Tree Planting: Keys to a healthy tree

Take special care when planting and it will last for generations

A lot of how healthy a tree is comes down to how it was planted. In fact, the majority of problems I see in trees when I’m out consulting or diagnosis problems lead back to poor planting or poor quality stock (trees). Knowing that, picking the best possible tree to plant in your landscape and then taking the time to plant it correctly and with care for those first few years will lead to a lot less care and problems as the tree matures and grows through the generations.

Picking the Right Tree

Choosing a tree species is probably the hardest part because there are so darn many. Not a bad problem to have, but it can present a challenge. For the sake of a shorter article, I’ll just focus on the basics of form and quality of the tree and not the species or features you’ll want to look for. That information can be found in another blog.

The following are things you should look for when picking out a tree: strong central leader, no broken branches, healthy roots, no circling roots, strong root graft, and healthy foliage. If the tree isn’t heathy or strong when you buy it, your wasting your time and money. Start with a great product!

Planting

There is the age old saying “dig a million dollar hole for a million dollar tree.” This is one of those old sayings that holds true. In other words, the better you prepare and dig your hole for the tree your planting the better it will be. And its easy and simple too. Dig a wide shallow hole, place the tree in the hole and backfill with the soil you dug out. Do not add in any fertilizer, different soil, nails, fish, or any other ‘trick’ your grandpa may have told you.

The wider the hole is dug the better your tree will benefit. Its easy to get lazy and just auger a hole or only dig a hole as wide as the root ball. The current recommendations is to have a hole that is 1.5 times wider than the root ball. If planting bare-root, have the width of the hole wider than the longest root and then some. You want the roots to be able to grow straight out away from the tree and not circling at all. If a root is circling  in the hole or from the container, it will continue circling and eventually cause a lot of problems.

The other consideration in digging the hole is for it not to be too deep. As your digging the hole, check to make sure your not digging too deep. Once the soil has been disturbed, you can back fill, but that soil will eventually settle and cause the tree to sink in its hole. Once the tree is placed in the hole, make sure it is not too deep. This is the number one killer of trees or reason trees suffer. The highest root on the tree base should be no lower than a few inches below of the final grade. Often times, trees from the nursery end up with soil piled up next to the trunk. If you plant a tree at that level, it will be too deep. Find the top root and plant according to that level, not the soil level the tree comes with from the nursery. Obviously, bare-roots are easier because you can see the roots, but be cautions because the holes needed to plant bare-roots are surprisingly shallow.

Now that the tree is in the hole, put the same soil you dug out of the hole back in. Do not add anything else. Its that simple. Adding in different soil will change the way the water filtrates through the hole and can cause the hole to either dry out to fast or stay too wet and just lead to a mess of problems. Also, do NOT fertilize or add in anything to “help” the tree grow. This will only cause more problems. Trust me.

Finally, you may need to stake the tree. I say ‘may’ because not all trees will require it. And if you do not have to stake the tree, that is the best thing for the tree. After you have gently tamped down the soil with your foot and watered it in well, check to see how stable it is. If you feel the tree needs staking, don’t secure it down like it’ll blow or run away. The key to staking is to provide it with just enough support so it doesn’t blow over. You want the tree to move a little. The more it can wiggle a little in the hole, the faster it will establish roots were it needs. The other major key to tree staking is to remove it no later than one year after the tree was planted. A whole bunch of problems are related to staking being left on too long.

Tree planting is the most important part to a trees longevity and health. Follow these few simple, but very important tips, to having a string healthy tree and ultimately saving you money down the road.