How to Plant Trees, Shrubs & Perennials the Right Way
Published On: Sep 29, 2026
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Your plants have arrived. Whether you ordered a single shade tree, a row of shrubs for a hedge, or a flat of perennials for a new bed, what you do over the next few days matters more than almost anything that comes after.
Here at our Maryland nursery, we've grown and shipped a lot of plants, and the problems we hear about most often aren't caused by the plant. They're caused by a handful of small, preventable mistakes: a box left sitting on a hot porch, a root ball that dried out before planting, a tree set a few inches too deep, or a perennial with mulch piled over its crown.
The good news is that every one of those mistakes is easy to avoid once you know what to look for. This guide walks you through it, from the moment you open the box to the first few weeks in the ground.
When Your Plants Arrive: The First Hour
Your plant has spent a few days in the dark, in a box, on a truck. It's ready to get out.
Open the Box Right Away
Open the box the day it arrives, even if you don't plan to plant until the weekend. Stand the plant upright, remove any packing material, and gently straighten any stems or branches that shifted in transit. A little spilled soil, a few bent leaves, or a yellow leaf or two are normal after shipping and nothing to worry about.
If a stem was snapped along the way, cut it cleanly just below the break with sharp pruners. Leave everything else alone.
Water It While It's Still in the Pot
Check the soil in the nursery pot. If it's dry an inch or two down, water slowly until water runs out of the drainage holes, wait a few minutes, and water again.
If the pot feels light and the soil has pulled away from the sides, the root ball has dried out and will shed water instead of absorbing it. Set the whole pot in a bucket or tub of water for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bubbles stop, then let it drain.
This step matters more than it seems. A dry root ball can stay dry even after it's planted in moist soil, because water runs around it instead of into it.
Give It a Day or Two in the Shade
After a few days in a dark box, even sun-loving plants can scorch if they go straight into hot afternoon sun. Set your plants in bright shade, somewhere protected from wind, for a day or two before planting. Morning sun is fine. Afternoon sun is what you want to avoid at first.
Don't set pots on hot pavement or a sunny deck, and don't leave them in the box. If you ordered several plants, group the pots together; they'll dry out more slowly and are less likely to blow over.
Take a Few Photos
Before you throw anything away, take a few quick photos: the whole plant, a close-up of the stems or crown, the plant tag, and the box as it arrived. It takes a minute, and it gives you a clear record of how your plant looked on day one.
If something looks wrong, such as a soft or rotting crown, a trunk snapped at the base, or a root ball that has broken apart, keep the packaging and contact our customer service team with those photos. We'd much rather look at it with you now than hear about it weeks later.
If You Can't Plant Right Away
The sooner your plants go in the ground, the better, ideally within a few days. But life happens, and a potted plant can wait if you look after it.
- Check the pots every day. Nursery pots hold far less soil than the ground, and they dry out fast, especially small pots, black pots in sun, and windy days. Water whenever the top inch or two is dry.
- Keep them in bright shade or morning sun, out of the wind.
- Don't let pots sit in standing water. Remove any saucers, and make sure the drainage holes aren't blocked.
- If the ground is frozen or waterlogged, keep the plant in its pot in a sheltered, unheated spot until you can plant. Our guide to what to expect when your plant arrives in fall covers cold-weather holding in more detail.
Before You Dig: Check the Spot
You probably chose a spot when you ordered. Before you dig, take one more look.
- Light: Does the spot get the sun (or shade) listed on the plant tag? Watch it through a full day if you're not sure.
- Mature size: Space for the plant's full width, not the size of the pot. Crowded plants compete for water, get less airflow, and need more pruning later. Our guide to nursery pot sizes explains why small plants catch up faster than most people expect.
- Drainage: Dig a hole about a foot deep, fill it with water, and let it drain. If water is still standing the next day, the spot drains poorly. Choose a different spot, or plant a few inches high and slope the soil up to the root ball.
- Water needs: Plants that like the same amount of water are easier to care for when they're planted together. See our guide to hydrozoning.
- Utilities: For trees and large shrubs, call 811 or visit 811beforeyoudig.com a few days before you dig. It's free.
Getting the Depth Right: Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
If you remember only one thing from this guide, make it this: plant at the same depth the plant grew in its pot, never deeper. Planting too deep is one of the most common reasons new trees, shrubs, and perennials struggle or fail, and it often doesn't show up until months later.
What you measure from depends on what you're planting.
Trees: Find the Root Flare
The root flare is where the trunk widens as it meets the main roots. When you're finished, it should be visible at or slightly above the surrounding soil.
Don't assume the top of the potting soil is the right level. Extra soil often ends up over the flare in a nursery pot. Before you plant, gently brush soil away from the base of the trunk until you find the first main roots, and measure your hole from there. The University of Maryland Extension gives the same advice: keep the root flare exposed.
Shrubs: Level With the Top of the Root Ball
Most shrubs grow as several stems rather than a single trunk, so there's no obvious flare. Set the top of the root ball level with the surrounding ground or up to an inch above it. Shallow-rooted shrubs like azaleas and rhododendrons are happiest planted slightly high, especially in heavy clay.
Perennials and Grasses: Never Bury the Crown
The crown is the point where the stems meet the roots, right at the soil line. It's where next year's growth comes from, and it rots if it's buried. Set the top of the root ball level with the ground, so the crown sits exactly where it did in the pot.
A few perennials have their own depth rules. Bearded iris rhizomes, for example, should sit at the surface, partly exposed. If your plant has a planting guide, check it before you dig.
In heavy clay, always err on the high side. A plant set an inch high can be fixed with a little mulch. A plant set too deep usually has to be dug up and replanted.
