I agree with floral's advice. The main thing in transplanting in the heat will be avoiding water stress and, secondarily sun damage. You need to mulch as much as humanly possible. Depending on the situation, you may even be able to rig up some temporary shade in the form of a tarp, tent. etc.

Make sure the rootballs are good and wet when transplanting, keep root area wet for several days. And yes, it would help to know where you are located and just what 'bushes' you are planting would help.

Native soil is best unless the soil is so hard that you feel the roots won't grow into it. The mulch breaks down and releases the food into the soil every time you water. That's how it works in nature. Adding too much amendment in the soil can create an oxygen poor situation in heavy soils over time and smother or rot the roots. Some plants were grown in compost that does exactly that once planted. I have seen this in roses that I planted in miracle grow potting mix. Two years later it is all dense sludge and the rose is struggling. Roses in the ground with a little sand added for drainage were fine.

I used to add all kinds of bagged amendment but now I don't. I just mulch and the decomposition of the mulch feeds the shrub. With annuals, they usually live one season so dont live long enough to see root problems when the potting mix or amendment breaks down into yuck. A little won't hurt but don't use too much. The best soils are mostly mineral and the organic part is a layer on top. Worms mix in the broken down part into the upper part of the soil. Adding amendments deep down is a human invention. If you can throw old sheets over the new plants to shade them for a few days, they would like that.

Amendment is optional, but one trick is to put a small pipe into the hole with the plants so I can water the root ball directly. It uses much less water & I know for sure the water is going right where I want it.

Thanks for everyone's advice (and for not judging me for being in this predicament)!

My zone is 8a/b and these are knockout roses and wax myrtles. The area has full sun and is hot.

"THEPARSLEY" ... when you say mulch as much as humanly possible, how many inches are you saying? A yard man scared me saying that in our area he's seen more bushes are ruined by mulch and fungus. But, mulch made sense to me - especially when I read that it can lower the temperatures in the ground up to 15 degrees. But, in my area we have native water bugs (roaches that even fly!) and they love mulch so I'm forced to use cedar. Does the cedar oil it puts off damage the bushes in anyway? MARY in AZ ... when you said to keep the rootball wet do you mean really soak the pot for several days and then when you take it out before you plant it, do I soak the rootball - and for how long?

And interesting KITTYMOONBEAM about the miracle grow being too compact. Do you think it's all the wood chips in the Miracle Grow - I don't like it either; it hardly even feels like dirt. Your mulch sounds wonderful but I have a situation in my area with water bug roaches. So, I can't use hardwood mulch but only cedar.

REELJAKE - Your water pipe sounds fabulous. Is there a YouTube video or something that explains more about it? Are you familiar with any of those box irrigation systems they sell at Home Depot? Are any of them any good?

I don't think you need to soak it for several days. It's just that wet soil is easier on the delicate roots as you remove the plant from its container - the roots won't split and break so much. If you have a container that will hold water and the plants in their current pots (kiddie pool works really well) put the plants in, add a few inches of water, let the root ball soak up the water it needs, then plant. I used to recommend adding some B1 to the soak water but I now think that's just an old wives tale. Planting in the evening will help too. And add shade if possible. Good luck!

The "yard man" has no idea what he is talking about!! Mulches can actually prevent fungal issues by preventing the spores from splashing up with rainfall and watering and affecting the plants. Mulching regularly with a decent organic product (wood chips, bark, even compost) is perhaps one of the best things you can do both for your soil and your plants. Just don't layer it on too thick (3-4 inches is fine) and keep it away from the base of the plants (any woody stems or trunks). Cedar mulch is fine - it lasts a long time and helps to deter bugs.....it has no adverse affect on the plants.

Miracle Gro potting soil contains no bark or wood chips. That's why it clogs up, compacts and becomes over time a soggy, mucky mess. But you never want to use potting soil in the garden (unless you are dumping out the soil from last year's containers) - it is too expensive for that use and adds nothing by way of amendments to a garden soil.

When planting at any time of year and in any temperatures, you want to thoroughly hydrate the rootball before planting it in the ground. The easiest way to do this is to remove the plant from its nursery pot and soak it in a bucket of water for about an hour or until any bubbles stop forming. If balled and burlapped, set the entire wrapped rootball in a large garbage can or wheelbarrow and do the same. After planting in the indigenous soil only (NO amendments in the planting hole!), water again thoroughly. After that, you just want to make sure the rootball stays moistened - not wet, just moist to the touch. This is best accomplished by using a soaker hose or leaving your hose on at a slow trickle at the base of the base of the plant until the entire root zone is sufficiently moistened. Or you can set up a drip system. Which you can purchase as a kit from the home improvements stores and which work great. Just make sure you are delivering enough water over a long enough period of time. You will have to test this to find out - it is impossible to be more specific as weather and soils will determine how long or how often watering is needed.

