Roots vs. Shoots

Take a look at these two trees. One is an oak (check out the acorn) and the other I don't know. Notice anything in particular about them?

Look at the difference between how much of the tree is above ground and how much is below. Much more of the plant's total energy and biomass is devoted to roots instead of leaves and trunk when trees and shrubs are young.

Well, that was certainly an interesting factoid, but why should you care? If you wish to have happy trees and large shrubs, then you should probably care a great deal.

Trees always put their energy into developing a large root system long before lots of top growth appears. However, nurseries flip this script and sell you plants with a ridiculous amount of top growth relative the root system. There is no way the root systems of large container trees can support the above-ground growth without major inputs from you and a big reason why plants die after installation is this imbalance Here's what you can do to offset this problem and have healthy trees and shrubs in as short of time as possible.

Remember this rule:

1st year sleep.

2nd year creep.

3rd year leap.

(No, the plant isn't really sleeping, it is putting its energy into trying to develop the root system denied to it by the grower.)

Don't even think about about using high nitrogen fertilizers such as Miracle Grow. (Shame, shame, shame on you if you use that or similar garbage.) Nitrogen is for fast, above ground, growth and that is the last thing you need at this point. Much better to use an organic fertilizer, with little or even no nitrogen, that is designed to increase root growth. And don't waste you money on B1 as it has been shown, scientifically, to not work.

Learn how to correctly plant a tree - there are many resources online. And don't spend your money on soil additives unless you like fattening the bottom line of your local garden center. Many, many professional gardeners have stopped amending soil when planting trees. I haven't used amendments in years and I have almost no mortality. Mulch and correct planting techniques will do far more for you and your garden than expensive amendments.

Finally, buy the smallest tree you can accept. Were I to rule the horticultural world, I would decree that 5 gallons would be the biggest tree you could buy. Smaller sized trees and large shrubs often adapt and grow faster than bigger sizes. If you really want to start with a larger tree, well, OK, you are the client. However, you may not be getting as much as you expect.

TO AMEND, OR NOT TO AMEND: THAT IS THE QUESTION.

Whether, ‘tis better for the plant or the profits of the nursery? (My apologies to the Bard.)

When you buy a plant at a nursery, you are often whisked over to the soil amendments area and solemnly told to backfill the planting hole with a mixture of 50% native soil and 50% whatever is the special of the week.  Let’s consider a few things:

The Santa Clara Valley used to be called “The Valley of Heart’s Delight” (a little overblown, but you have to consider the times) due to its incredible agricultural productivity.  I’ve never read anything about soil amendments coming in by the train or ship load to help the farmers.

As a class project at Foothill, we all had to perform basic soil tests on the soils from our yards.  I and many of my classmates from all over the area had soils that were quite high in organic matter.

The growing mediums in nursery containers have been designed to make the plant grow quickly.  Aren’t you doing pretty much the same thing when you highly amend the backfill material in a planting hole?  What happens when those roots hit the real world of unamended native soil?  Why would the roots ever want to leave such a happy environment for the local soils? 

Nurseries not only sell you amendments for the soil, but also various top-dressing materials and decorative mulches and (often unneeded) fertilizers, etc. etc.  Hmmmm.

If you really need to amend your soil to such an extent, are you sure you are installing the right plant.  In the immortal words of Roger Cook, landscape contractor for This Old House on PBS:  “The right plant in the right place.”  To this I would add “and watered correctly” but TOH didn’t ask me.

I think you get where I am going with this.

Another school of thought is to not amend at all except in special circumstances.  Annual beds should, IMO, be heavily amended because the roots are so weak.  You want the plant to put its energy into flowering and not into roots.  Raised vegetable beds (my favorite garden construction project in case you didn’t already know) benefit from a 50/50 mix of native soil and organic amendments.  Plants that need acidic growing conditions (many western soils tend to be on the alkaline side) benefit from the proper amendments.

I have to admit that I used to follow the 50/50 amendment rule with all plants, but no longer.  Now, I just use the native soil as backfill material. 

What really benefits your plants is to dig a hole 2-3 times the size of the nursery root ball, but no deeper.  In fact, the plant’s root ball should be about ½ - 1” above the level of the surrounding soil.  Loosening the soil makes it easy for roots to grow and roots are, initially, far more important than anything above ground.

I can hear you now:  “But, but, WAIT!  What about those poor, tender, pampered roots inside the nursery container?  Won’t they have a hard time adjusting to real conditions?”  Yes, they will, and they will get used to their actual growing conditions quickly and eventually thrive.  Don’t forget the 3-year rule:

• 1st year sleep.

• 2nd year creep

• 3rd year leap.

