How to plant with the technology of Groasis?

If you plant trees with the Waterboxx®plant cocoon, you can get a survival rate of more than 90% and water savings of 99%. Even if you plant in climates with minimum rainfall; on dry, eroded and rocky soils and even while planting with temperatures of more than 40C! But, to receive those numbers, you have to plant trees with the Waterboxx® plant cocoon in a correct way.

On this page, we will teach you step by step how you have to plant with the Waterboxx® plant cocoon. If you have other questions, please read the pages that you can find on this website or go to our FAQ.

What do you need to know before planting?

Before you start planting, you must be sure that the young tree or plant has downwards growing pen roots. This is critical while planting. If you have pen roots that grow horizontally, please follow the instructions in this video to cut them correctly.

To watch the video of the instructions below, please click here to watch the planting of trees in the desert of Dubai.

Step 1a

How to prepare a planting hole WITH compost with the Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology

01 Some soils are so poor and have no water holding capacity, so you may consider to add compost.
02 You make the planting hole 50 cm deep but do not touch the soil below it in order to leave the capillary canals intact
03 You add 20 liters of compost and -or old manure; take care to avoid too high salt content.
04 Put the compost and -or old manure in the hole
05 Add soil through the compost and -or manure mix a layer of 35 cm so that your planting hole remains 15 cm (six inches) deep.
06 The mixing process
07 The result after mixing the compost and -or old manure with the soil
08 Then add 40 liters of water; check the salt concentration of the water before use.
09 Let the water enter the soil for 24 hours.
10 Next day open the soil to let in oxygen.
11 Let the oxygen enter for a few hours.
12 After a few hours the soil is ready to plant.

Step 1b

How to prepare a planting hole WITHOUT compost with the Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology

01 Make the planting hole 15 cm deep - do not dig deeper. Leave the capillary canal structure below it intact.
02 Add 40 liters of water if the soil has no water holding capacity - 20 liters if it has.
03 Let the water enter the soil for 24 hours.
04 Next day: open the soil to let in oxygen; and after a few hours, you can start planting.

Step 2

How to assemble the Groasis Waterboxx® plant cocoon

01 Assemble the Waterboxx: put the wick in from the inside and pull it with a pliers.
02 Put 12,5 cm (5") inside, and 12,5 cm outside between the edges.
03 The wick must be placed in the direction of the middle opening.
04 The wick is well placed.
05 Add the isolating plate; this keeps the water temperature low and keeps out light, which prevents algae growth.
06 Put the water collecting cover on top of the waterboxx.
07 Click the cover until it is fixed thoroughly.
08 Because of the heat it will expand a lot, so fix it well!
09 The 2010 design had no locking system, so some water could evaporate.
10 Put the two upstanding edges so they fit well in the openings of the lips.
11 Then insert the two siphons that help let a rain shower in, but prevent the water from evaporating afterwards.
12 Fix them well until you hear a click, so no animal can take them out with its teeth or tongue.
13 Now the Groasis Waterboxx is ready to plant.

Step 3

How to prepare good plants with the Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology

01 This is how you repair destroyed primary roots.
02 Compact the top soil of the pot.
03 You cut 3 cm (1") of the bottom of the bag including the roots.
04 You do this because in the bag, the primary root doesn't grow vertically downwards as it should - but horizontally.
06 The primary root that is supposed to grow downwards often even grows upwards.
07 This is how you remove the destroyed part of the root.
08 Detail of the part where the primary root splits into many small roots which are not able to penetrate deep into arid soil or rocks.
09 Detail of removed horizontal part of primary root.
10 Left: OK. Right: the wrong part pruned off.
11 Now you have created a vertically downward-growing primary root.
12 You carefully cut the bag lengthwise.
13 You place the tree with the bag.
14 It is now planted, so you remove the plastic.
15 The pruned primary root will resprout within 3 months with new vertically downward-growing primary roots.

Step 4a

How to plant WITH compost with the Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology

01 A few hours after opening the compacted drained soil, enough oxygen has entered and you can start to plant.
02 Prepare a horizontal planting bed. Thus, the box stands horizontally which is necessary to catch water.
03 Put the anti-evaporation cover in an east-west direction.
04 This way the sleeve opening is also east-west, so it shades the plants between 10 am and 4 pm.
05 Determine the planting distance.
06 Design of planting distance.
07 Cut 3 cm (1") from the bottom of the bag and roots in order to repair the destroyed primary root.
08 Cut the bag lengthwise before planting.
09 Make the planting holes exactly the size of the pot; this way you keep the capillary structure around the roots intact.
10 Put the two plants aside of each other.
11 After planting, take the plastic off.
12 When using compost mix, don't put plants completely into soil so you have mixture below the developing primary roots.
13 Add soil around them.
14 Cover the plants with sand. Do not use your foot to compact it - do that with water later.
15 To prevent evaporation from the leaves while the roots are inactive, prune the stems to approx. 10 cm (4") length.
16 Prune the tree. Remove all side sprouts. Leave the apical bud intact!
17 Detail of remodeling through pruning.
18 The resprouting you can expect after approx. 3 months; after 1 year, prune it again and leave the strongest sprout.
19 Then put the cover that prevents evaporation through the center opening of the Groasis waterboxx.
20 Add 10 cm (4") of sand on top of the cover.
21 Later pour 4 liters of water in the center opening of the box so this sand will float under the box.
22 Put a little hill-like quantity of sand on the cover.
23 If the box is not well connected to the soil, ventilation will dry out the wick and soil below the box.
24 Detailed photo of bottom of a box not well connected to the soil below - the wick and soil are dried out.
25 Then put the waterboxx over the trees.
26 At last you put sand to the side.
27 Leave the soil around the waterboxx loose; this way you break the capillary and lock up water in the soil.
28 Put the overflow hole just above the soil level.
29 if you have stones, use them to cover the soil to keep it cooler.
30 Then you start to add water.