Shade cloth! Get a couple square yards at the hardware store, cut a swatch for each plant and give it a bonnet. Fasten it with clothes pins to the stem. Make it big enough so you don't crush the branches. It will cut down on evapotranspiration (how the leaves lose water) and reduce stress and sunburn.

I also wanted to point out that 'manure' is 'compost' assuming it has been sufficiently composted. Oh, they differ a bit but...The oft-quoted 1/3 each of manure, compost and soil always bugged me. That's basically 2/3 compost which is a LOT. I would use any kind of compost you want, 1/4 to 1/2 at the most. What was said earlier about not amending individual planting holes is true. In my clay I usually make a wide dish and amend that rather than a deep hole. Also break up the native soil in the bottom so there is a transition zone between amended and native.

OK ... here's the rulez for planting in AZ summers.

Buy a moisture meter - you will need it. Do NOT AMEND the soil. Fertilizer forces top growth at a time when you don't want it.

1. Dig a planting hole 2-3 times wider then the nursery pot and as deep as the root ball.

2. DUNK the nursery pot until the bubbles stop coming and let it drain a bit.

3. Place the plant in the middle of the hole and fill it in. Make a small ridge around the edge of the hole to retain water (this will eventually go away.

4. PRUNE the plant back by 30-40% so it has less foliage to support for a while.

5. SOAK the plant again by running a hose slowly until the basin fills up.

6. MULCH the whole basin area thickly except for a few inches around the base of the plant.

7. SHADE the plant with some temporary shade things on the south and west sides, with something over the top even tee-pees of branches will help.

8. WATER thoroughly whenever the moisture meter says you are in need. Fill the basin slowly (should take several hours.) Or take a 5-gallon bucket and make tiny holes in it. Put a bucket by each plant and fill the bucket and let it leak.

I found that in Phoenix it took daily watering for two weeks, then every other day for a couple of months or until the end of hot weather, then twice weekly until winter. The next summer would be twice weekly until the monsoons, then weekly during the summers.

Shade cloth! Get a couple square yards at the hardware store, cut a swatch for each plant and give it a bonnet.

I like that idea!

I hope that you've been convinced to not add amendments to the soil. I'd suggest no more than two to three inches of mulch....your choice of wood chips, pine bark, pine straw will be fine.

MARY in AZ, great idea about soaking in a kiddie pool! Also, that does make sense about it not tearing the roots so much when it's wet. Okay, GARDEN GAL.. you've sold me on the mulch! And thanks for more pointers about how to soak it. There is a really prestigious nursery in my town that sells and ships roses nationwide (people on Garden Web are even familiar with their roses) and they were emphatic not to soak the roots. I have no idea why. But, it makes sense to me and I can see all of you on here are in favor of it. TOXCRUSADR, thanks about the shade cloth bonnets! I had heard about shade cloth and was going to ask y'all about it. But, I hadn't thought through how to do it but your bonnet idea makes it sound real do-able. Have you ever had to do this with your own plants? And thanks for clarifying about manure being "compost" if it's been composted. Does that mean the stuff in the sacks at the store as been composted? Is that what "aged" means? LAZY_GARDENS thanks so much for your copious list of suggestions! Since you're in AZ I know you understand HEAT! When you say to mulch thickly... are you saying 3-4 inches like some on here or 7 inches like I've heard other people say? And great suggestion about the bucket with holes! Watering mulch will be a new experience for me. One man suggested submerging a pvc pipe sticking up by each bush so that I can water directly to the root ball. What do you think about that method?

Rhizo, thanks too!

I see all of you are a "no" on the amendments... Do you think the horse manure wood chip/leaf mix is dangerous too since it's low in nitrogen and the wood chips would leach any remaining nitrogen anyway? Or would you at least add sandy loam to break up the clay or what do you think of SHELLS? I took some of my clay to a local nursery and the man thought it looked pretty bad and said he'd add in a lot of sandy loam. (And he didn't do this for a sale because he knew I wouldn't be buying it from him.) I also had a yard man say the same thing. On the phone before he saw it, he was saying not to rush into replacing it, but, when he saw it he was like, "Oh yeah.. you need to bring in sandy loam." But, then a man at another nursery in town (the rose nursery I mentioned earlier) said DON'T ADD SANDY LOAM TO CLAY! He said sandy loam and clay make concrete and that clay holds nutrients. And about peat moss... if it doesn't leach nitrogen, then is the only problem that it dries out and adds no nutrition? Is that really a problem if you water well? The fact it doesn't leach nitrogen like wood chips sounded like a plus to me but I know it's become very controversial in recent years. But, I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the bushes so appreciate your candid answers! Y'all have all been great!! Thanks again so much!

