Deep Planting method of Gardening.

If you click the link you can watch the video of this method. I have used this method myself, as I live in a very arid area, it works marvelously, and cuttings get a much better start with this method.


spud


http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3019307.htm



Presenter: Angus Stewart, 25/09/2010

SERIES 21 Episode 31

When planting cuttings and pot plants into the garden, most gardeners place the plant in the ground at the same level it was in the pot. Megan King, however, uses a completely different technique.

Megan's technique is a progression from a method of planting known as 'long-stem' developed by a man named Bill Hicks. The long-stem method involves growing a tall seedling and planting it in the ground at least 30cm deep. The seedling develops roots at all the nodes along the buried stem. As the plant has such an extensive root system it thrives.

Megan demonstrates her method with a grevillea shrub which she almost entirely buries. Megan says, "The deeper the hole the better, but if you can't get your shovel down deep enough, then anything above the plant's soil line in the pot will improve its growth and survival rate."

Megan backfills and mulches around the plant - not bothering to keep it away from the stem. Angus says, "All my instincts would tell me that that plant is going to die from collar rot within a few weeks."

Megan agrees. "The first time I saw this done, I was aghast. I thought there's no way that a plant can survive being buried like that. Surprisingly though, this plant will outperform anything planted using the traditional method."

Another plant that Megan gave the deep-planting treatment to a year ago was a jasmine. She demonstrates the effectiveness by digging up a jasmine that was planted deeply and another that was planted in the traditional way. The root system of deep-planted jasmine is extensive and the plant itself has thrived. The other plant is barely alive and has a single root system.

Megan's garden is over a hectare in size with organically enriched loamy soil that is at least a metre deep. All plants in the garden have to survive on rainfall and although Megan doesn't water them at planting time, she plants during the wettest months. Megan says the technique is important to them because plants are more resilient and grow really quickly.

Plants Megan has grown using the deep-planting method include: begonias, salvias, fuchsias and lavenders. She's also had success with many native plants such as banksias, hakeas and westringias. "Just about everything I've planted - even if I only plant it just below the level it was in the pot - has thrived."

Megan has also had success growing trees using this method, including magnolia, crepe myrtle and maple trees. "Just about every tree on the property that we've planted, we've used this method."

Megan also plants cuttings in this manner. She demonstrates with a lavender cutting taken straight from the bush. Megan strips the bottom leaves off the cutting which is approximately 25cm long. She inserts a spade into the ground, pushes the handle forward to create a gap in the soil and drops the cutting in as far as it will go. She removes the spade head and firms the soil around the cutting with her foot - "Planted!"

Megan planted a lavender cutting the same way eight weeks previously and shows Angus how the cutting has become a small shrub in that time.

Megan says, "It's one of those things you find hard to believe until you start trying it. Then you get hooked and now everything goes in below ground level."

Information contained in this fact sheet is a summary of material included in the program. If further information is required, please contact your local nursery or garden centre. Tweet