Your plants really aren’t sleeping the first year.  Rather, they are just doing what nature intended and establishing a good root system.

You’re probably wondering what I do as a professional.  Glad you asked.  I do exactly what I described above and have been doing so for many years.  I saw no difference in the performance of plants when I stopped using amendments.  I did, however, save my clients some money.  I try to dig square holes and always scuff up the sides of the hole.  Huh?  Our soil in the Valley has a lot of clay.  Clay can actually take on a “glaze” from digging tools and this is hard for roots to penetrate.  Square holes stop roots from circling the hole when they hit a corner and are forced out into the surrounding soil.  Learned that trick from a professor emeritus at UC Santa Cruz’ botanical gardens.

I do use amendments but in a different way.  I like to top dress and mulch all plantings. A couple inches of compost or planting mix (acid or not) or leaf mold, etc. make for a fine top dressing followed by another couple of inches of whatever bark mulch the client likes. Think about what I am doing;  I’m trying to duplicate the conditions found on a forest floor.  One thing I NEVER do is allow the top dressing/mulch to touch the trunk.  This can lead to what’s called crown rot and that is when you kiss your tree and all the money you spent goodbye.

Buying plants is getting more and more difficult.

People often ask me where is the "best" place to buy plants.  Wow!  That is a tough question to answer and here's why:

The Problem: There are only a few nurseries left in the South Bay and most of them sell the exact same plants and products. Sure, Yamagami’s has a reasonable selection of fruit trees and Summerwinds has lots of annuals, but little else is different. There is almost no difference in plant selection since they buy from the same growers, and it is rare to find something really unusual. Also, retail nurseries promote what they carry. If their selection is limited to begin with, you may never know about plants that could work for you.

Another problem is availability. Landscaping goes on almost year-round in this part of CA, yet retail nurseries usually only stock whatever is blooming at the moment. Do you really want to hear: “We won’t have XYZ until next year”?

So what do you do if you want a “palette” that is different from everyone else on the block or need certain plants during the offseason?

Be prepared to drive. The absolute best retail nursery in the Bay Area is Berkeley Horticultural Nursery in Berkeley (berkeleyhort.com). Incredible selection with plants I have never seen anywhere else.

Half Moon Bay has many nurseries close to each other. Half Moon Bay Nursery (hmbnursery.com) on 92 has a truly vast selection of general landscaping plants. Customer service is nothing great and it helps if you know what you want or have a few hours to browse. Yerba Buena Nursery (yerbabuenanursery.com) is close by and it specializes in CA natives – really knowledgable staff and I have shopped there for years. Many other general and specialty nurseries are in the same area.

Shop where the pros shop. Capital Wholesale Nursery (capitolwholesalenursery.com) stays stocked all year with a huge selection of trees and shrubs in many sizes. They happily sell to non-pros, but they also expect you know what you want without a lot of help. The prices are good and the nursery layout makes it easy to find what you are looking for. They can also act as a plant broker and find what you want if they don’t have it.

Take advantage of your landscaper’s knowledge and connections. We have access to nurseries, especially for trees, that only sell to pros. You can even come with us and pick out that one special tree for your yard. You’d be surprised at how affordable even large boxed trees can be.

Buy on the Internet. You can literally get ANYTHING you want online. Need proof?

Check out this pic of a Quercus ‘Kindred Spirit”. I just received it from a nursery in Oklahoma and it will solve a tough problem for a client. Do a search for info on this tree, look at how big it gets, and you’ll see why it is so useful. 

Quercus "Kindred Spirit"

Or, take a look at “Picea pungens ‘Ruby Teardrops’. Imagine having that in your front yard!  Good luck finding plants like these in a local nursery. When you buy online, please be realistic about the size and cost of plants.

Ruby Teardrops (Source: https://www.coniferkingdom.com/picea-pungens-ruby-teardrops/)

Wouldn't you love to have this in your front yard?  I planted this tree years ago for clients in Santa Clara, and it has so many uses:

It is fine with lawn watering, needs almost no maintenance, no pest problems that I know of, doesn't drop any needles, makes a fantastic screen, has wonderfully soft foliage you just want to run your hands through, and look at its winter color!  Can you buy this at a nursery anywhere in the South Bay?  Not a chance.

As a professional, one of the best ways I can help you is to prevent you from making the wrong choices.  That lovely blue miniature hydrangea you found online is simply not going to work against your south-facing wall. I can also help create the conditions your plants need to be happy for many years. Finally, I’ve been doing this work for a long time and I’ve been exposed to many different plants and ways to use them correctly. I can pass this knowledge onto you.

When I am working for you, the price I pay for plants either from a nursery or online is the same price you pay. You get a copy of all receipts and you will never see any mark up above my cost.