PRINCIPLES OF PLANTING The Definitive Guide for Planting Confidence
MAX Corona’s best-in-class tools, designed for professionals and passionate gardeners looking for heavy-duty durability and lasting performance, season after season.
RED Designed for general, less intense use by casual gardeners and landscaping enthusiasts who want comfort and control.
THE BASICS KNOW YOUR SOIL • KNOW YOUR CLIMATE ZONE • KNOW YOUR SITE KNOW THE FUNDAMENTALS • USE THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB With these basic principles in hand, you have all the prime information you need to follow the most significant principle: Suit the plant to the site. “Too often, I have watched as people try to plant successfully using tools that were meant for everything from digging ditches to slicing pie.
GOOD BEGINNINGS We garden for all sorts of reasons: to get healthy exercise on a sunny day, to add valuable curb-appeal to our homes, to create a habitat for wildlife, or a play space for our families. Whatever your goal, making a garden means working with plants. And doing this successfully is not rocket science. “Gardening is one of life’s simplest pleasures, this I learned at the very beginning of my practice. It is not rocket science, althought some try to make it so.
coronatoolsusa.
BASICS OF HOW AND WHEN TO PLANT When To Plant How To Water Flowering shrubs can be planted almost any time of the year, although you will need to be extra diligent about watering if you plant them during the heat of summer. Most plants and trees can be planted in late winter through fall, depending on your hardiness zone and hard frost dates. If you do plant during the heat of summer you will need to be extra diligent about watering. See WISE WATERING for more details.
HOW AND WHEN TO PLANT Washington New Hamshire Vermont Montana North Dakota Minnesota Maine Oregon Idaho Wyoming Wisconsin South Dakota New York Michigan Massachusetts Rhode Island Conneticut Pennslyvania New Jersey Nebraska Nevada Illinois Utah Indiana Ohio Colorado California Delaware West Virginia Kansas Virginia Missouri Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee Oklahoma Arizona South Carolina Arkansas New Mexico Presented By Georgia Mississippi Louisiana Maryland Alabama Texas Ha
HOW AND WHEN TO PLANT Temp (F) Zone Temp (C) Know Your Zone What does that mean? Zones are climate regions established by the United States Department of Agriculture to give an indication of plant hardiness, or how resilient it is to degrees of cold within a given range based on average minimum temperatures there are 19 zones divided by ten degrees into a and b. -60 to -55 1a -51.1 to -48.3 -55 to -50 1b -48.3 to -45.6 -50 to -45 2a -45.6 to -42.8 -45 to -40 2b -42.
SUNSHINE AND SHADOWS Presented by: To help gardeners understand how to pick the right plants for the light conditions in their yards, books, magazines, and plant tags describe a plant’s preferred exposure as “full sun,” “part sun” or “full shade.” In general, full sun means a plant needs a minimum of 6 (and ideally 8 or more) hours of bright sunlight each day.
SUNSHINE AND SHADOWS test part of the day. Shopping at a local garden center will ensure you get the advice you need to grow a plant successfully in your area. Though a plant will perform poorly if light conditions are not ideal, it is possible to get it back on the path to beauty by transplanting it to more appropriate conditions.
KNOW YOUR SITE Presented by AHS Armed with the broad knowledge of your soil type, climate zone, and a plant’s light needs, the next most significant principle is to be familiar with the condition garden. Gardening, remember, is not an exact science: Many plants have a specfic cultural preference while others are adaptable and can be happy just about anywhere you place them.
KNOW YOUR SITE When performed and interpreted carefully, soil tests identify problems and suggest amendments and cultural practices that lead to a healthy, well-balanced soil environment in which your plants will flourish. Using Fertilizer Effectively Although applying nutrients is important for healthy plant growth, it should be done properly to maximize its effectiveness and to avoid environmental damage.
KNOW YOUR SITE Soil types and amendment tips: Clay soil. Clay particles are the smallest component in soil, less than .002 mm in size. These particles clump together to make a heavy, sticky, water-retentive growing medium. To improve clay soil, add organic matter: compost, planting mixes or well-rotted manure. Finely crushed rock worked into clay soil will also help to improve drainage. 14 Sandy soil.
coronatoolsusa.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR HEAVY WORK MAX Selecting the Right Tools: The best long-handled tools for planting will have smooth, close-grained wooden handles made of American ash, sturdy fiberglass or all-steel. Handles should be closely fitted and securely attached to the head of the tool. This is a stress point when the tool is in use, so pay particular attention when comparing, looking for any signs of looseness or other inherent weakness in construction.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR HEAVY WORK Shovel or spade? or both? SS 63010 SS 62000 SS 61000 SS 60000 There’s a difference, so avoid using the terms interchangeably. A shovel has a long handle, a large blade (sometimes called the scoop) and either a pointed end or a flat end. The former is best for large digging projects in the landscape, such as preparing planting holes for trees and shrubs, or prepping a bed or border for planting; the later for shifting (shoveling) gravel, compost or other soil materials.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR HEAVY WORK In either case, choose one that has a blade with a turned edge or step along the top edge where your foot rests when digging. Not only will it protect your instep, it will also aid stability while digging. 18 coronatoolsusa.com AS 90310 – Ethne Clarke AS 90240 “I measure mine against my side: if the top of the handle is slightly higher than my waist, it is a good fit.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR HEAVY WORK Fork it over FK 70000 FK 74010 FK 72065 Sturdy garden forks come in several guises, from tough-tined digging forks to slendy hay forks with a few delicate tines. For planting, the heavy digging fork is needed for preparing new ground and then breaking up clods of soil as you go. A short-handled border fork, or spading fork, is the partner to a border spade. Use it to backfill planting holes, or to lift and divide plant clumps as the garden matures.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR HEAVY WORK Useful Extras A swan-neck draw hoe and a three-pronged cultivator are necessary aids to weeding and keeping the surface soil open and friable, but also free of weed seedlings. Choose a hoe with a tempered steel, sharpened blade edge, which will cut through weeds on the surface easily; its pointed corners can also be used to draw drills in prepared soil for seed sowing.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR LIGHT WORK RED Although the tools described above are used with your hands, and are therefore hand tools, the term generally describes the sort of small tool you would use for fine-tuning the planting. You will need several trowels like the Corona ComfortGEL® CT 3214, as they come in handy for all sorts of planting projects. The best of these short-handled planting tools are made from stainless or tempered steel.