How to Plant, Step by Step
These steps work for container-grown trees, shrubs, and perennials alike. Plant in the morning, late afternoon, or on a cloudy day if you can.
Step 1: Water the Pot
Water the plant in its pot an hour or so before planting, so the root ball goes into the ground fully moist.
Step 2: Dig Wide, Not Deep
Dig a hole two to three times as wide as the pot, but only as deep as the root ball (measured from the root flare on trees). Leave the bottom of the hole firm. If you dig too deep and refill it with loose soil, the plant will settle lower over time.
In heavy clay, slope the sides of the hole outward and roughen any smooth, glazed walls with the edge of your shovel so roots can grow out into the surrounding soil.
Step 3: Remove the Pot
Tip the pot on its side and slide the plant out. Never pull it out by the trunk or stems. If it's stuck, squeeze or tap the sides of the pot, or cut the pot away.
Step 4: Loosen the Roots
Look at the root ball. If roots are circling around the outside, loosen them with your fingers so they point outward. If the root ball is a solid mat of roots, make three or four shallow vertical cuts down the sides with a clean knife or pruners, then tease the roots apart. It looks rough, but it encourages new roots to grow out into your soil instead of continuing to circle.
Step 5: Set the Depth
Place the plant in the center of the hole. Lay a shovel handle or board across the hole to check the depth against the surrounding ground, following the rules above. If the plant sits too low, lift it out and add firm soil underneath. Don't pull it up by the trunk after backfilling.
Step 6: Backfill With Your Own Soil
Fill in around the root ball with the soil you dug out. Don't fill the hole with bagged compost or potting mix. A heavily amended hole can hold water like a bucket, and roots tend to stay inside it instead of growing out into the surrounding ground. If your whole bed has poor soil, improve the whole bed, not just the hole.
Fill the hole halfway, water it to settle the soil, then finish filling. Firm the soil gently with your hands. Don't stomp it down.
Step 7: Water Deeply
Water slowly until the root ball and the soil around it are soaked. A hose left at a slow trickle for several minutes works better than a quick spray. This first watering settles the soil and removes air pockets around the roots.
After Planting: Mulch, Stakes, Fertilizer, and Pruning
- Mulch: Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch over the root zone, and keep it a few inches away from trunks, stems, and perennial crowns. Think doughnut, not volcano.
- Staking: Most trees don't need it. Stake only if the site is very windy or the tree won't stand straight on its own, use soft, wide ties, and remove them after one growing season. Shrubs and perennials rarely need staking.
- Fertilizer: Skip heavy fertilizer at planting. High-nitrogen feed pushes soft top growth when the plant needs to be building roots. If you use anything, choose a gentle, root-focused starter like Woodie's Root Booster.
- Pruning: Remove only dead or broken branches. Healthy leaves help a new plant make the energy it needs to grow roots. On spring-flowering shrubs, heavy pruning now can remove next year's flowers.
Planting a tree this fall? Our guide to planting trees and shrubs in fall and winter covers balled-and-burlapped trees, staking, and winter watering in more depth.
The First Few Weeks
For the first month or so, your new plant depends almost entirely on the soil in its original root ball. That potting mix dries out faster than the soil in your yard, which means the root ball can be dry even when the ground around it feels wet.
That's why watering by the calendar doesn't work. Instead, check the soil:
- Check before you water. Push a finger or trowel 2 to 3 inches into the soil right next to the root ball. If it's dry at that depth, water. If it's still damp, wait.
- Check often at first. Every day or two for the first couple of weeks, especially for perennials, small pots, and hot or windy weather. After that, twice a week is usually enough, then less as roots grow out.
- Aim at the root ball and water slowly and deeply. Short, frequent sprinkles keep roots shallow.
- Don't count on rain. Light rain often doesn't soak through mulch or dense foliage. Check anyway.
Expect your plant to look a little tired for a while. Some midday wilting that recovers by evening, a few yellow or dropped leaves, and very little new growth are all normal while a plant settles in. Its first job is growing roots, not leaves. Our guide to transplant shock explains what's happening and how to help.
What isn't normal: wilting that doesn't recover even though the soil is wet, a soft or mushy crown, or browning that spreads across the whole plant. Soggy soil and wilting together usually mean too much water, not too little. If you're seeing those signs, stop watering, let the soil dry out a bit, and send us photos.
Quick Planting Checklist
Plants just arrived? Open the box, stand them up, and water them in their pots.
Root ball bone dry? Soak the whole pot in a bucket of water for 15 to 20 minutes.
Can't plant yet? Bright shade, out of the wind, and check the pots every day.
How deep? Same depth as in the pot. Root flare visible on trees, crown at soil level on perennials, never deeper.
How wide? Two to three times as wide as the pot.
Circling roots? Loosen them or make a few shallow cuts.
What goes back in the hole? The soil you dug out.
Mulch? Two to three inches, pulled back from trunks, stems, and crowns.
Fertilizer? Not now. Roots first.
When to water? When the soil is dry 2 to 3 inches down next to the root ball.
Woodie's Take
After a lifetime around plants, I can tell you that most of the plant problems I see weren't caused by the plant. They started in the first week.
A tree set four inches too deep looks perfectly fine on planting day. So does a shrub that went in with a bone-dry root ball, or a perennial with mulch piled over its crown. The trouble shows up weeks or months later, and by then it's hard to connect back to what happened on planting day.
That's why I care so much about these first few days. You don't need special tools or years of experience. You need to open the box, water the pot, plant at the right depth, and check the soil before you water. That's most of it.
The rest is patience. A new plant spends its first season building roots you'll never see. It may not look like much this year. But plant it right, and it will spend the next ten, twenty, or fifty years showing you it was worth the care.
Welcome to the garden. We're glad your plants are here.