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Rule #1: Green Side Up
I?ve wanted to write an article on planting trees for a long time. Getting plants into the ground the right way can make such a difference in long-term health. Mistakes made when planting can kill a tree, sometimes within weeks, sometimes years later. So, here are some thoughts on doing it right.
If rule #1 were ?green side up?, rule #2 would have to be ?don?t plant too deep?! So many otherwise healthy young trees are killed through the entirely unnecessary practice of planting too deep. The root system, which has developed to the height of the plant in the container, becomes smothered by soil placed on top of the rootball, and the moisture of soils against trunk tissue invites disease and decay. The worst part of it all is that it takes extra time and extra labor to plant it too deep.
Simply dig the hole to the depth of the soil in the container, no deeper. The extra effort involved in digging deeper should be redirected towards digging the hole wider. A current industry standard calls for holes dug three to five times the width of the root ball, and in this case, wider really is better. The extra width of loosened soil allows for easier root penetration, and can make the difference between a tree with wide spreading and supportive roots, and a tree that is, in effect, pot-bound, and likely to fail.
The edges of the planting hole should slope out at approximately a 45-degree slope. This is to help encourage eventual root penetration into the surrounding harder soil. The way this works is that when a root hits a hard surface, one it cannot penetrate, it redirects it?s growth. If the edge of the planting hole is perpendicular to the roots direction of growth, it is much more likely to turn completely around, and grow back in the direction from whence it came. Roots have a tendency to follow the principle of nature in that they will follow the path of least resistance. That is why the sloping planting hole works. When the root hits the edge of the slope, it is much more likely to travel upwards, rather than back in, and in so doing, hopefully will find a place of lesser resistance, penetrate, and move out into the surrounding soil.
The same basic principle applies in scarifying the edge of the hole when soils are clayey. A hole dug in clayey soils will often have a glazed edge, a smooth and relatively impervious wall to roots. Simply strike down upon the edge of the hole, with the blade of a shovel, all around the hole, and the roots are much more likely to achieve penetration.
After the hole is dug, a drainage test should be performed by simply filling the hole with water, twice. The reason for doing it twice is because the first filling of the hole might be deceptive, as surrounding dry soils can suck the water from the hole. Once the first filling has drained out, and the surrounding soil is nice and moist, fill it again. If it takes more than 12 to 24 hours to drain, you might have some serious drainage problems to contend with. These problems can be overcome by breaking through the impervious layer, providing drainage through the use of drainpipe, or, to a lesser extent, by simply planting high. In really bad cases, you might even consider an import of soil throughout the site, though this certainly is a lot more work. One other point I want to make with the double filling of holes with water before planting is that this practice insures the surrounding soils are nice and moist. In the same way a dry soil will suck water from the hole, it can also quickly suck moisture from a root ball. Even after you?re satisfied with the drainage on the site, each planting hole should be filled with water, at least once.
The over-digging of soils brings to mind the question of soil amendments. Should you use amendments, and if so, which ones? I really believe that the answer to that lies within a soil test. Without a soil test, the best you can hope to do is guess right. Now, I will confess, I have planted many trees and other plants without testing, but all things considered, it sure is nice to know before hand.
If I don?t know the soils well, I at least have a pretty good idea on the needs of the trees. As with so many other things in the sometimes-bewildering world of horticulture, I?ve developed a simple approach in deciding how to amend soils. If the tree is a desert tree, that is, it grows naturally in desert conditions, I tend to minimize the amendments I use. If it is a non-desert tree, the amounts of amendments I use increase substantially.
This leads naturally to the question of whether or not to incorporate organic matter into the backfill mix. This has been a topic of some contention ever since I?ve been involved in horticulture. Some swear that it?s a waste of time and money; others say it?s a very valuable and helpful practice. For what it?s worth, here?s where I stand on the issue.
