Planting Trees

1. Planting Trees • Dave Pohlmann • GPRA Tree Coordinator • Richmond Tree Steward March 1, 2016 1

2. At the end of this session you should be able to: • Identify the best time to plant trees • Name the types of nursery stock, and the pro’s & con’s of each • Identify the tools most commonly used in planting trees • Describe the hole to be dug for a planted tree • List actions to take before and after planting a tree • Plant a bare-root tree • Plant trees safely and properly, with an excellent chance they will prosper! * Slides with an asterisk in the upper right corner indicate Illustrations, PowerPoints or photos by Edward F. Gilman, Professor, Environmental Horticulture Department, IFAS, University of Florida 2

3. Entertainment 1/26/15 But First … A Word of Caution 3

4. Found on the Internet … • “Roger suggests tying drip- irrigation bags to the tree and refilling them everyday.”1 • “Spread superphosphate and 3-4-3 fertilizer onto the soil pile…” 2 • “… we believe that pruning back a bareroot fruit tree at planting time by 1/3 will help lessen the transplant shock…” 3 • “Use about half of the excavated soil to mix with an equal amount of peat moss, brewers compost or some other type of organic matter.” 4 • “Contrary to popular practice, it is best to plant your tree in a square planting hole rather than a round one. This encourages the roots to find the corners and angles of the planting pit and penetrate its new territory.” 5 4

5. Found on the Internet … • “Roger suggests tying drip- irrigation bags to the tree and refilling them everyday.”1 • “Spread superphosphate and 3-4-3 fertilizer onto the soil pile…” 2 • “… we believe that pruning back a bareroot fruit tree at planting time by 1/3 will help lessen the transplant shock…” 3 • “Use about half of the excavated soil to mix with an equal amount of peat moss, brewers compost or some other type of organic matter.” 4 • “Contrary to popular practice, it is best to plant your tree in a square planting hole rather than a round one. This encourages the roots to find the corners and angles of the planting pit and penetrate its new territory.” 5 . 5

6. Types of Nursery Stock • Container • Balled & Burlap (“B&B”) • Bare root 6

7. Types of Nursery Stock Container B&B Bare Root

8. Nursery Stock Pro’s & Con’s 8

9. Nursery Stock Pro’s & Con’s . 9

10. Tools of the Trade • You will want to have these available, even if not all are used every time: • Spade • Mattock/Pick axe • Fire rake • Rake • Pliers/ Wire cutters • Stake driver • Hand saw/ trowel with cutting edge 10

12. .

13. Before Planting the Tree • Locating the root flare • Finding major structural roots • Eliminating any girdling roots • Root boxing • Removing any wires, string, burlap 13

14. Remove excess soil * • Remove excess soil from the top of the root ball. Three inches of soil and media were removed from the top of this ball.

15. Find the top-most root * • The point where the top-most root meets the trunk of the tree should be no more than 2 inches deep in the root ball.

16. …it’s sometimes deep in root ball *

17. Desirable root ball * • The point where the top-most root emerges from the trunk is at the surface.

18. Root ball quality * Remove excess soil Good-quality root ball Poor quality root ball • (RIGHT) Too much soil on top of the root ball can indicate a poor-quality root ball. • (LEFT) Trees with the top-most root near the surface of the root ball have more of a root system.

19. Treating root defects * • Cut or spread out any circling or kinked roots growing up above the top-most root.

20. Defects at top of ball * • Remove media from top of root ball and cut circling and crossed roots

21. Circling roots – cut them, or tear up the edge of the root ball to spread roots out *

22. Cutting circling roots * • New roots will grow quickly into backfill soil following cutting and stem girdling roots are less likely to form.

23. More circling roots

24. Example of a “fishhook” root

25. Defects can be inside root ball * • Be sure to look for roots that circle when trees were in a smaller container • These are difficult to cut because they are hidden in the interior of the ball.

26. * Trees with circling root defects are often found leaning or fallen after a storm.

27. Balled-in-burlap trees * • Burlap should be removed from the bottom of the trunk and the top of root ball.

28. Remove all synthetic burlap * • Synthetic burlap melts into a plastic goo while real burlap flames and turns to ash when lit. • If burlap is synthetic, be sure to remove all of it with a pruner, knife or other sharp blade.

29. Synthetic burlap can girdle roots * • Roots grow through artificial burlap with little difficulty, but as the roots attempt to expand in diameter, they become girdled or strangled. • Each of these roots is very easy to break off at the burlap because there is very little wood that developed through the burlap.

30. Wire baskets * • Baskets made from heavy gauge wire are often used to help keep a root ball intact during shipping and handling. • There is no research documenting the detrimental effects of wire baskets on trees.

31. From “The Right Way to Plant a Tree”, TCA Core Course Module On: Best Planting Practices for Long-Lived Landscape Trees

34. “Boxing” • Prior to planting, it’s a good practice to remove the outer roots by sawing vertically through the root ball. From “The Right Way to Plant a Tree”, TCA Core Course Module On: Best Planting Practices for Long-Lived Landscape Trees .

35. Digging the Hole • How deep? • How wide? • What shape should the hole be? 35

36. * • Measure the distance between the top most root and the bottom of the root ball. Dig the hole to about 90 to 95% of this depth.

37. Dig the planting hole as wide as possible * • The planting hole is at least 1.5 times the diameter of the root ball. • This provides loose soil for the expansion of new roots. .

38. Planting the Tree • Lifting the tree into the planting hole • Positioning the tree 38

39. Lifting tree into the planting hole * • To avoid damage when setting the tree in the hole, lift the tree with straps or rope around the root ball, not by the trunk.

40. Position the tree in the soil * • Many professionals agree that it is better to plant the tree a little high than too deeply. • When the top-most root is too deep in the root ball, set the top of the ball several inches higher than the landscape soil to adjust as shown above.

41. TOO DEEP! - add soil to bottom of hole *

42. Effect of planting depth on stress after planting * • Soil intercepts water meant for the root ball causing roots to dry out.

43. This tree is planted too deep This tree is planted correctly *

44. Straighten the tree * • Before adding backfill, be sure to check that the tree is straight by looking at it from two perpendicular directions.

45. Planting on a Slope • When planting on a slope, plant "out-of-the-hill" by adjusting the grade around the planting hole • When planted "into-the-hill" (left diagram) roots on the uphill side will be too deep, slowing root establishment and growth. From Colorado Master Garden Program, “The Science of Planting Trees”

46. Planting on a Slope * • Notice that the uphill side of the ball is even with the soil and that soil was added to the downhill side (see arrow) to cover the side of the root ball. This guideline prevents the tree from being planted too deep. .

47. After Planting the Tree • Adding soil/ backfill • Watering • Mulching • Staking? • Fertilizing? • Pruning 47

48. Moderately pack the backfill soil *

49. Water the backfill to settle *

50. Without water … With water …