Instructions for Planting Flowering Shrubs in Southern New Mexico

Water your flowering shrub thoroughly while it is still in the container you purchased the shrub in. Keeping the roots of your shrub moist will allow you to remove the rootball from the container easier with less potential damage to the roots. In addition, the roots will be fully hydrated, causing less stress to your flowering shrub.

Use a shovel to dig a hole for your flowering shrub. Dig the hole larger than the rootball, because later, you will be filling in the hole with a soil mix that will retain water more effectively. If you find a layer of caliche,dig through the caliche layer until you reach looser soil. Remove all the soil you have dug out of the planting hole. A rule for planting hole size for a small flowering shrub is 2 feet wide by 3 feet deep. Larger shrubs should have a width and depth of 3 feet,.

Mix together one-third organic material with two-thirds good soil. This mixture is what you will use in the hole you dug. Fill your plant hole half-full with this soil mix.

Remove your flowering shrub from the container it came in and carefully spread out the roots. Place the roots on top of the new soil in the hole, then begin to add the organic soil mix on top of the roots, filling the hole to ground level. Gently tap down the soil at the surface using your foot. This will eliminate any air pockets within the soil and ensure good contact between roots and soil.

Water your newly planted flowering shrub thoroughly and keep the soil around your shrub moist for the first two to three weeks after planting. Add 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch to the soil surface around your flowering shrub. The mulch will help keep moisture in the soil for a longer period of time.