How to plant a tree

How to plant a tree

You might think planting a tree is pretty self explanatory. Well, for the most part, it is. But there are a few steps you should take to make sure that it's done correctly and to make sure your tree will thrive after planting.

1. Digging

• You will want your hole so that the rootball is 2/3 the size of the hole. (ie: if the rootball is 20 inches wide, make sure your hole is 30) This will give the rootball a nice barrier between it's own soil and the soil it's about to go into. Make sure the hole is deep enough for the rootball PLUS a few inches. This will be explained in the next step.
• Height: you will want the ground level of the hole to match up with the trunk where it flares out and forms roots. An easy way to do this is to measure your rootball, bottom to flare, and lay your shovel across the hole so you can see exactly where the flare needs to be. burying the flare too low can cause all sorts of problems, mostly root rot which can damage the tree, sometimes severely.
• Once the digging is complete, raise the bottom of the hole a few inches in the shape of a mound. This will give the rootball a little pedestal to sit on. The reason this is important is because of watering issues. If you dig a typical hole thats lowest point is in the center, then you drop your tree in the hole, excess water will gather right at that point and could drown the tree. So this mound is meant to create almost a moat-like protection from flooding.
• If you have tough, packed dirt or clay, scoring the sides of the hole with a rake, shovel, or just your hands will help the tree adjust from its current soil to it's new soil. With highly compacted ground, the roots may try to keep growing in the soil it came in because they can't penetrate the ground. This scoring gives them a nice transition into their future dirt.

    2. Prepping the tree

• Depending on the size of the tree, these instructions will tell you what steps you will need to take before planting
• Large trees usually come wrapped in a burlap sack, which is pretty simple to remove. YOU MUST have the hole dug and ready before you unwrap the tree. Exposing roots to sunlight and wind for too long can cause the roots to girdle, dry out, and sometimes die completely. So, the faster you get it in the ground after unwrapping, the better. 
• Small trees can come wrapped, but mostly will come in a pot. Same deal as above, but its easier with smaller trees. most of them you can just tip right out of their pot and put directly into the hole.
• Once the tree is out of its bag/pot, set it immediately into the hole and give it some water. About a gallon for every foot of height.

     3. Planting the tree

• So far we've dug the hole, scored the sides, built up a little pedestal, and set the rootball right in the center of it. Now you need to start packing in the topsoil you dug up. You want to avoid any weeds, turf, or any other object that isn't plain old dirt. When filling the rest of the hole with dirt, try to keep it somewhat loose. Packing it in hard can choke off the tree or make it hard for the roots to extend. After you get the dirt in, give it another good watering. 

     4. Just about done!

• Some things to remember:
• Mulch/compost can benefit your new tree in many ways. The obvious reasons being that it helps keep a more constant moisture level and prevents weed growth. Some not so obvious ones: mulch will also make it unnecessary to weed whack around the tree, which is important because those little knicks you put in the trunk can harm the tree more than you think. The mulch will also help airflow in the ground. without grass or weeds growing, the soil can stay somewhat loose. This will help the tree by allowing more nutrients to stay in the soil around the tree.
• Staking: Newly planted trees DO NOT always need to be staked. Unless you have wind or soil erosion issues, odds are you won't need to stake it. Any more questions about staking, please read my last article

And last but not least, enjoy watching your new tree thrive!

pictures courtesy of:

duaemanus.blogspot.com/2009/04/planting-fruit-trees.html

dnr.state.oh.us/Home/education/howtoplant/tabid/5114/Default.aspx

How to properly stake a tree

How to properly stake a tree

Good work!!

Staking your tree is a good way to balance it after planting. Most of the time, however, it's not necessary for healthy trees. Staking really only needs to be used when the root ball of the tree being planted is too small to be able to support the top growth. If you plant a tree that you carried by yourself, then odds are high that you do not need to stake it.  Too many gardeners stake a tree that does not need staked, and it can actually cause more bad than good.

Staking trees improperly can cause quite a few problems for the tree in the future. When new trees are staked and unable to sway with the wind, it results in a weaker, skinnier trunk. A staked tree will generally grow taller with a more slender trunk and this can make them more susceptible to breakage and damage when they are finally exposed to the full force of the wind. 

The proper use of staking is to keep the tree from moving too much while the roots are being established. The ropes that go around the tree are not supposed to completely immobilize the tree. That just prevents the tree from reacting to the environment. And even at that, this is supposed to be a temporary situation, a year at most. The stakes should come out after the tree is well established. 

If you are not sure whether you need to stake your tree or not, take a look at the size of the root ball compared to the canopy. The root ball should be 1/3 or greater the size of the canopy. If it's smaller than that you may want to stake it. If not, then it will be fine as is.

Thought I'd post some pictures i took of incorrectly staked trees. If your staked tree looks like these, you're doing it wrong.

Bare metal wire directly on the bark? You're doing it wrong.

What happens if you leave it staked too long? This.

This tie is doing absolutely nothing for the trees stability. It's also wearing the bark off the trunk.

I moved these posts away from the tree and the bark was completely scratched off. Not good.

Fall Pruning

It's finally starting to get cold! I don't know about you but I'm under a blanket as I'm writing this. That means that were getting close to Autumn, and that means it's almost time to bust out those shears, clippers, and trimmers.

You can trim anytime you want, but the best times to trim would be in the spring and the fall. The reason for this is that without leaves covering your trees and shrubs, you can deal directly with branches and limbs. This makes it easier to keep everything nice and tidy. Also it gives you the power to basically tell the tree where you want it to grow out and where you want it to let new growth in. Decorative trimming is not hard to do and just takes a little perspective and imagination. If you're looking for a cheap way to make your yard look awesome, trimming up shrubs like arborvitaes, junpiers, boxwoods and birdsnest spruces may be the best option.

How much did this cost? Probably a day of shaping. Worth it.

With the leaves being off the tree, it may also be easier for you to find any diseased or infected limbs and remove them. This works great with many different tree diseases because there are several diseases that reinfect the new leaves the next year. We don't want that. Not after all the work we've done to keep the diseases at bay. Look for discolored or spotted branches and remove them promptly. This may help get rid of an infection the next year or at least give the tree a chance to fight it off.

Now would also be a good time to increase the structural integrity of your trees. Some tips:

•  when you're trimming branches off not to trim them flush with the trunk. You want to leave about an inch of the only branch there. 
• if you want to stake a tree, the fall is the best time to do it because you can get further into the tree, making sure not to break any surrounding branches with the cables
• trimming off braches that grew irregularly, causing the tree to tip or bend can be trimmed off at "v crotches" along the main trunk. 

photos from nexus backgrounds