Beautify Lumpkin--Plant Trees

Preparing the hole.

• Use your shovel and remove all grass and weeds from the top of the planting area before digging the hole; set them aside. You don’t want grass or grass seeds to re-enter in the hole.

• Once the top layer of grass is removed, dig the planting hole at least twice as wide as the rootball, and slightly shallower. The goal is make the root flare on the tree even with the top of the planting hole. Use your shovel handle to measure.

• Loosen the floor of the hole somewhat to allow for drainage and root growth if the sides of the hole have become smooth as a result of digging (mainly wet clay soils). The sides of the hole need to be loosened to allow for root growth and drainage. Use the shovel blade to score the hole, which means make six or seven notches in the sides and bottom of the hole.

• Make the floor of the hole flat so that the tree stands straight.

Carefully place tree in planting hole, lifting underneath the rootball, NOT the trunk.

• If planting a containerized tree, cut off any roots poking through the pot using pruners.

• Loosen tree inside the pot by lying on its side next to the hole and pressing on the container with your hands or knee; rotate the pot to loosen it on all sides. Remove pot by sliding the pot off the rootball (most easily done if one person holds tree and the other wiggles pot off).

• Inspect rootball for circling roots (these will be woody roots), and cut off circling portion using pruners; make sure to disturb only circling roots. (The non-woody white root tips are used for nutrient and water uptake, and are greatly needed, so cut sparingly!)

• If planting a ball and burlap (B&B) tree, loosen the wire basket by cutting it as low as possible, cut off all ties, and remove as much burlap as possible.

• Place tree in hole and check again that the hole is the right size. Some soil that was in the tree’s roots may have become dislodged while you massaged the rootball, so if the tree is now shorter than the hole, just backfill a little dirt underneath it. Make sure the tree is the right height, and is perpendicular to the ground.

Backfill evenly around rootball using the soil from the planting hole.

• Hold the tree upright in the hole and add the dirt that you dug from the hole. Break up clumps of dirt as needed (easiest to do after they are back in hole, using a shovel to chop ‘em up).

• Remove grass and other weeds that snuck in. We don’t want to grow grass; that will compete with the tree for water and nutrients.

• Gently poke the soil in the planting hole with shovel handle to remove large air pockets that could damage or kill roots, being careful not to press down on or compact the soil. Never stand or stamp your feet on the soil in the planting hole.

• The finished level of backfill should be continuously even and basically level from the edge of the planting hole to the rootball with no more than one inch of backfill covering the rootball.

• Any extra soil can be used to form a berm (doughnut) around the tree to help hold water in!

Mulch the exposed soil.

• Two to four inches thick. But don’t make a mulch volcano, or it will be difficult for the water to seep down into the roots. We want the tree to get water as easily as possible, so don’t be tempted to make a huge mulch mound. Not necessary.

• Wider is better! Take the mulch as wide as you want, but at least to the dripline, which is the tips of the branches.

• Keep the mulch about three inches away from trunk to reduce root rot.

• See Mulching Your Tree for further details.

Water

• Twice, about ten minutes apart, to further settle the soil.

• Pour it on slowly and let it infiltrate.

• Do not pack or stamp wet soil, as compaction of soil air spaces will result.

• Water routinely as needed; we recommend 10 gallons a week for a 10 gallon containerized tree.

• See Watering Your Tree for further details.

Staking and tying

• Position stakes outside the planting hole, in soil that has not been disturbed.

• Use flat belting to decrease damage to the bark and transport systems. Do not use wire or hose to tie the tree.

• Remove ties after one growing season, because unremoved ties will girdle branches or trunk. We repeat: don’t forget to remove the ties!

• Use stakes without ties to protect the tree from lawn mowers and other potential damage (two for narrow strips and a minimum of three evenly spaced around the hole for larger areas).

Prune sparingly

• Remove dead wood, damaged branches, and structural problems.

• See Pruning Your Tree for further details.

Maintenance

• Water and check routinely for damage.

• While young, the tree should be checked for structural problems: crossing branches, crown density, double/multiple leaders, and branches growing toward the street or structures such as buildings, fences, walls and power lines.

Enjoy your new tree! It will provide lasting benefits to your family’s home.