

Sharon

What Laurie said is all true. I would just add that planning where to plant the perennials correctly is important to their success - the right amount of sun & water, appropriate soil, etc. Most plants have planting instructions that cover this but this forum is good for asking if you're not sure.

Also, Laurie mentioned soils - clay is actually good in some ways, it hangs onto nutrients and tends to be very fertile. Some plants actually like to grow in clay. It's just horrible to work with. But it never hurts to add compost or composted manure. Sandy soils are the most likely to be nutrient poor because the nutrients get washed right through it.

Great ammanded soil is the best. Proper planting, depth & sun, too. But I have many places where ammendment, depth & sun are lacking. When I plant I use "Myke" to stimulate roots. I root fertilize the whole garden May & Aug with 10-52-10. During their first summer, I water my new plants whenever they wilt figuring that if they wilted their roots aren't getting at the deep water. Mulch is vital to hold in moisture! Though I've lived here for over 25 years, my garden is mostly less than 5 years old :

SLEEP! That's it! Thanks Sharon, my brain just hasn't been functioning lately. I think it must be all the paint fumes from painting the bedroom this past week ;^)

Thanks everyone for your tips!

I just added some plant beds in last year. We bought a house with a "low-maintenance" backyard and quickly realized it was completely lacking in green. We had a 3 foot perimeter to work with, so I removed the aggregate that was there, dug out the existing soil to a depth of about 40 cm, then replaced it with soil that I had delivered from a local garden store. I can't remember the name of the soil but it smelled like cow poop when I got it. Something-or-other loam I think it was called.

I planted some evergreens last year (mugo pines and junipers) and fertilized them with 10-52-10 every 2 weeks for June, July, and August. I also got some cedar mulch and added about 2 inches of that to the beds. It didn't seem to keep the weeds out, but I noticed the soil didn't dry out as much as it did without it.

Our lot is elevated about 3 feet above our neighbours, so on one of the sides we are really going for privacy. I planted a caragana in the corner where it's extremely windy and hot. From what I have read, most people seem to dislike caraganas, but we want something that will grow really quickly and hopefully cut down the amount of wind coming through the alley. Last year it grew about 6 inches but I can't believe how much it's taken off this year - it's probably doubled in size already! Wowza. We just put the lilacs in and there's an upright juniper there too. We're hoping that we can create a nice "wall of green" effect so when we sit in the backyard it will have some atmosphere and nice smells.

When is it a good time to switch from 10-52-10 to 20-20-20 fertilizer?