How to Plant Trees Correctly - Simple Tips for Success

Fall is an excellent time to plant trees, but don't throw away your investment by failing to plant it correctly. Follow these simple tips for the highest chances of success. Be sure to watch landscaping contractors too - I've had landscapers plant large trees with the root ball still burlapped - at the time I didnt know any better and they told me it would biodegrade - but the tree roots grow around inside the ball in the meantime and ended up strangling itself - I just had to pull up an entire hedge of bay laurels that had been planted this way and were dying. What a waste!

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8. Techniques for Successful Tree Planting
By Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator

Healthy trees contribute to the beauty and the value of your home landscape. Select and maintain trees with these tips.

Select hardy species with typically few problems with insects or diseases, and plant them in a site that meets their requirements for drainage, soil pH, sunlight, moisture, etc. Avoid problem-prone trees -- those with serious insect and disease problems and weak wood or branching patterns that make them susceptible to storm damage. Hardiness refers to a tree’s ability to survive a normal winter in your area. Marginally hardy plants might live through a series of mild winters or survive in a sheltered area, but they are unlikely to perform as well as plants native to our region. Make sure the planting site gives the tree room to reach its mature size.

Plant properly. Dig a large planting hole and place the tree at the same level it was growing at in the nursery. Be sure to remove all non-biodegradable materials from the trunk or root ball before planting, and redirect or remove any roots growing around the root ball -- they may eventually girdle and kill the plant. Water to settle soil around the roots -- hard tamping can compact the soil and damage the roots.

Water newly planted trees during dry weather for the first growing season or two after planting. Limited root systems make them more vulnerable to drought, and drought stress can, in turn, make them more susceptible to insect attack and other problems.

Stake and guy wire newly planted trees as needed to prevent wind damage and promote quick establishment of a sturdy, supportive root system.

Protect landscape plants from damage by lawn mowers, string trimmers and other landscape equipment, as well as herbicides and other lawn and garden chemicals. Mulching around landscape ornamentals keeps the lawnmower at a safe distance. It also helps conserve soil moisture and reduce the frequency of watering during dry weather. Keep herbicides out of the root zone of landscape trees as much as possible. If you must use them, apply them in the fall when woody plants are growing less vigorously and so are less likely to take up and suffer damage from such chemicals.

Avoid using deicing salt around landscape plants. Place sensitive plants away from roadways where airborne salt spray or salt in the root zone can injure them, and avoid piling salt-laden snow or ice near plants.

Remove broken, dead or diseased branches promptly and properly. Leave no stubs or ragged bark that could give insects or diseases a place to get established.

Fertilize established plants every year to keep them growing vigorously, and water even long-established trees in extended dry periods.

Avoid changes in the growing site that may damage roots or alter drainage. Protect trees from injury to bark or roots during construction.
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Source: November 2009 Edition of the Acreage & Small Farm Insights Newsletter from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln (UNL) Extension Acreage team, a monthly electronic newsletter providing new and established acreage owners with timely information. Visit the Acreage & Small Farm web site at http://acreage.unl.edu