Trees

Because I have an exam coming up, I'm trying to read up on what I can about tree care. I think the single largest problem with trees are well-meaning people. Of 'course, knowing me, I'm always ready to jump on the blaming of humanity, but in this case I really do think I have some back-up.

Trees have been the center of our existence for thousands of years. We've gone from worshiping them and using them as a center of our religious/spiritual beliefs to setting them on fire by accident with candles, or cutting them down for display, or choosing the most expensive ones we can to place in our yards. They're everywhere, from a financial symbol to a spiritual one to one of refuge or comfort - and one of fear and avoidance when things go wrong. Go through a few hurricanes or a tornado and see how much you suddenly love trees. I watched one fall toward me while I stood in my house, once. Due to the dark and the speed of the fall, I couldn't judge how close it would come to me. I just watched it. It was beautiful, actually. The shading was great, the grace as it fell was mesmerizing; it fell about 5 feet away and barely touched our little porch, but that pecan tree was magnificent. (It fell on our neighbor's Rolls Royce, which we'd told him to move and he thought putting it in a field would be bad for it. Yep.)

The biggest rule I've come across is to not deep plant your tree. This is seconded very closely by carefully pruning, which there are hundreds of books on and the methods keep getting updated. I can't exactly discuss pruning nearly as clearly as the planting methods, which is really okay. In certain trees, deep planting could leave the tree completely dead in 1-5 years. I base this off of a study from Dr. Wells at Clemson University, who had a control set which did perfectly fine. I know she used cherries; I can't remember what the other was, but the deep planted cherries perished almost immediately. The second followed closely afterward. The trees planted correctly were just fine.

Why is this? Well, a lot of tree seeds that actually make it and germinate in the woods, or whatever, tend to have a given system of how things work. The roots will keep to the first 1-3 feet of soil, generally, because they need well-drained soils (as a general rule; I'm not talking about bog trees, obviously). That tree knows roughly where the soil is supposed to be.
People, however, either just don't know what they've done or don't think there's a line to draw when it comes to planting depth. In farming situations, soil can be pushed up onto the trunk and cause deep planting; people in suburbia tend to create mounds of mulch or straw, thinking that the tree needs that much more comfort in their little hole. It's a nice idea, but it'll literally suffocate your tree. It needs that exposure to the air for gas exchange; in other words, the tree is missing lungs but it does breath.
We're told as children that trees are amazing for oxygen output, but the truth of the matter is that the thing just uses both oxygen and carbon dioxide depending on what it needs to do.

So, my recommendation? If you get a tree, dig a nice, wide hole for it. I mean wide. If it's a 1ft wide root ball, then dig a circle around it that's a good 4ft wide. Compact it just a little - tamp it down with a shovel or something, to prevent settling. I don't mean crush it - standing on it would be too much. Your alternative to this would be to dig your hole very wide, water the dirt you add, and add more dirt to compensate for the sinking effect. I get ahead of myself, though.
Your root ball may be 8 inches, we'll say. Dig down 8 inches. Don't dig a foot, or 4 inches, or whatever. How do you know how far to dig? The root ball begins with the top-most root, which you should definitely find before planting. That's the line your dirt should start. If you can't ID a root, I suggest Googling the tree you have and finding it. There will be SOMETHING that helps. Please do this. If you mess this up, the tree could have a lot of problems - or die in a year or two, leaving you sad and alone and miserable about your loss. And such.

So, you've dug down 8 inches, but in a 4 foot diameter. Why? Compacted soil will restrict root growth. The easier it is for it to spread, the better, and this won't really restrict anchorage. The tree will slowly fit to its surroundings, and, if it's happy, you shouldn't have to do too much. Put your tree where you want it, and fill in with dirt. Water it. Fill in with more dirt, until the sinking effect is limited. Do not put mulch or dirt against the tree - the arborist here on campus leaves 6-12 inches of clearance between the trunk of his trees and the mulch, and this is all trees.

Water the tree often. I mean 1-3 times per week, depending on rainfall. If it's small, I'd do this for 6-8 months if given the chance. I've done this, actually, and my little maple is quite happy (not sure I want him to stay there but he's hoping..Maybe he will.)
Don't walk around it. I mean, if you have to, mulch the areas it needs protecting. The weight of a human could easily restrict outward growth of roots and essentially confuse it. Adding mulch has that added effect of putting in organic matter, which is great for growth. Keep the depth between 2-4 inches, though; otherwise, it's just a waste of time. This can be done up to twice a year, and I'd recommend fall and spring, personally.

Don't fertilize transplanted trees. I don't really fertilize at all, at this point, and won't until I fully understand a lot of the angles associated with it. The soil type near you is reason enough to leave that alone. Be careful with adding compost: if it's done correctly it's generally great, but you could over-add Phosphorous, which can cause discoloration and damage.
If you must fertilize later, please actually go through the soil sample stuff and find out what you're missing. At this point, it is crucial to actually be very careful with fertilizers, as runoff is truly a serious issue.
If you want to reuse animal waste, apart from rabbits I'd recommend letting it sit for 8-12 months - especially chickens, which are very heavy in urea. In places with acidic soils, epsom salts (about 2tb for a gallon, dissolved) can help with deficiency issues. Liming is always the easiest, and I haven't heard (yet) any good reasons not to (except cash, obviously). If you're going to do that, though, do so before planting and reapply yearly, as the acidity will return.

Or, here's a novel idea: buy a tree that fits your soil type and then you don't have to amend anything, especially if you are using pure water to hydrate on a regular basis (as opposed to city water, which can alter the acid/base levels).

In general, transplant things in a dormant period when the soil won't be frozen. Don't hold it by the trunk, or drop the darn thing - it is alive, after all. If the tree needs to wait after being delivered, keep it wet.
If it's bare root, which is what some companies ship as, put it in a bucket of water for a day. The thing will need to take up what it can before being placed in the ground, and it'll prevent brittle roots and help with transplant shock.

There's more on things like this, like how to trim the parts of the tree that shouldn't be there, or how much of the tree shouldn't be trimmed (ALWAYS retain 2/3 or more of the canopy, as the tree needs the leaves to make food. And don't compensate for trimming the limbs off by cutting roots - that's just silly.)



Just this alone may help people realize that there's a lot that one doesn't think of. I can say that, because I've planted trees and never considered stuff like this until I took some classes. If you're planning on planting, especially something that may be near people or homes or other structures, consider making sure you are up to date on information about it. Always feel free to contact the local extension center - those people can talk for hours (trust me) but they know a lot.
Please water your trees. I mean it. Water them, even if they're dormant. For each inch of diameter of the trunk, it takes a year or so for the tree to become used to living where it's moved. It takes a long time to adjust, and until that time they really need to be babied. It'll lead to some lovely trees - and not dead ones.