My basic premise is that I want to try to create a growing medium, or soil, that is akin to that which the tree naturally grows in, in it?s native environment. Desert trees naturally grow in desert soils, which are typically very low in organic content. Non-desert trees grow in soils much more likely to contain higher percentages of organic matter. When I?m planting the latter, I typically do incorporate a well-decomposed organic amendment, at a volume of approximately 20 ? 25%. With desert trees, I usually mix a little in, typically in the 5 ? 10% range. One of the reasons I use some organic matter with desert trees is to minimize the soil interface between the almost pure organic matter of the root ball, and our very inorganic native soils. A soil interface is a drastic and immediate change between soils. A severe interface can often inhibit air, water and root penetration from one soil type to the other. The use of organic matter when planting desert trees can reduce the negative effect of the interface.
I have also developed my own combination of fertilizer amendments I use, if I?m not certain of the soil I?m dealing with. They include the use of sulfur, a phosphorous source (usually bone meal, super triple phosphate, or a combination of the two) and some 3-12-12 with the micronutrients of manganese, iron and zinc. Following the earlier mentioned principle, non-desert trees get more, and desert trees get less, far less. All of the amendments, both organic and fertilizer, should be thoroughly mixed with soil from the hole, and used as backfill.
Once the tree is in the ground, and the backfill is in place, settle the soil using water. Build a temporary reservoir all around the former hole, at least 3 ? 4 inches high. Fill it up with water, and allow the water to gently settle the soil around the root ball. This technique is far superior to stomping the soil down, or slamming it in with the handle of a shovel, especially if the backfill is moist. Such a practice can eliminate a lot of macropores, (larger spaces between soil particles), where oxygen resides. Use water to settle the soil.
One final thought on successful planting techniques. Do not unduly disturb the root ball. The act of planting is stressful on a tree, in that there is at least some disruption and damage to the many fine ?feeder? roots. A little bit of gentleness can go a long way here. With plants in plastic pots, simply push gently all around the pot, pushing the soil away from the plastic. Once the sides have been loosened, push up on the bottom of the pot, and the plant should slide right out. If it doesn?t, just repeat the procedure. Do not grab the poor tree by the ?throat? and yank it out of the can. And don?t beat the hell out of the can either.
Remember too, it?s at planting time that you have the best opportunity to inspect and correct unfavorable root conditions, as I detailed in an article just a couple of months ago.
Happy planting, folks.
If rule #1 were ?green side up?, rule #2 would have to be ?don?t plant too deep?! So many otherwise healthy young trees are killed through the entirely unnecessary practice of planting too deep. The root system, which has developed to the height of the plant in the container, becomes smothered by soil placed on top of the rootball, and the moisture of soils against trunk tissue invites disease and decay. The worst part of it all is that it takes extra time and extra labor to plant it too deep.
Simply dig the hole to the depth of the soil in the container, no deeper. The extra effort involved in digging deeper should be redirected towards digging the hole wider. A current industry standard calls for holes dug three to five times the width of the root ball, and in this case, wider really is better. The extra width of loosened soil allows for easier root penetration, and can make the difference between a tree with wide spreading and supportive roots, and a tree that is, in effect, pot-bound, and likely to fail.
The edges of the planting hole should slope out at approximately a 45-degree slope. This is to help encourage eventual root penetration into the surrounding harder soil. The way this works is that when a root hits a hard surface, one it cannot penetrate, it redirects it?s growth. If the edge of the planting hole is perpendicular to the roots direction of growth, it is much more likely to turn completely around, and grow back in the direction from whence it came. Roots have a tendency to follow the principle of nature in that they will follow the path of least resistance. That is why the sloping planting hole works. When the root hits the edge of the slope, it is much more likely to travel upwards, rather than back in, and in so doing, hopefully will find a place of lesser resistance, penetrate, and move out into the surrounding soil.
The same basic principle applies in scarifying the edge of the hole when soils are clayey. A hole dug in clayey soils will often have a glazed edge, a smooth and relatively impervious wall to roots. Simply strike down upon the edge of the hole, with the blade of a shovel, all around the hole, and the roots are much more likely to achieve penetration.
