POINTERS ON PLANTING

T. E. MAKI.

No home owner is too poor or busy or inexperienced to let his yard go treeless. Poor? he can use small trees, which cost little, or he can dig up wildings in the woods. Busy?--he can learn easily the techniques of planting trees rapidly. Inexperienced? he can do a satisfactory job with a little study and observation.

He should first know something about choosing a tree.

ABOUT SIZE : Small trees recover so quickly from transplanting that in a few years they provide shade, effective screening, windbreak, and modification of vistas. No expenditure on the home grounds increases the value of the property so quickly and easily as landscaping with young trees; they are an investment rather than an expense.

We are here concerned with these small specimens, that is, seedlings and trees up to about 3 inches in diameter of trunk, or up to about 15 feet in total height. Practically all the steps in planting small trees apply to both shrubs and large trees, but the latter take special equipment and skill and usually cost more than owners care to spend.

Next, trees must be adapted to the climate and the soil of their new situation and be in harmony with the purpose of the planting.

For screens and windbreaks, it is best to plant evergreens like the spruce, hemlock, fir, cedar, juniper, holly, and similar species that retain live branches close to the base throughout their life.

For shade in the yard, deciduous trees ( like birch, elm, mulberry, red oak, sycamore, and willow) or evergreens (like Norway spruce; live oak; Douglas-fir; white, ponderosa, pitch, and loblolly pines) are suitable. In the open, these species develop spreading limbs and may be pruned from below sufficiently to give good clearance.

In places where species that attain heights of only 40 to 50 feet at maturity are adequate, it is unwise to choose those that grow into giants of 100 feet or more. Later damage from limb breakage and windthrow can largely be avoided by proper selection and location of trees at planting time.

It is better not to plant species like maples and elms directly on lawns. These and some others form a mat of surface roots and are voracious feeders. Much extra watering and fertilizing is required to keep the lawn under such trees green and healthy.

Some trees, like the American elm, have a forking habit of growth that may require bracing later. Others, like silver maple and yellow-poplar, have brittle branches that break easily in wind and ice storms. Pin oak, black-gum, green ash, shipmast locust, red-gum, and similar species have an erect habit of growth, require less space, and withstand wind and ice storms better.

Some species are rapid growers but are intolerant of shade. Frequently that quality characterizes the relatively short-lived species, like aspen, cottonwood, and some of the other poplars. The Carolina poplar, which has been widely used in landscaping, is a poor choice around homes because of its short life and its tendency to clog up sewer lines with its roots.

Do not mix rapid and slow growers in the same grove or windbreak, or else be sure that the slow growers do well under shade.

The trees one selects should be healthy and vigorous. Trees grown in a well-established local nursery are preferable to wild ones or to nursery stock shipped in from great distances. Native species are preferable to the exotic introduced ones, but exotics of proved adaptation may be used freely. Some home owners believe that individuality and beauty require exotic species, but that is not so. A little time spent in observation and inquiry on successfully landscaped grounds in one's own community may be invaluable in getting the right start.

If one does choose wilding stock, open-grown specimens are hardier and easier to dig than stock in dense woods.

SEASON OF PLANTING: Experts can plant trees successfully at almost anytime of the year, but the novice should plant .only in the fall, winter, or early spring, when most trees are more or less dormant. In some localities, fall planting is as successful as spring planting; in others, it may be either somewhat better or decidedly worse.

In the Eastern States south of a line from Boston to Buffalo, Chicago, and Kansas City, and east of a line from Topeka to Corpus Christi, deciduous trees can be moved from the time leaves turn in the autumn until buds burst in the spring, except when temperatures are below freezing. The same holds for the humid coastal region on the Pacific, from northern California to British Columbia.

Within those zones, evergreens may be planted from late summer till late spring, provided they are moved with a ball of earth around the roots.

North and west of the indicated lines, spring planting is recommended for both evergreens and the deciduous plants because severe freezes or dry winds harm the newly reset plants. Exceptions are the peninsula of Florida and the interior and southern parts of California. In those places, evergreens can be transplanted whenever soil moisture is abundant; deciduous trees can be transplanted when they are as nearly dormant as they are likely to become there.

SPACING: In working out the space requirements of the trees, it is well to draw a sketch to scale, showing buildings, roads, driveways, walks, courts, shrubs, flower beds, and whatever else will influence the placement of trees. On this sketch one should plot the areas the trees will need when they are mature.

Common mistakes are to plant too close in an effort to get quick screening effects, to set small trees under windows, to crowd the walls of buildings, and to plant trees where they will eventually block vistas that should remain open. The oft-quoted rule, "plant thick and thin quick," is no good unless one is aiming at natural grove effects, a goal mainly sought only in windbreak plantings.

