closeup of a hand holding a white container with a small red rose planted in it

How to Grow and Maintain Young Shrubs

susan martin | march 24, 2025

You’ll notice as you shop our website that we offer all of our shrubs in one quart-sized containers, denoted as QT Pot on each plant record. Since this may be a smaller container than you’re used to purchasing at our retail garden center, here are a few tips on how to handle these young shrubs the first season or two as they are getting established.

Advantages of Starting with Quart-Sized Shrubs

Readily Available – We typically stock quart-sized shrubs all season and can often replenish our supply if we run out. That’s not the case with larger eight inch/gallon-sized shrubs of which we stock a more limited number. If there’s a particular shrub variety you really want, you’ll likely find it in a quart-size.
More Economical Shipping – Because quart-sized shrubs are lighter than gallons and we can fit more in a box, they tend to bear smaller shipping fees. That leaves more money for buying more plants!
Easier to Plant – Since their root ball is smaller, it is easier to plant quart-sized shrubs than larger ones. You won’t need to dig such a large hole, which is important if you are planting amongst tree roots or in a mature garden.
Easier in Containers – As you’ll read below, we recommend growing many types of quart-sized shrubs in containers the first year. They are easy to fit in most containers you likely already own, while leaving space for companions that first year.

A gallon size and quart size container, showing difference in size between the red roses planted in them

The Trade Off

When you start with quart-sized shrubs, you are using the size a professional grower would normally use to produce mature potted plants over a period of a year or two. Therefore, you’ll need to play the role of the grower during this time. You’ll save money, but trade your time and effort in return.

This can be a very rewarding experience! Follow the growing tips below and your young quart-sized shrubs will grow up to be gorgeous garden plants.

What to Do When Your Quart-Sized Shrubs Arrive

Water your young shrubs when they first arrive, then set them someplace in the shade until you are ready to plant. Monitor them carefully, as plants growing in small containers tend to dry out quickly. You may need to water them daily, especially if they arrive in the summertime.

We do not recommend leaving a shrub in a quart-sized pot all summer and into the winter. There is simply not enough room for root development in such a small container, and the thin walls of a grower pot won’t offer much protection from the cold. The goal should be to plant your new quart-sized shrub within a week or two of receipt. If you must delay planting in a permanent location, pot it up into a larger one-gallon container so it can begin to grow new roots.

Where to Plant Young Shrubs

You’ll want to plant your quart-sized shrubs someplace where they will not get overtaken or trampled while they are still small. If planting in the landscape, space them far enough away from other plants that they won’t get shaded out or overrun. Placing a tomato cage or similar support around them can keep them from getting stepped on or chopped up by the lawnmower.

It’s easy to underestimate how much space your young shrub will need once it matures. It’s best to follow the spacing recommendations listed on the plant label from the very beginning so you won’t need to transplant them once they are more established. If they look awkward growing all by themselves that first year, you can fill in the space around them temporarily with annuals.

A great place to plant young shrubs is in containers, especially if they are slow-growing like most evergreen plants. Transplant them from their original into a one-gallon or larger one in the spring, then relocate them into your landscape in late summer or fall. If you are growing other plants with them in containers, make sure they won’t overtake or shade out the young shrub. For instance, you wouldn’t want to plant vigorous Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum® petunias with a young shrub in a container.

Trimming Young Shrubs

Since you are playing the role of the grower for the first year or two, it’s best to trim your quart-sized shrubs several times during that period. Since we trim our shrubs at our greenhouse before they arrive on your doorstep, they shouldn’t need pruning again for a few months. Take care not to prune any evergreen shrubs after midsummer. Learn more about pruning evergreens. Your efforts will be rewarded when your new shrubs develop a full, well-branched shape that you’ll enjoy for their entire lifetime.

hand holding a white container with proven winners branding and a small trimmed shrub in it

Blue bag of Espoma organic bio-tone starter

Feeding Young Shrubs

When your quart-sized shrubs arrive, they will already have slow-release fertilizer mixed into the soil. This should suffice for the first year as they are getting established in your landscape. To encourage strong root development, you can add Bio-Tone® to the planting hole at the time of planting. In year two, you can fertilize your young shrubs with standard shrub fertilizer like Plant-Tone®, Rose-Tone® or Evergreen-Tone®.

Watering Young Shrubs

As mentioned above, you’ll want to water your young shrubs when they first arrive and keep the soil moist while they are waiting to be planted. Once in the ground, they should be more self-sufficient since in-ground soil tends to retain moisture better than potting soil. Keep the soil moist, but not wet, the first season while they are getting established, then water them as usual along with the other plants in your garden.