From Sooner Plant Farm - what do you think?

Alright I just got this from Sooner Plant Farm on planting Trees and Shrubs in the newsletter - what do you all think?


I recently had an interesting conversation with a customer concerning the best shape for a planting hole.

I have been planting trees and shrubs for the greater part of my life, for the sake of this article, we'll just say over 20 years. During that time the shape of the planting hole has never entered into the digging equation. The most typical shape for a planting hole is round. This is because standard digging shovels are convex in shape, and the easiest and most efficient shape to dig is a circle. When this gardener said he dug square holes for planting, I instantly thought, what a great idea. Most people would say, "So what". Well here is the deal. If you are planting into a tight clay type soil, and the hole is round, growing roots have a tendency to circle around the hole. If you dig a square hole with sharp corners, the growing root tips will hit these corners and be directed downward. This is beneficial for two reasons. First, if you are planting a tree, the downward growing roots will help to anchor the tree. Secondly, these roots are headed in the right direction to access moisture, that may be available deep in the ground.
The best tool for digging a square hole is a digging spade, also called a 'sharp shooter'. These are available in different widths and lengths, and have much shorter handles than digging shovels.
This concept makes a lot of sense, and is now my practiced method for planting.

He does sell square pots?

I got the same email but didn't read it...

You know his point about the roots searching for water is a good one, often overlooked. Still, when you plant in heavy clay, you have to dig as deep as needed to get through that hard pan for drainage. Square holes would definitely help, I see his point. Regardless though, with clay, I'd still dig even wider yet than the quote-unquote "3 times the size of the rootball" and chip away into the sides as I always have, with my shovel.

Clay isn't any good, or I should say I don't enjoy planting for people who have heavy clay.

I also still would use some type of soil ammendment (other than sand - sand+clay='concrete') to break it up a bit. Not a lot of it, but some.

Like I said, interesting nonetheless. That was kind of him for sharing!

P.s. Sooner has great deals for those of you not having visited his website. Since I purchase understock, etc. from the guy, he accepted my request to purchase at wholesale prices. 18-24" Thuja 'Green Giant' 4 dollars and 50 cents. Three foot varieties of Red Maple 3.50 up. Acer palmatum (18" or so) potted seedlings (with shipping) I paid like 35 bucks for. Plus, when you submit a request for puchase, that guy gets back to you that day and with a personal approach. One for the Garden Watchdog. His packaging too is flawless, for example... I think the most I paid for a single plant was 7.50 so far and it too was three feet too, (not including the pot it came in).

Dax