Groundcovers and more, continued from last page

Preparing the soil and planting: You are asking these plants to do an important job for you, and they need your help. They cannot excel in poor, hard soil. Give them a good send-off. Prepare the ground just as you would for a bed of fine flowers. If the area is level, dig the entire space, and work in some "complete" fertilizer (like 12-12-12) of a dry type, using 3 pounds per 100 square feet. If the are is on a hill, it may not be wise to loosen the soil for fear of erosion. You may prefer to prepare rows on contour--a series of little horizontal terraces with rims on the downhill side to hold water. If you are using shrubs, or large clumps of vines, you can prepare individual holes, staggered in a checkerboard fashion, with water-holding saucers around them. Do your best to keep the soil and fertilizer out of the storm drains and our ecosystem, check with your local environmental agency to see if you need to install straw wattles.

Setting plants in rows makes them easier to cultivate, and you must keep weeds out and provide water for the first year or two, else your efforts will have been wasted. Controlling weeds now will give you leisure later. Plant carefully. Shrubs and clumping plants should be positioned to be at the same ground level that they were before. If you are dealing with segments of vines with roots on their ends, be sure the roots are covered with at least two inches of soil. If the vine has roots at a series of nodes, it can be placed in the hole or trench in a horizontal position with just the top few inches of leafy part exposed. Firm the soil about the roots, and water well.

After setting out, vine-like plants should be cut back almost to the soil. (Usually this means within about five inches, or leaving 2 or 3 nodes visible above ground.) This makes them branch rather than grow out in a single long shoot. Clippings can often be rooted.

Deciduous shrubs should be pruned, shortening branches by at least a third of their height. Mulching between rows will help hold the soil and cut down on the need for watering and weeding. Use some coarse material such as straw, grass clippings, or wood chips.

NEXT: Future maintenance