How to Plant a Shaded Plant Bed

In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook explains how to plant a shaded plant bed.

Planting a shaded garden bed

1. Pull all the weeds from the planting area by hand.
2. Create a planting bed with a loam mixture of compose, sand, topsoil.
3. Rake loam over planting area to a depth of 4 inches.
4. Mix starter fertilizer with superphosphorous and rake it into the loam.
5. Randomly set plants in the planting bed, spacing them 12 to 16 inches apart.
6. Press down on each pot to mark its location in the soil.
7. Dig a hole at each pot impression with a cultivator.
8. Place plants in the holes and backfill to the same depth as in the pot.
9. Set up a sprinkler and liberally water the planting bed for the first two days.
10. After three days cover the planting bed with 1 inch of pine-bark mulch.
11. Water twice a week throughout the summer.

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