Step 4b

How to plant WITHOUT compost with the Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology

01 24 hours after adding water, you open up the soil to let in oxygen; and after a few hours, you can start to plant.
02 Prepare a horizontal planting bed; this way the box stands horizontally, which is necessary to catch water.
03 Put the anti-evaporation cover in an east-west direction.
04 This way the sleeve opening is also east-west, so it shades the plants between 10 am and 4 pm.
05 With the carton you have determined the planting distance.
06 Make the planting holes exactly the size of the pot; this way you keep the capillary structure around the roots intact.
07 Compact the soil a bit on top of the pot so as to not lose it while planting.
08 Cut 3 cm (4") from the bottom of the bag and roots in order to repair the destroyed primary root.
09 Cut the bag lengthwise before planting.
10 In this instruction you have no compost mixed, so you put the plants all the way in the sand.
11 Cover the plants with sand. Do not use your foot to compact it - do that with water later.
12 Prune plants to remodel them and to prevent evaporation of water through the leaves before root system is active.
13 Detail of pruning and remodeling.
14 Prune the tree. Remove all side sprouts. Leave the apical bud intact!
15 The resprouting you can expect after approx. 3 months; after 1 year, prune it again and leave the strongest sprout.
16 Then you put the cover that prevents evaporation through the center opening of the Groasis waterboxx.
17 You add 10 cm (4") of sand on top of the cover.
18 Later pour 4 liters of water in the center opening of the box so this sand will float under the box.
19 If the box is not well connected to the soil, ventilation will dry out the wick and soil below the box.
20 Detailed photo of bottom of a box not well connected to the soil below - the wick and soil are dried out.
21 Then put the waterboxx over the trees.
22 You put the sand aside of it.
23 Leave the soil around the waterboxx loose; this way you break the capillary and lock up water in the soil.
24 Put the overflow hole just above the soil level.
25 If you have stones, use them to cover the soil to keep it cooler.
26 Another example of stones around the box.
27 Then you can start to add water.

Step 5

How to add water with the Groasis Ecological Water Saving Technology

1 Then you start to add water. Check water quality - sand in it is no problem; salt in it is not allowed!
2 Do not use a pump with pressure; let the water go by gravity.
3 Add about 4 liters (1 gallon) in center opening by allowing water to overflow the edges. This way, the roots will not wash out.
4 Overflowing the edges to add water indirectly. In this way we compact the soil around the roots.
5 Then complete filling the Groasis waterboxx with 16 liters (4 gallons) of water.
6 Close the cap and the trees are ready to go.
7 The final result of the promising and hopeful work.
8 The Dubai Desert Group planting team wishes you much success!

Step 6

How to
1) prevent root damage from grass and
2) soil from drying out and
3) root damage from cracking soil

01 Sometimes you plant in an area with grass that seems dead but isn't.
02 If you plant only 5 cm (2") and not 15 cm (6") deep as prescribed, you'll get grass root problems.
03 Grass roots will go to the wick and absorb all the water - the planted tree will die.
04 Detail of grass roots absorbing water.
05 The grass roots also absorb the wick.
06 The grass roots grow in the wick and along the wick in the waterboxx.
07 Detail of roots growing in the Groasis waterboxx.
08 Details of grass roots blocking the dripping of the wick.
09 Detail of wick blocked by grass roots.
10 Solve this problem by planting the waterboxx deep enough and by breaking the soil around it.
11 Put 50 cm (20") soil loosely around the box. Grass will die, and capillary water will be locked up.
12 Detail of making 50 (20") cm loose soil along aside of the waterboxx.
13 Result: 1) grass will die; 2) soil below will remain humid; 3) soil will not crack.
14 Final result

Step 7

How to prevent collapsing problems of soil

01 Some types of soil shrink when they get dry.
02 This leads to cracks causing the roots to break.
03 Tree growing in cracking soil, destroying its secondary root system.
04 It also leads to collapsing of the soil below the box causing several problems.
05 It causes the box to not be fully connected to the soil.
06 This causes air ventilation to dry out the wick.
07 ...leading to drying out of the soil below the box, and dying of the plant.
08 Also, the middle of the box collapses, the edges fall out of the lips, which leads to evaporation and loss of water.
09 Solve this problem by adding a hill-like 10 cm (4") of soil above the carton cover.
10 Another example of a hill-like layer of soil above the carton.
11 Detail of hill-like layer of soil on carton cover.
12 Another detail of a hill-like cover of soil on carton cover.
13 When you put water in the middle, it will wash this soil between the box and the soil.
14 The final resulting box is deep enough, and the soil around it is loose, which locks up the capillary water.