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attached to your plant by wires can girdle the branch, so remove them
when you plant. Instead, take a piece of lath and hot
glue or nail it to a 6" section of 2x4, making a little sign.
Use a woodburner to permanently mark the sign, cover with sealer,
and stick it in the ground near your new tree.
Set the tree into
the soil at the same depth it had in the nursery.
Look for a dark mark on the trunk that indicates the depth.
To protect
the trunk from sun scald, rodents,
and lawnmower nicks, use a treewrap from soil level to the lowest
branch.
If you use a mulch,
don't allow it to touch the trunk of the tree. It can harbor
disease or small animals that will chew on your tree.
Stakes often
cause more damage than they prevent, so use them only when planting
in a windy, unprotected area, or if you are planting a top-heavy
tree. If you use a stake, leave an inch or two of slack in the wire
and cover the part that encircles the tree with a protective covering.
One good method: make ties of baling or electric fence wire
and cover the portions that touch the tree with sections of old
garden hose.
Hedges should
be trimmed so they are slightly
wider at the bottom than at the top to ensure sunlight will reach
all sides of the shrub. Those that are narrower at the bottom
will eventually start losing their lower leaves.
The circles you
see around the bottoms of trees are more than decorative.
They help to protect the tree from lawn mower nicks which can kill
them. Remove the grass for a 2-3 foot radius around the tree.
Be sure to dig down deep enough to get all the roots. Outline
the circle with your favorite edging. Place a thick layer
of newspaper (black and white only!) on the bottom of the bare spot
and fill with gravel, lava rocks, or other mulcher. You can
display potted plants or small statuary in the circle.
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