A couple days ago a monarch butterfly fluttered through my yard. “You’re too early!” I told it. “Come back in a couple days when my milkweeds are planted!”
Well, today’s the big day! I have my plants, and I’m ready to get them in the ground!
I talked a couple weeks ago about prepping the space for my new milkweed garden (spring project #1). That got a little rain-delayed, but my friend Matt and I were finally able to clear the space in the front yard. Like I said, starting small is a good way to go if you don’t have unlimited time, money or energy. This new spot is 20 square feet, which doesn’t look like much, but it was plenty of work on a warm humid day.
Pulling up the sod also pulled up an inch or two of soil, so I dumped a few bags of compost topsoil in to bring the level of the dirt back up to where it was.
By the way, I put the leftover sod chunks on another spot in the yard where the city had ruined the grass during a road project. Reuse, reduce, recycle, right?
I got four kinds of milkweeds for the new garden:
- Showy or red milkweed, Asclepias speciosa
- Sullivant’s milkweed, A. sullivantii
- Swamp milkweed, A. incarnata
- Butterfly weed, A. tuberosa
Also:
- Yellow coneflower, Ratibida pinnata
You might notice that I didn’t get any common milkweed, the plant we usually think of when we think of milkweed. That’s just because I only found out a few days ago that common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) can be kind of aggressive. All plants want to spread, but some want to spread more than others. If I had a bigger yard with lots of space to work with, I’d say, fine, go for it, little milkweed. But I only have a small yard and lots of plants I want to plant, so I don’t want one plant monopolizing valuable real estate meant for others.
Where to begin? Setting out plants.
Even if I draw up a plan to show where each plant should go, I like to set the plants out in the garden while they’re still in their pots. Plants always need more room than it seems like on paper. This way I can see how much space they‘ll need when they’re full grown. You can usually find that number on the tag. It also means the plant is right there and handy when it comes time to dig the hole.
If you have more than one of a plant, trying arranging them in groupings. It looks prettier than having single plants placed here and there.
When to plant.
A cool early morning like today is ideal, but most times are okay. The only time I’d say to wait is if it’s hot (like over 85 degrees F) and you’re planting in full, bright sun. In that case, I’d wait another day, or at least wait until evening when the sun isn’t so intense.
Digging the hole.
Using your trusty trowel, dig your hole at least an inch or more bigger than the pot. In my case, though, I hit some really dense clay that I couldn’t get the trowel into, so I had to improvise. I got out the manual lawn edger, a device with a wide sharpened blade that I could stomp into the soil. I also used a hand weeding tool that I could drive in to loosen up the dirt. Then I could get the trowel in.
As you dig, check the size and depth by just picking up your plant in its container and setting it in the hole. The hole should be deep enough so that the top of the soil in the pot is level with the garden surface or a little above. Be careful to not plant your plants too deep. The crown of the plant—the spot where the above-ground part of the plant meets the below-ground part—should be above the soil. If it gets buried, it can lead to crown rot or even smothering the plant.
If the sides of your hole are smooth—a problem I get digging in clay soil—rough up the sides a little so the roots have something to grab onto. Otherwise, they could just grow around in a circle as if they were still sitting in a pot.
Removing the plant from the pot and getting it in the hole.
Now, this part can be a little scary and it requires a little coordination, but like learning to swim, you just have to jump in. It helps if the soil in the pot isn’t too dried out, but don’t water right before you’re going to plant either, or you risk pulling the plant right out of its dirt.
Holding the plant container over the hole with one hand, put your other hand over the top of the pot with the plant between your fingers. If it’s a big sturdy plant, like a shrub, go ahead and grab it by the stem.
Turn the pot upside down and start pulling and/or twisting the container up and off. It should come away and you should be holding a container-shaped clump of dirt. A lot of times the pot won’t want to come off. Then, I just squeeze the sides and give it a few thumps on the bottom like a ketchup bottle. It’s okay to tear off any roots that might have grown through the drainage holes, too.