If you are using wood chips on TOP of the soil it will NOT deplete nitrogen except for the 1/4" where the two are in contact. Only when it's mixed in is it a problem.

Sand will indeed turn clay into concrete unless you add a huge amount (like 40%). Sandy loam is going to have some silt and clay (that's what loam is, a blend of everything) so it may not be so bad. Maybe these guys were referring to replacing clay or laying it on top, which would work fine, it's the mixing you have to watch out for if it's heavy on the sand content. But I wouldn't bother with all this unless for some reason you need to raise the elevation.

You're correct about what peat moss does.

I would agree with others suggesting wood chip mulch. Or compost on top of the soil and mulch on top of that. That's a great way to feed the soil more rapidly without mixing the compost in and risking the bathtub effect.

And yes I did use the shade cloth bonnets on some small trees years ago when we bought our house with a bare yard. Later on I found it was much better to plant trees and shrubs in the fall. One reason being that they don't get roasted!

Thanks, toxcrusadr ... Didn't know it needed to be 40% sandy laom. Would love to do the wood chip mulch but have water bugs (roaches) and all I can do is cedar. Agree fall is a much better time to plant!

The people at the prestigious nursery down the road from you might be thinking that you plan on soaking the roots for days. This would not be a good idea.

It is important to not only make sure that the root balls of the plants are completely moist (with no dry patches, hence the soaking for an hour or so), but to also make sure that the area in which that are to be planted is moist as well.

Depending on the weather and the soil (and no doubt a host of other things), this is best done a day or two or three (or maybe more) ahead of time so that the soil can drain. You don't want to be working wet soil. Working wet clay is bad for you and bad for the clay and also bad for the plant, as the soils structure will be affected. (It won't be the end of the Earth if this happens, it just isn't as much fun.) You will know if the soil is too wet to work - it will be difficult and unpleasant. Moist soil, on the other hand, is pleasing to work.

It is of course important to water the plants in well, straight after planting. Doesn't matter how moist the soil is or whether it looks like rain. Always water directly after planting.

If you apply mulch anywhere, make sure that the soil is well watered beforehand. Never apply mulch to dry soils.

And I am against mucking up the planting holes too. No fertiliser of any kind and no different kind of stuff put in there, just the soil which you took out. And it is important to put the soil back in the order in which it came out. Someone I know used to put the topsoil in the bottom of the hole. I think this is wrong.

Oh, one more thing (I never know when to shut up), if a plant is planted with a dry root ball, or if the root ball has some dry patches, those dry areas will never get moist no matter how much the plant is watered after it's planted.

If it is in a clay soil.

Because the clay soil will hold onto the water.

It's a bit like trying to mop up some damp splash somewhere with a dry sponge. A wet sponge soaks it up, but a dry sponge will not.

I'm no longer in AZ, but a minimum of 3 inches of wood chips (of whatever species, even cedar), up to 6 or so (they vanish quickly into the soil) worked for me. Fortunately we has a chipper and an endless supply of stuff to shred and chip. Wood chips will NOT steal nitrogen - at most only the layer where chips and soil are touching will be affected.

One man suggested submerging a pvc pipe sticking up by each bush so that
I can water directly to the root ball. What do you think about that
method? I've seen it done for palm tree transplants, but they had 4-foot root balls. Something smaller than the root ball so water could percolate down would work.

Something more effective would be a loop of drip tubing around each plant, connected to a temporary drip system you can hook up to your hose.

There are tree ring soaker hoses available ( https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Ring-Soaker-Hose-Feet/dp/B00178M93K ) as well as watering bags ( https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atree%20watering%20bags ) that would distribute the water to the trees roots much better than would a piece of PVC pipe. You do need to get an even distribution of water to those roots.

The problem with adding any amendments to the soil in just the planting hole is that you change the soil and can create something with more problems. Adding organic matter, sand, sandy loam, shells, or most anything other than the clay will change to soil so water would flow in very easily but not be able to flow out, the bathtub affect. If last year you planned to plant these trees and prepared the soil, amendi8ng the whole area and not just the planting holes, that would be different.

https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/soil-amendments.pdf

kimmq is kimmsr

MaryMcP

vitamin B1 isnt actually a wives tale. there is now research supporting it.

peronally, i would use a woody mulch, i dont like cedar mulch, it inhibits beneficial fungi and other small creatures that are beneficial .

