Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Tree planting in Fall
Fall is a great time to plant trees.
I’ve seen LOTS of newly planted trees in my neighborhood with those green bags around them. They’re a good idea if you can’t be consistent in your watering practices.
During the first 2 weeks of planting, watering every day is critical.
And a schedule continues from there up till frost. Check this past Garden Bite for more information on a watering schedule. And while you’re at it, check out this Garden Bite from a few weeks ago on CHOOSING trees.
Trees are often planted too deep.
I have an Ancestry Oak that was planted by a volunteer group and, according to Arborist Faith Appelquist of Treequality, it was planted to deep. At a couple of years old we dug out around the trunk.
Planting too deep leads to girdled roots and early death. Do not bury the root flare. That should be just above ground. In the above instance, we dug out around the tree down to the root flare.
Digging a whole at least twice as wide loosens up the soil surrounding the plant so the roots have their best chance to grow.
One item you should consider is to use a root stimulator, mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizal fungi have occurred naturally in the soil for 400 million years. They form a close symbiotic relationship with plant roots.
In the past, staking newly planted trees was recommended by experts.
But I just recently read in my Northern Gardener Magazine, an article that doesn’t recommend it because people were leaving the stakes on too long and too tight around the main trunk, strangling it. The University of Minnesota Extension has much more information on staking trees.
But what if your new tree is wobbly? Planting properly and tamping down the soil around the tree, compacting that soil WILL help hold it but
If you need to stake it, use soft cloth and tie it so there’s wiggle room.
Trees naturally sway in the wind, give them that opportunity. Finally, MULCH. A good 6 inches and in a donut not volcano!