Before you tip the plant into the hole, take a quick look at the sides of the dirt. Do you see plant roots? They should look healthy and white, like fresh alfalfa sprouts, or yellowish if they’re more mature. If you don’t see any, that’s fine. It just means the plant hasn’t been in the pot for very long. What I don’t like to see are brown, squishy-looking roots that look rotted. If I find any, I try to pick them off so they don’t get planted with the plant.
If there are a lot of roots that look like they’ve been winding around the inside surface of the pot, this is what’s called root-bound or pot-bound. That’s not a disaster, but I don’t want the plant going in the ground in that condition. The roots will only continue to grow in a circle, never fannning out to seek water and nutrients and eventually strangling the plant. Take something sharp, like a pocket knife, a scissors, the top corner edge of your trowel, or you can even use your finger, and scrape down along the side from the top of the dirt to the bottom, cutting through that web of roots. Do this all around the root ball and across the bottom. It will encourage the roots to grow outward in all directions.
Now, the big moment. Turn the plant right side up, holding the bottom with your other hand if necessary to keep the dirt from falling apart, and set the plant in the hole.
Get down and check the depth once more. You should have gotten the depth right by now, but if the plant is still too deep, pick it back up and scoop some dirt back into the hole. It doesn’t have to be precise, but it’s better to leave the plant too high out of the ground than to leave it too deep. So get down and check that level. If it’s pretty close but on the high side, that’s close enough.
While you’re doing this adjusting, it’s okay to go ahead and lay the plant down on its side so you can use both hands. Just do it carefully so you don’t knock the dirt off the roots.
What if the dirt around the roots falls apart in your hand from all this turning over? Look at your plant and note where the crown is and how much dirt is left. Then scoop enough dirt into the hole so that you can set the plant on top of it with the crown just above the surface. I had to do this with a couple plants.
If the plant has roots that spread out and around, make the dirt in the hole into a mound, set the plant on top and arrange the roots so they spread out like they’re supposed to. If the plant has a single tap root, dig a single narrow hole in the center of the mound for the tap root to go into at least a few inches to get it going in the right direction.
Once you have the plant at the right depth, start scooping dirt back in around it. Press the dirt down firmly but gently. You don’t want to compress the soil too much. Check the plant as you’re doing this to make sure it’s level and straight.
Now, get your sprinkling can or your hose set on a gentle flow and water around the plant. You want to help the dirt settle around the plant and eliminate air pockets. If the dirt settles a lot, leaving a deep ring around the plant, scoop more dirt in to fill in that gap and pat down.
Now, step back and admire your handiwork!
Aftercare.
Don’t be surprised to see your new plants looking a little wilted and sad a few hours later, especially if it’s hot out and your plants are in the sun. The plant just had a shock and needs a little time to recover, so a little wilting is normal. It should start perking up in a day or two, especially once the sun gets low and the temps go down. Be sure to water it every couple days for a couple weeks. If it’s hot and your new plants are in full sun, water them daily while it stays hot.
Prairie plants are tough and should settle in fairly quickly, but you may still have to give them some shade for a while until their roots can get established. Last year I used a few cardboard boxes that I took apart and propped up on the south side of the plant to block the sun. If you’re home during the day, you can put the box on at lunchtime and take it off again in the evening. You can also get shade fabric at the garden center or online. If you have a big plant, like a bush, you probably won’t have to shade it, but make sure it gets watered regularly for a while.
They’re all in! Now, what to do with all that bare ground in between? I don’t like leaving all that dirt uncovered. It just dries out faster, it gets compacted more easily and it allows the organic matter to escape, releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
You can cover it with weed barrier fabric, sheets of newspaper (punch holes so the rain can get through) or grass clippings. Right now, I’ll cover it with wood mulch, then surround it with decorative bricks and some cute fencing. In a few years, once the plants grow to their full size and spread, they’ll fill all that bare space in themselves.
Now all I have to do is keep an eye on my little babies and water them regularly until they’re established. There’s a saying with perennials: the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap. So don’t be surprised if they don’t do a lot the first year. Sometimes they don’t even bloom. But native plants, especially prairie plants, should find their footing pretty fast. Once they do, they’ll take off and take care of themselves.
Bring on the butterflies!