6.1 Shrub planting
This section relates to the planting and replacement of all horticultural plants, except trees.
6.1.1 Site Preparation
Where planting is to take place on existing soil, the contractor shall cultivate to a minimum depth of 300mm, removing all weeds, rubbish and stones greater than 25mm diameter, and dispose of at a licensed tip. A pre-planting spray of approved herbicide shall be applied in suitable weather conditions where required by the Roads Authority.
6.1.2 Amelioration
The Contractor, prior to planting any material, shall incorporate and evenly distribute into the soil surface an appropriate shrub fertiliser such as Fisons Tree and Shrub Planting Compost or SAI Enmag, or other approved fertiliser or compost.
6.1.3 Plant Quality
All plants shall be of the species, size and quality as approved by the Roads Authority. Substitution of species shall only be permitted upon submission by the Contractor of evidence that a particular species is not available. Any substitution shall be of similar species and variety to the original and shall be subject to the approval of the Roads Authority.
Plants shall be well formed and healthy with vigorous roots, have several stems originating from, or near, ground level and shall be of reasonable bushiness, well-grown, established and shall have been transplanted or pot-grown in Britain for a minimum period of 12 months prior to uplifting. All shrubs shall comply with British Standard 3936 – 1: 1992.
Where the Contractor supplies the plant material the Roads Authority reserves the right to approve and inspect the material at source. Any material rejected by the Roads Authority will be required to be replaced at the full expense of the Contractor.
The Contractor will be required to provide material, which is acclimatised to the local conditions. Species groups shall all have securely fixed to them identification labels.
6.1.4 Planting
Planting shall take place during the period October - March. Planting outwith this period shall only be undertaken with the authorisation of the Roads Authority. When this occurs only pot-grown material, which has been in the pot for a minimum period of one season shall be accepted.
The Contractor shall ensure that the time between lifting and collection of plant material at the nursery and the planting on site shall be kept to a minimum and whilst lying on site awaiting planting, all plants shall be covered with damp sacking to prevent dehydration of foliage and roots, kept in shade and protected from wind and frost.
Planting shall not be permitted during periods of drought, frost, or cold drying winds or when the ground is waterlogged.
The Contractor shall prepare an adequate hole to accept all plants. In the case of bare root materials, roots shall be inspected prior to placing into the planting hole. Any damaged roots shall be pruned as necessary. The plant shall then be carefully placed in the planting hole, separating and spreading roots as necessary to finish at ground level at the base of stem and back-filling around roots with soil compacting evenly in 100mm consolidated layers leaving no voids.
All containerised plants shall be thoroughly soaked prior to planting. Solid containers shall be removed and mesh or net-type containers shall be cut open on one side if not fabricated of a biodegradable material.
Following planting the Contractor shall ensure that the bed is finally raked over leaving a reasonable level finish with no footprints. The Contractor shall leave the entire site in a tidy state leaving no pots, bags or any other extraneous material.
The contractor shall be required to undertake the watering of all horticultural features being planted or replanted within this section, this being undertaken immediately after planting in, in such a manner that the whole surface of the ground receives adequate water to penetrate to a depth of 75mm and paid for at rates included in the schedule of rates.
6.1.5 Mulch
All Shrub beds shall be treated with pulverised bark mulch following re-planting. The Contractor shall evenly spread a bark mulch to the approval of the Roads Authority over the available area at a minimum settled depth of 75mm.
6.1.6 Establishment maintenance
Maintenance of newly planted areas shall be the responsibility of the contractor for a period of twelve months from the date of practical completion of the landscape works.
During the first growing season following planting, herbicide application shall be restricted to spot treatment only. Any damage resulting from this treatment in the first year shall be held as a responsibility of the Contractor who shall then undertake to replace damaged material with identical species. The following maintenance programme shall be adopted on a frequency of a monthly visit:-
All areas shall be hoed, or hand-weeded as appropriate and all rubbish, litter and weeds removed from site
Plants loosened by maintenance operations, vandalism, frost or wind, shall be firmed up.
Suckers and dead or broken twigs shall be carefully removed back to source with a sharp knife and all pruning works carried out in accordance with the species.
All areas shall be watered ensuring that the area is saturated to a depth of 75mm, as and when necessary.
During the first year establishment period of the newly planted material, the Contractor shall inspect all material and undertake to replace all material which has been damaged, diseased, vandalised, or does not meet the specification, with fresh material. This work shall be undertaken at the Contractor’s expense prior to the new planting being accepted into the routine maintenance regime.
Note: These webpages are for reference by developers of housing and employment sites in East Lothian. They provide guidance on transport infrastructure against which Planning Applications will be assessed and evaluated, and set out East Lothian Council's procedures regarding the construction and adoption of new roads in accordance with current legislation. These pages supersede all previous versions of our Standards for Development Roads document. Revisions 01/07/2023 Document release