In the past I have written articles and given talks about common problems in the landscape. Usually these lists are of the top ten mistakes made in gardening and landscaping. All are so important that it is hard to narrow the list down to just a few to focus on. I am going to attempt to focus on three today and fail immediately because I can't write an article about landscape problems without saying select plants suited to the site, amend large planing areas keeping lawn separate from trees, shrubs, and flowers, and soil test.

Now, lets get on to the subject at hand. There are three areas in gardening and landscaping where I see the most mistakes made. Planting, mulching, and watering seem like simple tasks but I continue to be amazed at how many people mess these up. Notice that I mentioned gardening and landscaping, let me clarify. These three tasks are done incorrectly by both home gardeners and companies in the business of landscape installation and maintenance. Individuals and businesses pay hard earned money for plant material that is then planted, mulched, and watered incorrectly resulting in poor growth, disease and insect infestation, and near death or death. Sometimes I see plants struggling in the landscape and I wish someone would put them out of their misery.

Let's start with planting. When digging individual planting holes, the hole should be two to three times the width of the root ball and the same depth or a little shallower. The reason the hole should be wider is to allow for working around the plant in the planting hole, provide loose soil around the root ball for new roots to easily grow into, and allow for easy water infiltration around the root ball. Do not dig holes just wide enough to plug plants in. Roots will be restricted in compacted soils and plants will suffer. As for the depth of the planting hole, do not dig it any deeper than the plant root ball and do not put soil on top of the root ball. I actually prefer to error on the side of planting about an inch too shallow. I can always rake a little soil up around the edges of the root ball but not on top. The reason for keeping the root ball level with the surrounding soil is that roots need oxygen to survive. Cover them too deep with soil and they will suffocate. As often as I see plants planted with the top of the root ball placed below ground, I see them planted with the root ball level with surrounding soil, but the extra soil from the planting hole is then mounded on top of the root ball. This results in the same problems as planting too deep. The buried portion of the root system often dies, the trunk stays wet causing decay, plants weaken, and look horrible.

After planting mulch is usually applied. Mulch is a material placed on top of the soil to cover and protect it. Organic mulches are best and choices are many. Pine straw, pine bark in various sizes, hardwood bark, and wood chips are the most common. The benefits of mulch include moisture conservation, weed prevention, soil improvement as mulch breaks down, looks, moderation of soil temperature, and prevention of mechanical damage to name a few. Mulch should be placed around plants to a depth of two to four inches. If trees are planted in lawn areas, an area of mulch should be placed around the tree. The mulch ring should be based on the tree size. A good rule of thumb is two feet in diameter for each inch in trunk diameter. If you plant a two inch diameter tree, the mulch ring would be four feet in diameter. The mulch ring should expand in width as the tree grows until the tree is established. Establishment takes six months per inch of trunk diameter or one growing season for container grown plants. Do not put any mulch within three to four inches of plant stems. Mulch placed against the stem can cause bark decay, root suffocation just like planting too deep, and prevents checking the moisture of the root ball. I often see soil and mulch piled against plant stems to a depth of six, twelve, and in a few cases eighteen inches deep. Do pile mulch against stems, instead use that excess mulch to make wider mulch rings that will help the plant's root systems instead of hurt them.

Proper watering is just as important as correct planting and mulching. Plant often die or perform poorly in the landscape due to lack of or excess water. In many situations plants suffer due to lack of watering shortly after planting. Plants installed in the landscape are either container grown in well drained, ground pine bark, or field dug and loose many of their roots. In either case, water is an important part of planting and establishment. Plants from containers or field grown should be watered daily for one to two weeks after planting then three times a week for two months for quick establishment. Another way to water is based on plant needs. Water deeply when new plants begin to show first signs of wilt. A good rule of thumb for the amount of water to apply to newly planted trees, shrubs or perennials is to give them three gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter for field dug trees and one-half gallon of water per gallon of container size.

Watering after plants are established is also important. However, take care not to overwater. The best recommendation for water conservation is to water only when plants first begin to show signs of wilt. In lawns watch for the fist hint of blue-gray foliage and leaf folding or curling. If you have a fixed, in-ground irrigation system and feel the need to set the timer for regular watering cycles first find out how mulch water each zone applies in a given period of time. Place collection containers in the area you have sprinklers and run for a known time period. Once you know how long it takes to put out a certain amount of water, set the system to apply no more than one inch of water per week. This can usually be done in one or two applications a week depending on how compacted the soil is and how quickly water begins to run off instead of soaking in. There is no need to run your irrigation system every day or every other day once plants are established. Also consider having a rain sensor installed on your irrigations system so it does not run during a rain event.

Make sure the investment you have made in landscape plants is secure by ensuring proper planting, mulching, and watering. If you have questions about caring for your landscape give the Pitt County Master Gardener Volunteers a call at 757-2801 Extension 40. Copies of past gardening articles and much more gardening information is available at www.ces.ncsu.edu/pitt.