Success With Trees!

 

Remove grass in a 3 to 4 foot diameter circle.  Dig your hole the same depth as the root ball, no deeper, and dig the hole at least 6” wider than the root ball.  Set the tree in the hole and check to be sure that the root ball is as high or higher than the surrounding soil.  Break up the soil from the hole, mix with soil amendments if desired, such as Nature’s Blend compost, but no more than ¼ amendments to ¾ native soil.  Do not put straight potting soil or compost into the hole.  Backfill around the roots, settling the soil by gently tamping, or filling hole with water as you fill with soil.  Do not put any soil on top of the root ball.  Insert agriform fertilizer tablets if desired, and cover the roots with mulch, no more than 2” deep at the trunk.  Stake tree to resist wind if necessary, but remove stakes as soon as possible, don’t let the wire or rope cut into the tree as it grows.  Water as required for that variety, most new mesquites die from too much water, most new oaks die from too little.  A new oak should be watered every day, if we get a heavy rain skip only the day its raining and water the next day!  Frequent heavy soaking and regular fertilizing makes oaks grow.  Ask us about the water requirements of other trees.  Do not let grass grow under new trees for the first 3 to 5 years.  Do not allow mowers or string trimmers around new tree trunks.