10 Proper Planting Tips for Your Sarasota Yard

At the very basic level, planting is digging a hole in the dirt, plopping in a plant and filling the hole back up with dirt. 

But your dog could probably do that. if you really want your Sarasota gardening to be a success, you have to try a little harder. 

You should be asking a few questions. We’ll get you started:

How do I prepare my yard for planting? How do I make sure plants get a good start? Once the plants are in the ground, then what? 

Excellent questions. Check out this helpful planting advice:

1. First, Boost the Soil

Proper planting means making sure your new plants have nutritious soil to start out. 

Till in some rich compost with the topsoil and add some granular fertilizer so it’s ready to help your plants thrive.

2. Loosen the Plant’s Root Ball 

When we visit a property to replace a plant that has died, it’s often because whoever planted it didn’t loosen up the root ball. We’re not naming names. You know who you are. 

When a plant has been in a pot for a long time the roots grow circular around inside the pot. They’ll keep growing that way in the ground if you don’t gently loosen those coiled roots before you plant.

If the roots are in a tight, coiled ball the nutrients in fertilizer won’t get to them and your plant will suffer.

3. Never Mind that Landscape Fabric

Everybody hates weeds. Maybe you think proper planting includes laying landscaping fabric under your mulch to prevent weeds from sprouting. 

Don’t bother. 

The mulch on top of the fabric breaks down and becomes soil, so weeds will take root in that.

Landscape fabric is good under stone to keep stones from sinking down into the soil, but it won’t keep tenacious weeds from sprouting.

Here at Tropical Gardens we use Snapshot pre-emergent herbicide underneath mulch to help prevent pesky weeds. 

4. Choose “Florida Fancy” Plants 

This isn’t about plants that wear expensive shoes or glittery gowns or think they’re better than all the other plants in the garden.  

Florida Fancy is the top grade of plant set by the Florida Grades and Standards for Nursery Plants. 

Other plant grades are called Florida #1 and Florida #2. 

Florida Fancy is the premium grade with decreasing quality as you get to Florida #1 and Florida #2 plants. 

We only use Florida Fancy plants. If you settle for anything lower, expect imperfections in your plants. 

You pay more for these premium plants, but they’ll be healthier and longer lasting in your landscape. 

5. Choose the Right Plants for the Right Spots 

You can do everything else right for proper planting, but if you don’t put your plants in conditions they love, they won’t thrive. 

Choose plants that are well suited and happy where you plant them, and they’ll flourish. 

If you goof up here, you might be setting your plants up for overcrowding, disease, insect damage or dying of thirst. 

Read those helpful information tags that come with your plants to make sure you’re planting them where they’ll be happy. The tags, like mini plant instruction manuals, tell you exactly how far apart to space your plants, how tall and wide they’ll be when full grown, and other information you need for proper planting. 

You’ll notice info about the amount of light your new plant needs. Don’t mix plants with different light and water needs. You don’t want a shade-loving plant next to a sun-loving plant. One of them will suffer. Cluster drought-tolerant plants together so they can share the same watering needs.

6. Pay Attention to Spacing 

Your plants look small and adorable when you first get them. Kind of like your kids. Remember how fast your kids grew? Same with your plants. It happens fast.

Keep in mind the size of the plants at maturity, not now. The plant tag will tell you. You have to leave room for when the plants get bigger. 

7. Don’t Forget the Mulch 

Hardwood mulch conserves water, keeps weeds from easily sprouting and as it decomposes over time, adds nutrients to your soil. 

Plus, a fresh bed of mulch looks amazing in your Sarasota gardening. 

Shoot for a solid three inches of mulch. And aim for a fresh delivery twice a year, in March, then November, so your mulch always looks — and works — great. 

8. Buy a Round of Drinks

Sorry, we’re just talking about water, but it’s really important that your new plants get a good long drink. 

Proper watering at the beginning is super important. In fact, we won’t warranty your new plants unless we can set your irrigation controller to water them seven days a week for the first two weeks, then three to four times a week for the next two weeks, depending on the type of plants.
 
But don’t go overboard. Yes, Sarasota water restrictions allow you to water new plants as much as you want for the first month, but frequent watering is a bad idea. 

You want those plant roots to have to reach deep into the soil for water, so they develop into deep strong roots. Water all the time, and those roots can be lazy, easily finding water right at the surface. Then they become shallow and weak and your plants won’t thrive. 

9. Stay on Top of Fertilizing 

Sarasota gardening can be tricky due to our sandy soil that lets the precious nutrients in fertilizer flow right through it.

Give your new plants a good first feeding, but that’s not the end of it. 
Stay on top of fertilizer throughout the growing season. 

10. Get on a Plant Health Care Program Right Away

There’s a sad scenario we often see here and it goes like this: 

Homeowner: “Our plants looked great when they were planted six months ago, but now they don’t look great anymore.”

Us: “How often have you been fertilizing them?”

Homeowner: …

If nobody fed you for six months, you wouldn’t be looking so great, either. 

Don’t wait until your plants are dying to sign up for a plant health care program. 
Some landscaping companies do just four plant health care visits a year, based on plants’ fertilizer needs. 

At Tropical Gardens, we do six visits. You want those two extra visits so we can keep an expert eye on things, to spot any insect problems before it’s too late to treat them. Bugs attack fast. 

We want to keep a close eye on your plants and act as needed when we spot early signs of a problem. 

Need Great Sarasota Planting Advice? Talk to Us

Proper planting involves a lot of important details. If you mess up, your plants will suffer.

Let’s be honest, you don’t have time for all this fussy planting stuff. 

Leave the proper planting details to the experts, who will continue to show up at the right times with the right care to keep your plants healthy and thriving year-round, for years to come. 

Hire Sarasota FL landscaping services who will make this easy, so you don’t have another hassle on your to-do list. 

We can’t wait to get started. 

Give us a call or fill out our form today! Our team of Sarasota plant pros will keep your leafy beauties happy and healthy, from the minute they go in the ground and for years to come.