A few planting tips can make all the difference 🌱, by Butterfly Candy Plants on YouTube. 2 min 18 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 18 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Choose a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct sun each day. The more sun the plant gets, the more flowers and pollinator visits you can expect.
Check the soil drains well. Avoid hollows and spots that stay wet after rain, because soggy roots rot a young shrub quickly.
Dig a hole about twice as wide as the root ball and the same depth. Loosen the sides and base so roots can push out into the border.
Water the pot well, then slide the shrub out. Tease a few roots loose if they are circling tightly around the root ball.
Set the plant in the hole with the crown and top of the root ball slightly above the surrounding soil level. This helps a lot in heavy or wet ground.
Backfill with the dug soil, firming it in gently in layers so there are no air pockets. Do not press down hard or bury the crown.
Water deeply until the soil around the root ball is soaked. Keep watering through the first season whenever the top few centimetres feel dry.
Spread a mulch layer around the plant, leaving a gap so it does not touch the stems or crown.
Leave the shrub alone over winter and save your main prune for late winter or early spring, just as new growth starts.
Tips and common mistakes
Planting too deeply is the most common mistake, so keep the crown just above soil level.
Skip autumn pruning. Cutting back hard before winter can leave the plant exposed to cold damage.
Improve heavy clay by mixing grit and compost into the planting hole and the soil around it.
Water new plants deeply and less often rather than little and often, which encourages deeper roots.
Questions
When should I prune a Butterfly Candy shrub?
Do your main prune in late winter or early spring as new growth begins. Leave the plant unpruned through autumn and winter.
How much sun does it need?
At least 6 hours of direct sun a day. In shade you will get fewer flowers and a looser, floppier plant.
What if my soil stays wet?
Plant slightly higher so the crown sits above grade, add grit and compost, or grow the shrub in a pot with free-draining compost.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
