Keeping Your New Tree Alive
When planting a new tree on
your property, it is most
important to plant it in an area where you
can water it
often.
Urban and city street plantings often contract
with commercial
water tankers to water their
young trees regularly.
Frequent Watering Is The Secret
Frequent watering is the key to keeping
your tree alive
and
happy.
Watering it weekly throughout the growing
season is the
most important thing
you can do for your
tree.
Water daily during the hot summer
season. Do not let
the tree
dry out.
Trees purchased from local nurseries
usually vary in
trunk diameter of up to 3-4 inches or more (measured at
breast height).
The larger the trunk diameter, the longer it takes for
the tree
to recover
from transplanting shock.
Therefore, it may be wise to choose a smaller tree but
of
course it
takes a longer time for it to reach the size
you want.
Difference Between A Container-Grown
And A B&B Tree
Nursery-supplied
young trees are usually available in
pots or
balled-and-burlapped ( B&B). Balled-and-burlapped trees are grown in the ground,
root
pruned, then carefully dug up
and the root ball is
wrapped
up in burlap to retain the root ball. Field-grown, balled-and-burlapped trees have proven
to have
a higher survival rate than
container-grown
trees.
Here's How You Can Tell If Your Tree Is
Healthy
First, buy your tree from a reputable source. Carefully examine
the roots after taking the tree out
of the
growing container. If
balled-and-burlapped,
cut slits all around
the burlap to allow new roots to
grow
through.
If you see
knot-like structures on the roots, do not
hesitate to discard the plant
immediately. Never put
diseased plant material into your compost bin. The plant may be infested
with the root knot nematode which is very difficult to control once it
gets into your soil.
Check for signs of rotting
roots. Cut back all the brown
and decaying roots to healthy ones.
Healthy roots are
white in color.
Rub your finger along the roots. The outer layer of the
root
should
be firm and not slough off easily.
Also prune out all roots that appear to be
circling around.
If not removed, these circling roots will eventually
strangle
the main
root to death.
Check the leaves. Are the leaves normal in appearance
in color
and shape?
If the leaves appear wrinkled and have an abnormal
mottled color, it may be infected with a plant virus. Look at the main and side shoot tips. It
should not
appear curled
up and wrinkled.
Before planting, prune off
about 1/4 of the shoots to
compensate
for root loss. This decreases plant
stress
from loss of roots
during this transplant activity.
Make A Big Hole For The Tree
Select a good site for the tree. Make sure that
the area
has good
drainage. It makes good sense not plant a sun-loving
tree in the
shade.
The next important thing you can do for the tree is to
dig a
hole almost
twice as wide and almost as deep as
the size
of the root ball. In other words, the hole should be worth twice as much
as
the tree. Mix the back-filled soil 1:1 with well-rotted manure or
compost.
You should not mix or apply any commercial
fertilizer at this
stage. A newly planted tree is not able to utilize any
fertilizers.
In fact, it can suffer
from
fertilizer burn which can kill the
tree.
Mix compost with the back-filled soil - and
the soil that
came with the tree. This is important to plant the tree with the soil it
came in because this soil contained live native mycorrhiza fungi
and other microorganisms that it is adapted to.
Your tree will thank you for it.
.Source:
Gilman, E.F. 2001. Effect of nursery production method,
irrigation, and
inoculation with mycorrhiae-forming fungi on establishment of
Quercus virginiana. J.Arboric. 27(1):30-38.
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