How to Help Your New Trees Survive
Adding trees to your yard will not only help add beauty to your landscaping, but it will also benefit the entire world. Trees are sometimes called the ‘lungs of the earth,’ and planting more is always an admirable goal. But there is more to planting a tree than just digging a hole.
If you want your trees to grow successfully for years to come, be sure to give them the best start possible by planting them at the right time and in the right way. Here is what you should know about how and when to plant your trees for the best chance of success.
Choosing the Right Time of Year
Realistically, you could plant a tree any time of year as long as you are able to dig the right planting hole. However, if you want to give your new tree its best chance of survival, aim to put as much time as possible between planting your tree and the start of the summer season. This allows your tree time to establish its roots during the cooler dormant season, when its energy is not focused on producing new growth, giving your plant a better chance of survival when the summer season begins.
Preparing the Hole
Digging the best hole for your tree is extremely important. Be sure to prepare the soil far enough around the tree so that the roots can spread and grow properly. If the soil is not loosened and prepared properly far enough around the new tree, your new tree may act like a container plant.
As a result, its roots could end up circling around the prepared area instead of spreading. This could end up leading to a slow death for your new tree. Before putting your new tree in the ground, check the roots for any signs of roots circling around the root ball and gently loosen the roots to allow them to spread.
Be sure to prepare a hole that is at least three time wider than the current roots, but no deeper than the plant is used to. Planting your tree too deeply may result in overwatering and root rot, potentially causing disease.
Consider keeping around 25 percent of the root ball above the soil level, building up the soil to cover the roots. Initially, the top of the root ball may dry out quickly, so it may be useful to build up a temporary water basin to help encourage water to penetrate deeply into the soil. If this water ring has not settled on its own, remove it at the end of the second growing season.
Using Mulch
Once your new tree is planted, you will want to keep the roots moist and watch the tree carefully for any moisture stress, especially after very dry or hot weather. To help keep the roots of your new tree moist, it may be helpful to apply a two- to four-inch-deep layer of mulch around the tree.
Mulch can aid in retaining moisture in the soil, keeping out weeds, and keeping the temperature of the soil more constant. Be sure to keep the mulch away from the trunk. Mulch that touches your tree trunk can cause stem rot and damage your new tree.
Adding Organic Matter to the Soil
Though previous advice often suggested that the soil around the tree be amended with organic matter of some kind, like manure, compost, or peat moss, research has changed the thinking in this area. Rather than mixing native soil with organic matter, experts now suggest keeping the backfill strictly made up of native soil.
This strategy helps to encourage your tree to spread its roots throughout the native soil surrounding it, rather than limiting its growth to the amended soil in the immediate planting area. Your tree will thus establish deeper and wider roots, making it more stable, and it will likely be healthier and experience better growth.
Pruning after Planting
When planting a new tree, you may be tempted to prune away some of the branches to compensate for root loss or transplant shock. However, experts advise that little if any pruning should be necessary immediately after planting your new tree.
You may wish to prune away any dead or injured branches, or those that show signs of disease. But consider that this may be a sign of an unhealthy tree, and it might be worth your while to instead exchange your tree for a healthier plant that is more likely to survive.
However, if you plan to prune for structural development, especially if your tree has apparent structural issues once planted, you should prune to correct this upon planting. Structural issues will become increasingly more difficult to correct as the plant continues to grow, so it is best to take care of these issues early.