After the hole is dug, a drainage test should be performed by simply filling the hole with water, twice. The reason for doing it twice is because the first filling of the hole might be deceptive, as surrounding dry soils can suck the water from the hole. Once the first filling has drained out, and the surrounding soil is nice and moist, fill it again. If it takes more than 12 to 24 hours to drain, you might have some serious drainage problems to contend with. These problems can be overcome by breaking through the impervious layer, providing drainage through the use of drainpipe, or, to a lesser extent, by simply planting high. In really bad cases, you might even consider an import of soil throughout the site, though this certainly is a lot more work. One other point I want to make with the double filling of holes with water before planting is that this practice insures the surrounding soils are nice and moist. In the same way a dry soil will suck water from the hole, it can also quickly suck moisture from a root ball. Even after you?re satisfied with the drainage on the site, each planting hole should be filled with water, at least once.
The over-digging of soils brings to mind the question of soil amendments. Should you use amendments, and if so, which ones? I really believe that the answer to that lies within a soil test. Without a soil test, the best you can hope to do is guess right. Now, I will confess, I have planted many trees and other plants without testing, but all things considered, it sure is nice to know before hand.
If I don?t know the soils well, I at least have a pretty good idea on the needs of the trees. As with so many other things in the sometimes-bewildering world of horticulture, I?ve developed a simple approach in deciding how to amend soils. If the tree is a desert tree, that is, it grows naturally in desert conditions, I tend to minimize the amendments I use. If it is a non-desert tree, the amounts of amendments I use increase substantially.
This leads naturally to the question of whether or not to incorporate organic matter into the backfill mix. This has been a topic of some contention ever since I?ve been involved in horticulture. Some swear that it?s a waste of time and money; others say it?s a very valuable and helpful practice. For what it?s worth, here?s where I stand on the issue.
My basic premise is that I want to try to create a growing medium, or soil, that is akin to that which the tree naturally grows in, in it?s native environment. Desert trees naturally grow in desert soils, which are typically very low in organic content. Non-desert trees grow in soils much more likely to contain higher percentages of organic matter. When I?m planting the latter, I typically do incorporate a well-decomposed organic amendment, at a volume of approximately 20 ? 25%. With desert trees, I usually mix a little in, typically in the 5 ? 10% range. One of the reasons I use some organic matter with desert trees is to minimize the soil interface between the almost pure organic matter of the root ball, and our very inorganic native soils. A soil interface is a drastic and immediate change between soils. A severe interface can often inhibit air, water and root penetration from one soil type to the other. The use of organic matter when planting desert trees can reduce the negative effect of the interface.
I have also developed my own combination of fertilizer amendments I use, if I?m not certain of the soil I?m dealing with. They include the use of sulfur, a phosphorous source (usually bone meal, super triple phosphate, or a combination of the two) and some 3-12-12 with the micronutrients of manganese, iron and zinc. Following the earlier mentioned principle, non-desert trees get more, and desert trees get less, far less. All of the amendments, both organic and fertilizer, should be thoroughly mixed with soil from the hole, and used as backfill.
Once the tree is in the ground, and the backfill is in place, settle the soil using water. Build a temporary reservoir all around the former hole, at least 3 ? 4 inches high. Fill it up with water, and allow the water to gently settle the soil around the root ball. This technique is far superior to stomping the soil down, or slamming it in with the handle of a shovel, especially if the backfill is moist. Such a practice can eliminate a lot of macropores, (larger spaces between soil particles), where oxygen resides. Use water to settle the soil.
One final thought on successful planting techniques. Do not unduly disturb the root ball. The act of planting is stressful on a tree, in that there is at least some disruption and damage to the many fine ?feeder? roots. A little bit of gentleness can go a long way here. With plants in plastic pots, simply push gently all around the pot, pushing the soil away from the plastic. Once the sides have been loosened, push up on the bottom of the pot, and the plant should slide right out. If it doesn?t, just repeat the procedure. Do not grab the poor tree by the ?throat? and yank it out of the can. And don?t beat the hell out of the can either.
Remember too, it?s at planting time that you have the best opportunity to inspect and correct unfavorable root conditions, as I detailed in an article just a couple of months ago.
Happy planting, folks.
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