Anyway I bought an emerald green arborvitae and a rhododendron CRETE on clearance for $2 each. I have a space next to a walkway that I need to fill in because we plan to put a gate in the beginning of it in the Spring.

Here are my issues other than I have never planted anything other than vegetables in containers before ;)
-The area looks like there is almost no dirt. Woman next store said they is alot of rock, like shale...almost no dirt.
-The arborvitae is completely browned out on the bottom, less than half though.

Any advice, will this work or not? Is it too late to even plant these?

If someone tells me how to, I have pictures of them.

Thank you in advance.

Sp, please post your pictures, then we'll go from there.

you paid 2 bucks for a 10 to 20 dollar plant..

it has been severely damaged this summer.. by the seller ...

even if you make it live.. its going to be ugly for a couple years..

either go get your 2 bucks back ... or live and learn... it might not be worth the gas to drive back ...

sometimes a bargain.. is just not worth it ...

will snow on the sidewalks be a winter issue.. salt??? .. etc ... if so, the spot might be better used for annuals next year ...

good luck

ken

To post your pix upload your pix to a free site like Photobucket. Then copy the html code and paste it in your post here. When you preview your post, you'll see your pix (if all went right).

As for the plants, $2 is a great ante to pay to get in the gardening game. When did you plant them? How did you plant them? Do anything to the roots? Or to the soil? How did you water them? These things as well as the fact they sat in a nursery lot all summer can affect them.

tj

I would be far more concerned about the condition of your soil. You need to give your plant a two to three foot diameter hole for it to have the best chance. It doesn't have to be especially deep. About one foot (a shovel's depth) will do. Work lots of good stuff into the hole: composted manure, shredded leaves, peat humus,something like that. I cut a foot deep circle in the ground with my spade, then cut it into 6 to 8 "pie pieces" with the spade. Pile about four to six inches worth of amendments on top of the pie. Then begin to dig, lift, turn, and break the soil in the hole until it's soft, fluffy and uniform in color. If the soil is full of rock, dig them out. If you can't get at least 8 inches of depth because of the rock, put your plant somewhere else. Once the soil is in good shape, dig out the center part and set your plant in the hole. Backfill with the soil you removed. Take your time! It's hard work, but you only have to do it once if you do it right. If you're not in shape, plant one today, one tomorrow.....

It's VERY important not to plant Emeralds too deeply in the hole. I nearly lost one this way. You want the soil level of the root ball to be even with or even an inch or three above the soil level of the ground when you put it into the hole. (If you plant it high, just mound soil up around the root ball.) If you think you planted it too deep, lift it and re-plant. That's how I saved mine. It looked dead. Really dead. But it did survive and now has caught up with the others.

When you finish planting, immediately add a good 4 to 5 inches of mulch around the plant, covering the entire hole at least. Water it in well, and never again unless you're not getting reasonably regular rain.

Emeralds are great low maintenance plants. They're worth a bit of extra effort in the beginning. If it survives, you can brag for years about your great bargain! If not, it was cheap education. :)