GARDEN TOOLS FOR LIGHT WORK trowel also features a bag ripper that is helpful for easily opening soil bags. A hand fork or cultivator, complements the action of a trowel, and can be used to loosen the soil before troweling in a plant, to loosen weeds for removal, to work in a top-dressing of compost and fertilizers. You might also want to select a small, hand cultivator. It works like a claw. A weeder like the ComfortGEL CT 3254 is ideal for removing tap root weeds such as dandelion.
WISE WATERING • Group plants together according to their water needs. Moisture-loving plants will thrive in a community with other plants that require the same level of irrigation; the same is true of plants that prefer a free-draining, dry site. • Water slowly, deeply and infrequently rather than often and sparsely. Even if a plant is considered “drought tolerant,” it will require regular irrigation until it is established by the second or third growing season.
PLANT ROOT SYSTEM When shopping for plants, look for the roots to fill the container or the ball of soil and be well-distributed throughout the volume of potting mix or soil. Roots should look fresh and springy, not withered and dry nor wet and rotted. Often, plants that have spent a long time in the same container may become “root bound”; that is, so full of roots they become difficult to keep watered.
PLANT ROOT SYSTEM The quality of the planting site or hole determines the success of the plant in the future, so don’t be tempted to cut corners on this crucial step. Aim to make the hole twice as wide as the container or root ball, which allows plenty of room for you to work in. Though opinions differ on amending the soil at planting time, it is generally best to plant only into your native soil.
PLANT ROOT SYSTEM If you are planting in a large bed or border, begin by loosening the soil by hand or with a tiller at least down 8-inches and throughout the planting area, removing any large rocks. Amend the soil throughout the entire planting area with organic compost or fully-composted manure (fresh manure may burn new plant roots).
PLANT ROOT SYSTEM a hole, place the tree in it, and fill in around the roots with soil, right? But a tree is a long-term investment, so attention to detail in the planting process will help your new tree establish more quickly and prevent problems long into the future. Background Check Before going to a nursery, do due diligence with a good tree reference to make sure you are choosing a species that is appropriate for the site you have in mind.
PLANT ROOT SYSTEM bound. Pass on trees that have a lot of small, upright shoots coming off the trunk or lower branches—this indicates stress. And make sure the bark on the trunk is free of wounds, sunken areas, or other damage. Initial Care When you get your tree home, don’t delay planting. Start by taking the tree out of its pot or removing all the twine, burlap, and wire that might be surrounding the root ball. Now find the place where the roots meet the trunk.
PLANT ROOT SYSTEM Mulch the tree with two to four inches of mulch, but don’t place any mulch within six inches of the tree trunk. Wood chips are one of the best mulches for newly planted trees because they don’t bind together into a water-repellent blanket as more finely shredded mulches sometimes can. Disregard what you may have heard about wood chips robbing the soil of nitrogen; the surface to mass ratio is such that wood chips tie up only a small amount of nutrients at the very surface of the soil.
PLANTING ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, AND CONFERS Perennials are the workhorses of a garden scheme, valuable for the variety of their foliage, stature – from groundcovers to stately grasses – and rainbow-hued flowers that can be arranged in the garden to create the most beautiful compositions from spring to first frosts. Perennials regrow each year from an underground root system. Over the time, the root system will expand and the best growth will appear around the outer edges.
PLANTING ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, AND CONFERS that bear cones and generally produce needle or scalelike foliage. Most conifers are evergreen, which makes them highly desired in the landscape --especially in snowy winter scenes -- for screening, for windbreaks and simply for a beautiful sculptural shape. They can be used as either specimens in the landscape or as hedges. Conifers do best in full sun – up to 6 hours a day; they also like free-draining soil, so amend heavy soils as described earlier.
PLANTING ANNUALS, PERENNIALS, AND CONFERS Plant them close enough to eventually touch but not crush each other’s branches: overcrowded plants will eventually suffer die-back due to poor air circulation and lack of light reaching the inner branches. For the first few years, feed a newly planted hedge in the spring using a high-nitrogen fertilizer, then switching to a general purpose, slow release as the seasons move on. Keep the roots well-watered and mulched. 32 coronatoolsusa.
TOOL CARE Tools are an investment so it makes sense to take good care of them, keeping them clean of debris and rust free. Here are the basic tool care guidelines to follow when cleaning tools after use and for storage: 1. Clean tools after each use. 2. Wipe handles, blades, forks and edges with a clean cloth after use. Gently scrape away any clods of soil, mud, or debris. 3. Clean well using a soft damp cloth with a dilution of Lysol® or Pine Sol®. 4.
CREDITS Contact our partners for more information provided in this guide: American Horticultural Society 7931 East Boulevard Drive Alexandria, VA 22308 (703) 768-5700 ahs.org Proven Winners 111 E Elm St Ste D Sycamore, IL 60178 (815) 895-8130 provenwinners.
Corona Clipper, Inc. 22440 Temescal Canyon Road • Corona, CA 92883 (951) 737-6515 | (800) 847-7863 | sales@corona.bellota.com coronatoolusa.com Connect with Corona Tools! © Copyright 2016 Corona Clipper, Inc.