Some trees, like white oak, live oak, black walnut, and elm, need 50 to 60 feet between the trunks at maturity. Smaller trees, like willow, dogwood, and holly, need about 20 feet. Red-cedar, fir, hemlock, and spruce need 20 to 30 feet, but if they are used for windbreaks they may be planted as close as 8 to 10 feet. Columnar varieties like juniper, Lombardy poplar, and arborvitae frequently need only 6 to 8 feet. A Sunday afternoon's stroll through a park or an open grove in the country will yield enough information on bole size and crown area of mature trees of several species. The basic point to remember is to plant far enough from buildings, walks, and driveways to obviate costly moving or much pruning when the trees are big.

PREPARATION OF THE SITE: The usual advice is to transplant a tree in soil at least as good as the soil in which it previously grew. That advice is sound enough where it can be applied, but planting stock frequently comes from rich, well-drained nursery sites and has to be reset in inferior soil. In such instances, some site preparation is essential.

Drainage is of first importance. Sometimes heavy clay soil or hardpan is encountered at the bottom of the planting hole, but is fortunately underlain by sand or gravel. If so, puncture the compacted layer several times with a large soil auger, post-hole digger, or similar tool and fill the resulting holes with gravel. This will permit water to percolate downward into the pervious sand or gravel layer beneath. For small seedling stock, a 3- to 5-inch layer of gravel at the bottom of the hole is all that is needed.

If the soil is especially tight and is not underlain by a sand or gravel layer, the use of agricultural tile is recommended. A single line of 3- or 4-inch tile laid across the bottom of the hole and barely covered by a layer of crushed rock or coarse gravel will help drainage. The bottom of the hole should slope toward the tile, which should be carried to a suitable outlet.

In digging the hole, the good topsoil should be set aside and saved for back-filling. Since the soil dug out of holes is often infertile and either too heavy or too light, it is advisable to mix material into it to improve texture and fertility. In heavy soils, a mixture of one-third topsoil, one-third sand or weathered cinders that are screened to remove large chunks, and one-third mixture of equal parts of peat moss and subsoil is recommended. Well-rotted manure, finely chopped sod, leafmold, or weed compost may be substituted for peat moss. In light soils, the recommended mixture for backfilling is one-third topsoil, one-third peat moss, rotted manure, leafmold, compost, or finely chopped sod, and one-third mixture of equal parts of subsoil and sand or cinders. Turn over these mixtures three or four times with a shovel, separating out all stones, the larger woody root fragments, and other trash.

On the more unsatisfactory sites, as beach sands or where grading or erosion has exposed a gravelly, cemented subsoil, it is advisable to dig out entire bed areas or enlarged holes and fill them in with friable, fertile new soil.

Temptation is ever present to add mineral fertilizers in preparing the site for planting. The wise man will subdue this urge. He will just see that the soil is well drained, has abundant moisture, and is of proper tilth to permit good aeration.

DIGGING BARE-ROOT STOCK: Until they are 15 to 20 feet high, deciduous species (like pin oak, sycamore, locust, elm, maple, willow, ash, yellow-poplar, and basswood) that shed their leaves each autumn and remain leafless over winter can be easily moved with bare roots. Other deciduous species (like white oak, blackgum, persimmon, hickory, walnut, dogwood, and birch) can also be moved bare-rooted, but they recover more slowly and require more care to insure survival.

The first step in digging up a tree for transplanting is to make a circular trench around the outside spread of the roots of the tree. A tree with a finch trunk diameter (measured a foot above the ground) should have a trench with at least a 10-inch radius. The trench radius should be increased about 10 inches for each inch of increase in trunk diameter. Depth of trench should be at least 18 inches, except in situations where the roots are especially shallow. Cut small roots with a spade and larger ones with an ax.

Second, remove the soil from the roots by carefully working inward from the edge of the trench, using a narrow-tine spading fork to comb the roots. Continue combing until most of the roots are exposed. For large trees that require more time to dig, cover exposed roots with wet burlap.

Third, tip the tree carefully to loosen it further after all lateral roots are uncovered. Avoid strain on any roots that escaped cutting. If a strong taproot is encountered, dig deeper to obtain at least 20 to 30 inches of taproot, depending on the size of the tree.

Fourth, cover all roots temporarily with damp burlap, moist soil, leaves, or other material to keep them from drying after the tree has been lifted. Whenever possible, move trees on calm, cloudy days to reduce root drying.