5. Too Much Mulch!
Mulching is great for plants – it reduces water loss from the soil, minimizes weed competition, and improves soil structure. Unfortunately, many landscapes fall victim to a plague of overmulching, leading to excess moisture and root rot. Avoid creating a “mulch volcano” around the base of your shrubs and trees. Piling mulch around the trunks can create a habitat for rodents that chew the bark. Make sure your mulch is no more than 2 to 4 inches deep.

4. Ignoring the Roots
If your new plant or shrub has been growing in a container, you’ll need to pay a little attention to the roots before you plant. Using your hands or a trowel, tease apart and loosen the root ball. Roots often become pot-bound and circling in containers and need encouragement to grow out and down when transplanted. If you skip this step, the plant’s roots may never spread into the surrounding soil.

3. Forgetting About Soil
In a perfect world every garden would have an abundance of nutrient-rich soil. Even seasoned gardeners can forget to add organic matter to their soil when planting. Take a little time to enrich your soil with compost at planting, and it will pay dividends for the entire life of the plant!

2. Full Sun, Full Shade, Does it Even Matter?
Yes it matters! Plants appreciate an environment that has been carefully selected for their needs. Check the label on your plants for light requirements before you buy them! At Hoerr Nursery you can find all sun-loving perennials out in the open, and all shade-loving plants under a protective awning. Even if your plant survives in an inappropriate environment, it will never perform as well as it would under the proper conditions.

1. Planting Too Close Together
We’ve all seen landscapes that start out looking full, only to become overgrown and out of control in a couple of years. Before you place your plants, consider how big they will be at maturity. As a rule of thumb, shrubs should be planted 3 to 4 feet apart, and 2.5 to 3 feet away from the wall of a house or building. Spacing your plants appropriately will help maintain a tidy landscape and reduce your time spent pruning.