Trees and shrubs can be planted
in the fall or the spring. Spring planting is preferred if the job
can be completed before summer. In the
fall, plant trees and shrubs early enough to allow them to become
established before the soil freezes. Established plants take in
moisture through root hairs in contact with the soil and will likely
survive winter without injury.
Another reason to avoid late planting
is that trees and shrubs planted relatively late in the fall will
be sitting in freshly disturbed soil that
will allow frost to penetrate down to the roots, likely causing
winter injury.
Many nurseries deliver trees and
shrubs with bare roots, though some arrive in containers. In this
article, I will limit my comments to handling
bare-rooted trees and shrubs. When the plants arrive, open the bundles
to check the condition of the roots. If
the roots are dry soak them in water immediately.
Heeling In:
Dig a trench with a sloped side
(about 45 degrees) and pile the earth from the trench on the side
away from the slope. When the plant materials
arrive, open the bundles and lay the trees and/or shrubs in the
trench against the sloped side. Place the earth
you removed from the trench over the roots and up the stems to provide
winter protection. If the soil is dry, apply water. If you
have ordered different varieties, spread the plants out slightly
in the trench and drive in individually labelled stakes so that
you can identify each plant.
The Planting Operation:
During the planting operation,
avoid exposing the roots to drying conditions. Place
the roots in a container of water or cover them
with moist burlap. Do not use polyethylene; in direct sunlight,
heat increases dramatically under a polyethylene
cover, and the roots may be damaged.
Dig the holes immediately prior
to planting. In our climate, exposed soil dries out very quickly,
and there is a hardening around the surface
area that can cause later difficulties. If this happens, take a
spade and break up the hard surfaces inside the hole and around
the top.
Each hole should be large enough
to receive the entire root system of the tree or shrub without cramping
or bending the roots. In digging the hole,
place the topsoil and the subsoil in separate piles. The soil should
not be wet. Throw about 3 cm of topsoil into the bottom
of the hole where the roots will sit.
Set the plant in the hole 3 to
5 cm deeper than it was in the nursery. The area of the stem that
was underground in the nursery will be
lighter in color. In handling grafted or budded material, always
hold the plant below the graft to avoid breakage
Holding the plant in an upright
position, slowly ease topsoil around the roots. It is advisable
to have a helper for this operation. While
one person holds the plant upright, the helper can place the topsoil.
Very gently agitate the plant to shift the soil in under the roots.
This assures good contact between the roots and the soil.
When the topsoil is in place, tramp
it in well to firm it. Then fill the hole with water. If the soil
is quite dry, fill the hole with water again,
after the first application has drained away. When the water has
soaked in, fill the hole with subsoil, leaving a depression around
the tree or shrub to catch any rain that might fall and to facilitate
watering. Do not tramp the subsoil in place; it will act as a
"dust mulch" to prevent the upward flow of water from
the lower layer of soil around the roots.
After Planting:Trees and shrubs
should be pruned immediately after planting. This will compensate
for root loss that took place during the
lifting, shipping and transplanting operations.
The final step in planting most
materials is to make a plan of the plantations and then remove all
wire identifying labels that would likely
girdle and injure the plants at a later date if left in place. It
is wise to stake single-stemmed trees into position so that they
do not whip around in the wind.
