PLANTING ADVICE
Plant Lots of Woodies
We need the trees and shrubs of our region.
Remember that 90% of keystone species are woody trees and shrubs, which makes them an important part of the diverse ecosystems we aim to create in our gardens.
TREES + SHRUBS
Provide essential habitats for pollinators, birds, and mammals. Plant woodies in layers; different birds nest at different heights.
Buds, leaves, flowers and fruits, nuts or acorns provide seasonable nutrition. Leaf litter, fallen branches and/or decaying wood provide other habitats while enriching the soil with nutrients.
Stabilize the soil and absorb thousands of gallons of water, preventing rapid run-off during storms and keeping the water table full.
Buffer climate conditions by providing shade to cool our communities and help screen the wind and cold of winter. (Birds need shade and winter protection too.)
Support essential cycles like the water, nitrogen cycle, and carbon cycle.
Improve air quality.
Beauty - Virginia’s native trees are diverse, colorful, majestic, sheltering, calming, and so much more.
Do
Plant any time of year that the ground is not frozen or saturated (planting in wet soil causes harmful compaction). If you plant in summer, you may need to do a lot of watering! Spring and fall are great, and fall is ideal.
Make a hole just slightly wider and no deeper than the plant
Place the plant so its base is at ground level.
Water well that day and the next, then twice a week for a couple weeks, then weekly through the first growing season. A good 1” rain counts as watering.
Cover bare soil with dead leaves, pine needles, straw or store-bought mulches made of plant material. Check in with your local municipality for locally recycled mulch or utilize fallen leaves found in your neighborhood.
Don’t
Overwater. For plants that prefer dry soil, let it dry out between watering.
Amend the soil (unless planting in construction clay or in naturally poorer soil than the plant you’ve selected prefers, in which case throw in a handful or two of compost).
Fertilize.
Use pesticides. That would kill the life we are trying to support!
Let mulch touch the plants.
