Lance Walheim, author of the book “Landscaping for Dummies,” says trees are the hardest working part of our environment. They filter pollutants out of the air, they provide wildlife habitats, they prevent erosion and rain run offs. Trees can also save you money. If you plant deciduous trees on the east and west side of your house, the summer shade they provide will cut your air conditioning costs by up to 25%.
When planting a tree make sure you dig the hole properly. You want to make sure you dig just deep enough so that when the root ball goes in it is just an inch above the surrounding soil. You want to make sure the hole is twice as wide as the root ball. When you fill it in with the soil you dug up you want to create a little watering basin that will really direct the water to the root ball when you are watering. Lance says then he likes to apply about two or three inches of organic mulch. This is going to conserve water by cooling the soil and it’s also going to prevent weeds. He adds you don’t want weeds or lawn grass going up against a young tree because that will slow the growth of the tree. You want to properly stake the tree. When you buy a tree in the nursery a lot of times it will be tightly tied to a bamboo stake. Take that stake off when you plant and then to take two strong stakes on either side of the root ball. Use a flexible material to tie the trunk. The object of that is to allow the trunk to sway in the wind so that it becomes stronger and as it does you will be able to take those stakes down sooner.
Newly planted trees can be stressed a little and that attracts insects and we also have the invasive pests. Lance recommends BioAdvanced 12-month tree and shrub protectant feed. You don’t have to spray, you just apply it to the base of the trunk following label instructions. It is absorbed into the tree and works from the inside out and give you protection up to 12 months.
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