PLANTING ADVICE

Plant Lots of Woodies

We need the trees and shrubs of our region.

Remember that 90% of keystone species are woody trees and shrubs, which makes them an important part of the diverse ecosystems we aim to create in our gardens.

TREES + SHRUBS

  • Provide essential habitats for pollinators, birds, and mammals. Plant woodies in layers; different birds nest at different heights.

  • Buds, leaves, flowers and fruits, nuts or acorns provide seasonable nutrition. Leaf litter, fallen branches and/or decaying wood provide other habitats while enriching the soil with nutrients.

  • Stabilize the soil and absorb thousands of gallons of water, preventing rapid run-off during storms and keeping the water table full.

  • Buffer climate conditions by providing shade to cool our communities and help screen the wind and cold of winter. (Birds need shade and winter protection too.)

  • Support essential cycles like the water, nitrogen cycle, and carbon cycle.

  • Improve air quality.

  • Beauty - Virginia’s native trees are diverse, colorful, majestic, sheltering, calming, and so much more.

Do

  • Plant any time of year that the ground is not frozen or saturated (planting in wet soil causes harmful compaction). If you plant in summer, you may need to do a lot of watering! Spring and fall are great, and fall is ideal.

  • Make a hole just slightly wider and no deeper than the plant

  • Place the plant so its base is at ground level.

  • Water well that day and the next, then twice a week for a couple weeks, then weekly through the first growing season. A good 1” rain counts as watering.

  • Cover bare soil with dead leaves, pine needles, straw or store-bought mulches made of plant material. Check in with your local municipality for locally recycled mulch or utilize fallen leaves found in your neighborhood.

Don’t

  • Overwater. For plants that prefer dry soil, let it dry out between watering.

  • Amend the soil (unless planting in construction clay or in naturally poorer soil than the plant you’ve selected prefers, in which case throw in a handful or two of compost).

  • Fertilize.

  • Use pesticides. That would kill the life we are trying to support!

  • Let mulch touch the plants.

Live in Northern Virginia?

The Plant NOVA Natives Campaign offers a webpage compiling the resources available in the region to help you plan your native landscaping.