You should try to invite as many small critters as possible. all of them eat and poop and attract other critters. lizards, frogs etc... will take care of the roach problem.

i agree with the 3 to 4 in of mulch, but i was thinking of something along the lines of a banana ring.

you can dig a small hole a few feet away, fill it with coffee grounds, horse manure, fruit peels, leaves, grass clippings etc... they will all break down and create excellent natural fertilizer, improve the soil, and hold moisture.

if you are planting several trees, plant them in a circle with the hole in the middle.

http://permaculturenews.org/2008/06/23/build-a-banana-circle/

you can think of growing another tree nearby as well if you have the room. something that might shade the base for a few hours in the afternoon. i realize this is more long-term, but you can find fast growing pioneer trees. something in the legume family that can improve the soil and add nitrogen. maybe Acacia, mesquite...

Autumn olive and goumi fix nitrogen, and are shrub-like

Hello GreenMan.....I was going from this article: Beware Gardening Myths

As I stated above, I used to do this all the time. It certainly did not hurt, just hard to find the truth when there is so much [mis]information on the www. Can't hurt!! Thanks for the note.

Thanks everyone for all the additional info! Y'all have been great!!

TETE-A-TETE ... No, I don't care if you don't shut up! I can use all the help I can get! I didn't know that if there is a dry spot on the root, in clay that it will always stay dry. And when I soak the plant, I take it out of the pot, right? I told family your suggestions and they thought y'all were saying to submerge the pot in the water.

LAZY_GARDENS - Great tip about the drip tubing. Can this be found in one of those drip irrigation kits at Home Depot?

KIMMQ - Love the idea of the drip ring about a tree - especially when I plant more trees in the fall! Also, your explanation about the water flow helped me understand why just amending the hole is not good. All this time I was thinking it was just the fear that the amendments would burn the roots to the plant if not well mixed. I am just finding out it had to do with drainage as much as anything!

GREENMAN62 - Thanks for the tip on the banana ring! I liked your suggestion of putting it in the middle of trees! And about nitrogen producing trees, I heard that wax myrtles were like this, which happens to be what I'm planting. I originally purchased some knock outs for a flowerbed towards my curb but then right before I was going to plant, I realized it would probably be better to put some trees right there instead. Do you think the myrtles would shade it too much to plant roses too? It's been tricky because you will see some trees like wax myrtles that have tons of sun around them and others produce a ton of shade. I guess it's the angle of the sun and how much the tree has been pruned. My curb gets blasted by the sun so I didn't now if I could pull off some bushes in between or not. I've also heard the rumor that wax myrtles kill things around them and I've also heard that wax myrtles don't like certain plants around them but don't know if this is true. But, I wanted a row of small trees along my curb since my large tree was cut down and the sun beats in on my house and I have no privacy. But, I realize it's going to look really bland while those myrtles are growing. I had already carved out a beautiful flowerbed for roses and I think my neighbors were all excited I was going to plant some flowers there! It was a difficult choice and I'm still wondering if I could cheat and squeeze in a few between.

"Mulch should never be more or less than 2"" That is extremely prescriptive and rather misleading for a beginner. Such definitive rules really don't suit gardening. A little mulch is better than no mulch at all under some circumstances and many people successfully use several inches depth. It depends on what you are growing, where you are gardening, the season, the soil and the local pests and diseases.

floral, two researchers at Michigan State University spent 9 years studying mulching and printed their findings in an issue of Fine Gardening magazine a while back (wish I could remember which issue). Among those findings was a little mulch does nothing and a mulch depth of 4 to 6 inches is most beneficial. Plants with deeper mulches had higher levels of Nitrogen than plants with little to no mulch around them.

kimmq is kimmsr

The reason Vitamin B1 "works" is that if you apply it according to directions, you make the diluted vitamin solution and fill the planting hole with it and let it soak in. then after planting you soak the plant again with more solution.

Just what I do, minus the vitamin.

RomeIsBurning - 2 inches of mulch in the desert southwest is not thick enough to keep the roots cool and minimize moisture loss. I use 4-6 inches for bushes and trees.

So kimmsr - you concur with me in disagreeing with the part of that the statement that says "Mulch should never be more or less than 2"" ?

Perhaps you could find the research to which you refer and give us the link? Until that time I will continue to assume that any depth of organic mulch can be useful in so far as it provides some food for the soil food web. Since I mulch almost exclusively with compost even a small amount is beneficial in my book.

But my main point was not to debate mulch depths but to dispute the notion that there was an exact depth of mulch which is in some way written in stone and should never be contravened anywhere, anytime for any form of gardening.

Stormy, some people take the plant out of the pot for soaking before planting and some leave it in. If it was root bound, and the pot is bulging, then it would definitely be better to be taken out before soaking. If it was a reasonable sized plant for its pot, and you felt that maybe it should stay in its pot for its soaking, then leave it in. Whatever grabs you at the time.

I see Tete_a-tete, thanks!