Surviving Shock

In spring, along with rising sap, a gardener’s passions run high.  Most of us need to get in the car, travel to several nurseries and garden centers, and exchange some green (cash) for some green (plants).  We tote our purchases home, plant them, then expect them to perform.  What do the plants do?  After realizing they aren’t in Kansas anymore, some adjust to their new digs just fine, while others sulk, entering a phase some call “transplant shock.”  That’s just what we want to avoid.

Plants live on a slower schedule than we do.  It is not at all uncommon for a newly-planted tree to take three to five years to re-establish itself in a new location.  During this long re-adjustment period, the tree may show a host of distress symptoms.  These range from delayed leaf emergence in the spring, smaller leaves, off-color leaves, and early fall color to stunted growth, stem dieback, secondary insect and disease issues, and limited flowering.  Of course, the ultimate expression of dissatisfaction is when the tree checks out and dies.  Good gardeners can read these symptoms and possibly provide some corrective action, while the non-horticultural remain blissfully ignorant, become helpless or get angry.  Unfortunately, there is no mandatory coursework required to enter plant parenthood, but maybe there should be.

The list of reasons why transplanted plants fail to thrive could fill a textbook, and since plants can’t talk, we probably don’t know the half of it.  Consider that some nursery plants are of poor quality – with undersized root systems, or excessively pot-bound roots, or stresses from pest issues or poor handling techniques.  Any sort of root damage along the way from the production farm to the sales lot to your home is likely to show up as dieback on top.  Mishandling plants can have lasting results.  I get a chuckle when I see trucks flying down the road, nursery stock hanging on in back, leaves blowing in a fifty mile-per-hour breeze.  What foliage does hang on after that joyride is likely to become a desiccated mess. 

Matching the plant to the site is critical.  Some plants like shade, some like sun, some tolerate both.  For example, a rhododendron is not a good plant for a hot, dry parking lot, but I’ve seen it attempted.  Heavy clay soils are likely to retain a lot of water and have low oxygen content, so choose plants which can tolerate “wet feet” here.  Sandy soils are likely well aerated but may lack moisture, so drought tolerant species are a must.  It pays to stick a shovel in the ground and take a look at the soil before choosing what to put in it.  Windy areas are typically difficult locales for broadleaved evergreen plants, and even needled evergreens may have trouble establishing there.  Places which are exposed to road salt require salt-tolerant plants.  Even simply low spots and high spots have their challenges.  While plant tags are helpful, there really isn’t any substitute for knowing the likes and dislikes of the plants you bring home.