Urban Orchards : Planting Your New Trees

Contents:
Spring planting
Fall planting
Planting instructions
Plant Labeling

Spring planting:

Trees can be planted in early spring, as soon as ground has thawed enough to be worked (usually late March) and before bud break in early May. If done early enough, the plants will benefit from early spring rains and cool soil temperatures (40-50 F), conditions which promote root growth.

If the weather is dry (light showers, but no significant rainfall, and soil is dry 2” below the surface), water your plants every other day for the first 3 weeks and twice weekly for the second 3 weeks. Water them deeply once each week from week 7 through August, but stop watering after the beginning of September to avoid inducing vegetative growth that will not harden off before freezing temperatures set in. Resume watering schedule in the spring.

Fall planting:

Fall planting is done in mid-fall (around October), when leaves begin to turn color and before freezing night temperatures set in. Late fall rains and cool soil temperatures (40-55 degrees Fahrenheit) promote root growth, and plants require less water (due to reduced photosynthesis and low water evaporation), so they are less likely to suffer or die from root loss during transplanting.

If the weather is dry (light showers, but no significant rainfall, and soil is dry 2” below the surface), water twice weekly, stop watering after the beginning of November to avoid inducing vegetative growth that will not harden off before freezing temperatures set in. Resume watering schedule in the spring.

Planting instructions:

Keep plants well shaded before planting.
Make sure to keep the root mass moist during transport and while the hole is being prepared.

For freshly dug, balled and burlappedplants, wrap the root mass securely in wet burlap.
For shipped 'bare root' plants, allow the roots to soak for a few hours in a bucket of water before planting.

Dig a hole twice the width of the plant's root ball, keeping topsoil, subsoil, and rocks separate from each other. Shake out sods into topsoil pile and save.
If called for by a soil test, mix any soil amendments (rock phosphate, greensand, or other slow-acting, organic fertilizer) with topsoil. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers.<.li>
Place sods in bottom of hole and cover with a few shovels-full of mixed topsoil and compost (compost is not strictly necessary, but a good idea if available).
Place the plant in hole and hold it vertically while splaying the roots out evenly in all directions. If potted and badly root-bound, cut one side of the root mass or otherwise gently free some of the circling roots so they can grow outward. Make sure that the trunk flare will be above the final soil line. If there is no obvious flare at the base of the trunk (as can be the case with whips and younger stock), then place the soil line no more than 1/4 inch above where the roots begin.
Sometimes trees are planted at the nursery with trunk flares buried. If this is the case, you should still plant your tree as described above and prune off the roots growing at or above the trunk flare.
Add the remaining topsoil, distributing it evenly around the plant. Make sure that the roots remain splayed out. Periodically, check and adjust the level of the plant to be sure the final trunk flare remains above the soil line.
Add the subsoil last (roots should be in the good soil, with the less fertile soil on top where nutrients and organic matter can be added in later years).
Construct an earthen basin (brim) around the base of the plant, 1-2' from the trunk, to retain water around the plant. Use rocks from the hole to support the walls of the basin and help protect the plant from lawn mowers. If the tree doesn't like “wet feet” and site is full of clay or has standing water anytime during the year, make a mound and plant on it, still leaving a slight depression at the top, like a crater, so you can water when needed.
Water plant deeply, several times. Even if the soil is wet, watering helps settle soil around the roots so air pockets cannot form and dry out the roots. It can help to water several times while you are filling in the hole.
If in a high-wind area, or if roots are weak (dwarf tree) and much smaller than the top, support/protect the plant by staking it with 3 or 4 wood or metal stakes, and twine or wire (do not bind the plant tightly around the stem/trunk).
Install a rodent (and lawnmower) guard – a circlet of ½” wire mesh, 10 to 18” high (or to typical depth of snow if applicable), fitting loosely around the base of the trunk. Guards protect trees from weed whackers, mowers, pets. In snow country, guards keep rodents out as meadow voles tunnel out of sight of predators.
Mulch around the base of the plant with hay, leaves, bark, or wood chips. Mulch should be 2-4" thick if using dense material (such as wood chips) and 3-8" if using light (such as leaves, or hay/straw), and 2-3' from trunk (ideally mulch should reach to the dripline – the furthest lateral reach of the plant's canopy), and should not contact trunk.
Check the label for correct information and location. The label should be hung securely but loosely from a lesser branch. On a branchless plant, the label should be above the soil line and clearly visible on stem.

Recommendations are for acidic low-fertility soil. It is always best to test the soil. Urban soils often need no lime and excess fertilizer is a pollutant. Also note there are some differences between this figure and the above planting instructions.

Additional planting tips:
Planting of bare root, or transplanting, is best done when the tree or shrub is dormant – not actively growing. If this can't be done, the tree should be heeled in, that is, temporarily set in moist soil, sand or compost. If heeled in, plant the tree out as soon as possible, or at ½” green at the latest, or a bit later if some of the soil clinging to new roots of heeled-in trees can be kept on the root. Potted trees can generally be planted at additional times when bare root trees cannot be. However, if tree is actively growing and next year's buds have not yet fully formed, it is best to wait until the growing slows or stops (next dormant season). Best results will occur when roots can establish in cool, rain-moistened soil (40-55 degrees F). Second best is watered soil in the same temperature range (in tropical and subtropical areas, the ideal soil temperatures are a bit higher). If winter temps. normally fall below -5 degrees Fahrenheit, it is usually best to plant in very early spring, when forsythia and red maple bloom. If fall plantings are done, it should be well before soil freezes, and you should mulch heavily (a 8” diameter wire mesh cylinder around the trunk will prevent fungal or rodent destruction). If winter minimum temperatures are between -5 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit, plant bare-root trees and shrubs in either fall (Oct-Nov) or spring (Mar-Apr). If winters are mild (minimum around 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit and typically warm days well above freezing, as on much of West Coast, lower elevations in Southwest, and deep South), January and February are best months for planting bare root trees. Any time tree is dormant is acceptable, but in dry-summer areas the easiest and best is after winter rains start (which soften the soil and reduce or eliminate need for watering until dry spells). Potted trees should not be planted after the end of the rainy season.

Plant labeling:

Warning: Forgotten labels are a major destroyer of otherwise sound trees. Wire or twine can girdle the trunk, sever the cambium layer and vascular tissue (cutting off water and nutrient supply), and can actually cut a tree down.

Reasons for labeling:

Labels are an on-site record of type, variety (important information if plant will eventually need a pollinator), whether it is a graft or a seedling, source (the nursery from which it came - helps track disease if necessary), and year planted.
A brightly colored label or several stake encircling the plant improves visibility, protecting the plant from lawnmowers, and from being accidentally cut down (especially important in parks, urban wilds, and schools).

Method:

Labeling a branch – attach the label to a forked branch, close to the main trunk, and secure it loosely (you should be able to insert finger between label and branch).
Labeling the stem/trunk (no branches) – attach the label to the stem/trunk, 6” above the soil line, and secure it loosely (you should be able to insert finger between the label and the branch).
Using stakes – drive three or more into the ground a few feet from the trunk. Tie string from stake to stake (but not to the plant) for added protection.