Giving Trees a Good Start

In light of the ?construction? theme of this issue, I thought I would share a few thoughts on how to get your trees off to a good start in your landscape. If you can assure that new trees going into a landscape are of good quality, and properly planted, many headaches and heartaches, (and possibly wallet-aches) can be avoided.
 
Those are the two basic keys: good quality trees to start with, and properly planted. There?s a lot to look at here, so let?s look first at root issues of the trees you buy, and a particular problem that can exist even before you plant them. In the next issue we?ll look at some trunk and branch structural challenges that new trees can have.
 
There?s a litany of potential problems that a tree can arrive to your site with, a few of which are quite common. One of the most common and potentially devastating conditions your new tree can have is girdling or kinked roots. These occur when a plant outgrows the pot in which it?s contained. The roots grow to the edge of the container, hit the impenetrable barrier there, and turn to begin the long circle around the edge, or turn back the direction from whence they came. Because a wide root spread is critical for physical support of the tree, this root condition should be corrected at the time of planting.
 
Sometimes kinked or girdling roots are visible on the soil surface, but it is more often not immediately apparent. It is common nursery practice to start trees in small containers, and transplant them to larger ones as they grow, and they may be left too long in the container at any stage of the process - resulting in girdled and kinked of roots. Check for this even before the plant is removed from the container. The best and simplest way to determine whether or not girdling roots occurred at an earlier stage in the growing process, and now exist within the rootball, is to grasp the tree by the trunk and firmly move it back and forth, while ensuring the container is stationary. If girdling roots are there, you?ll likely see the heave of a ?plate? of soil in the same size and shape as the offending roots. If this condition exists, it can be very helpful to use hard sprays of water to remove a small quantity of soil, thereby providing a better view of conditions there. I prefer to use water to remove the soil, rather than a trowel, for it?s less damaging to the roots.
 
Upon removal from the container, the exposed roots near the edge should also be thoroughly inspected for signs of sudden turns in direction. If girdling roots are encountered here, or earlier in the process, and you?ve made the decision to accept the tree and not send it back, it?s time to correct the problem. Simply cut the root cleanly off just before the point in which it radically turns. A sharp clean cut is very important. A shredded or bruised root is much more likely to die back severely, and less likely to send new replacement roots out. Sharp pruning shears suffice for most cuts, but occasionally loppers can come in handy for some larger roots in boxed trees. Some horticulturists I know will attempt to ?spread? the roots out, but I do not use this approach. I believe the roots are usually so intertwined with one another, that attempting to pull them apart can do so much damage to the small feeding roots that remain behind, that it?s not worth it. I?ve also found that the process of ?spreading? can leave roots bruised and damaged where they were bent, a condition that?s not easily detected, and then those roots die back rather than regenerate.
 
This sort of corrective root pruning that I am encouraging can be quite shocking to a tree, for often large roots are removed, and lots of them. If this occurs, a substantive portion of the trees nutrient, oxygen and water uptake system is eliminated, and the tree is naturally stressed. I?ve even completely lost a few trees because of this practice. But I believe it far better to take the chance early in the life of the tree, while it?s still relatively easy to replace, rather than wait, and potentially lose a promising specimen after five, ten, or more years of growth and care have been invested. Those larger trees that fail because of root problems stemming from ?pot-bound? conditions are also potential safety and liability problems.
 
Also keep an eye peeled for trees that have been very recently ?up-sized?, and are not yet well rooted. The same shake test mentioned earlier usually reveals this condition. Why be duped into paying for a 24? box tree, when that same tree sat in a 15 gallon can just a few weeks or days ago. If your trees arrive this way, and you weren?t informed of and consented to this condition, don?t hesitate to send them back.
 
For those of you in the nursery industry who strive to grow good quality trees, thank you. Unfortunately, your type is apparently too few and far between. I?m honestly tired of dealing with trees that already have two, and sometimes three, strikes against them when they arrive for planting. I am becoming more and more inclined to ship those poor specimens right back to the place from whence they came, and I encourage you to do the same if you?re delivered substandard trees.
 
I?m hopeful this little article will have an impact on how trees are grown. If we as purchasers of trees become aware of what constitutes healthy stock, and we turn away those that don?t meet our standards, perhaps those nurseries out there that make a living growing poor quality trees will change their ways?or go out of business. Stand by your principles of demanding only good quality trees, and that?s what you?ll end up getting.