Golden threads - Ask Extension
Planting 5 golden threads (24 in) plants in front of brick porch wall.
How deep ,what kind of soil in the holes with root ball & how often should...
Knowledgebase
Golden threads #928491
Asked April 15, 2026, 2:21 PM EDT
Planting 5 golden threads (24 in) plants in front of brick porch wall.
How deep ,what kind of soil in the holes with root ball & how often should I water.
Planted same last year-They all died.nursery said too close to brick wall and because the brick got hot it transfered to plants...is that possible. We're in Rock Hall 21661
Ty
Kent County Maryland
Expert Response
Can you please specify which plants you are referring to? Several different plants might be called "golden thread." Is it 'Gold Mop' threadbush (botanical name Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera)?
Yes, it's possible that the plants were put too close to a wall and that reflected and radiated heat from the wall added to the plant's stress and contributed to their loss. Additionally, the loss of any plant during its first few years in the ground is often tied to water...too much (over-watered) or too little. If you are growing the shrub mentioned above, they mature quite large (in a decade or two, most forms of that plant can easily reach 5 to 8 or more feet tall and at least 6 feet wide at the base). They should be planted a minimum of 4 to 5 feet away from a wall or solid fence to have room to mature without becoming crowded, needing pruning (they do not recover well from heavy or repeated pruning to constrain growth), and to give their roots enough space to spread.
For any plant being planted, dig the planting hole only as deep as the current size of the root ball, but at least twice as wide. So if a plant's root mass, once removed from the pot, is about one foot deep and one foot wide, the planting hole should only be one foot deep but about two (or more) feet wide. This is because roots head mostly outwards away from the plant's main stem(s) and not very deep, and digging a wide hole loosens the soil around the root tips that helps them to establish faster.
Guidance for watering can be found on our Watering Trees and Shrubs page. Essentially, you water only as often as the soil gets dry enough, so in feeling the soil around five inches deep next to the roots, you'd water any time the soil has become somewhat dry to the touch at that depth. Make sure the roots are well-loosened upon planting (do not keep the root ball in a solid mass, if it comes out of the pot that way, which is called "pot-bound" or "root-bound"), because otherwise it can hamper establishment and make it harder to water since the potting mix inside the root ball is going to drain and dry out much faster than the surrounding soil.
Miri
Yes, it's possible that the plants were put too close to a wall and that reflected and radiated heat from the wall added to the plant's stress and contributed to their loss. Additionally, the loss of any plant during its first few years in the ground is often tied to water...too much (over-watered) or too little. If you are growing the shrub mentioned above, they mature quite large (in a decade or two, most forms of that plant can easily reach 5 to 8 or more feet tall and at least 6 feet wide at the base). They should be planted a minimum of 4 to 5 feet away from a wall or solid fence to have room to mature without becoming crowded, needing pruning (they do not recover well from heavy or repeated pruning to constrain growth), and to give their roots enough space to spread.
For any plant being planted, dig the planting hole only as deep as the current size of the root ball, but at least twice as wide. So if a plant's root mass, once removed from the pot, is about one foot deep and one foot wide, the planting hole should only be one foot deep but about two (or more) feet wide. This is because roots head mostly outwards away from the plant's main stem(s) and not very deep, and digging a wide hole loosens the soil around the root tips that helps them to establish faster.
Guidance for watering can be found on our Watering Trees and Shrubs page. Essentially, you water only as often as the soil gets dry enough, so in feeling the soil around five inches deep next to the roots, you'd water any time the soil has become somewhat dry to the touch at that depth. Make sure the roots are well-loosened upon planting (do not keep the root ball in a solid mass, if it comes out of the pot that way, which is called "pot-bound" or "root-bound"), because otherwise it can hamper establishment and make it harder to water since the potting mix inside the root ball is going to drain and dry out much faster than the surrounding soil.
Miri
