Disregard, I found some information that tells me the roots don't grow so deeply, but do expand horizontally in the soil. There does appear to be some variance of opinion when it comes to spacing. Since I'm planting on a trellis I will most likely space them at 18"-24" apart.

Here's my experience gardening under conifers: I initially spread fine wood chips as mulch before planting. Since then debris (such as needles and cone scales) shed naturally add to the mulch. These plants are growing in partial to full shade: Linnea borealis - from a few starts, this has travelled many many feet. Much of it is in full shade. Cardamine trifolia - dense, evergreen, looks good anytime of the year. Cornus unalaschkensis (canadensis) Vancouveria chrysantha Pyrola asarifolia Coptis lacianata Galax aphylla (urceolata) Mahonia nervosa Blechnum spicant, deer fern I also planted Gymnocarpa dryopteris, oak fern, which is a beautiful decidous fern, but after a few years it started poking up aggressively through its neighbors. Now I am trying to get it out and I'll re-establish it where it can spread to its heart content. I have done a little sprinkling when it is hot and dry, but one summer I was unable to do this, and the plants survived.

Brenda, last I checked...people weren't in danger of becoming rare or extinct. I don't care about their poverty..that is NO excuse for poaching. It is in-excusable for major corporations to buy that which was poached from state and federal lands, which belong to ALL of us, then turn around and sell it for profit. There are many, many government programs available to the poor...from pre-natal care all the way up to elder care programs and hospice. Including free college tuition, work training, food, medical care, etc. I have been really poor...I have lived on Ramen Noodles and tortillas and potatoes for months at a time, yet I never felt the need to steal. Heck, I was unemployed and uninsured when I was diagnosed with MS..and I didn't go hold up the corner store to pay for my tests and treatment. I used every government/private program I could use to do that which needed to be done..after all, I had already paid for it many times over. What these folks are doing is stealing, and what they're stealing is our natural heritage. And they're stealing it from each and every one of us, and our children and grand-children. People who go on "plant rescues" with reputable organisations don't turn around and sell the dang things to the highest bidder. Silverkat...If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? I'd rather not join 'em. And yes, boycotts do work. I have lots and lots of ethically collected or nursery grown and propagated native plants. I don't need Lowe's. The ethically collected plants and seeds are out there, all that's required is a little research. VERY little..people who grow natives are usually happy to admit their stock is on the up and up. If enough people cared enough not to buy those little baggies of dessicated native plants..well, there'd be no financial incentive to carry them in the store. Which would go a long way towards solving the problem, wouldn't it? april

I am a novice gardener but I'll still throw in my two cents. I just can't bring myself to discard used soil. I do get that "fresh" soil is best for plants like tomatoes and cucumbers and understand not reusing soil for tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and certain other plants but I would consider re-using the soil next year and blending it with manure for other hardier plants like flowers and herbs. This year I did not do anything with my leftover soil until I was ready to plant. My leftover soil was from a few containers from two years ago. Based on research I did I put boiling water on the soil and then added manure to the soil at a 3:1 soil to manure ratio, i.e., for every 3 scoops of used container soil, I added one scoop of manure. I did not have a great growing season but I strongly doubt if it was related to the soil choices, things that were planted in new soil did not grow and things that were planted in repurposed soil did. I will share my game plan for the upcoming year as I planned to create a post about it to get feedback but maybe I can get feedback here. At the end of the season, I am in zone 7 so it will probably be late October/November, I am going to pull up my non-perennial plants and will likely do the boiling water thing again. Hopefully by then I will have acquired a big receptacle and will dump my unused soil in that and then during the colder months basically use the receptacle as a compost bin and add food scraps, leaves, grass clippings, newspaper, coffee grinds, saw dust (if I can get some), comfrey (if I get a chance to plant) to the pile. I'll definitely be mindful of making sure that I am adding the right balance of greens and browns but won't be fanatical about it unless it presents a problem like there's a smell, but at some point, during the coldest months, probably January or February, I plan to carve out a couple of weeks where I will give it my full attention and do hot composting. The next phase of my scheme is that once things start to warm up a bit (early March), I may either buy some worms or capture some worms and add those to the compost bin, add more food scraps newspaper and let them do their thing. And then when the planting season comes around I will use that soil for my plants, note that soil will likey be amended further to add other nutrients and moisture control. After all that I am still wary of planting tomatoes in repurposed soil and as of now I will likely buy the soil for tomatoes and cucumbers, but it really depends on how much planting of those particular plants I plan to do next year. If I only do a few containers of tomatoes and cucumbers I will likely buy the soil, but if I go hogwild, and it appears like my repurposed soil is the good stuff, I may plant some of the hardier tomatoes and cucumbers in the repurposed soil. Also, I'm not sure if extension offices analyze container soil, but if they do I may stop by my local extension office and discuss what I'm planting and how I'm planting it with one of the master gardeners.