"Matt" wrote in message ...


Can trees grow succesfully in 100% sandy soils, with just a few inches of
topsoil, as long as there is adequate moisture? Due to the high water table
in the area, moisture shouldn't be a problem.


I have parts of my backyard which are 100% sandy with a few inches of
topsoil, and there are elm, maple, hickory, oak, as well as a variety
of shrubs and fruit trees. I too have a high water table. On the wet
side of the yard there are the same trees in the wetland woods in the
back of my yard. Needless to say, all fruit trees, the oak, and the
hickory are on high ground.

Your problem is not so much the sand, because over time the tree mulch
and leaves will give you enough humus levels, as much as the high
water table. I have two japanese maples, twenty feet apart and one is
one foot lower than the other. They are both mulched with wood chips 8
feet out. The lower one is a sickly thing, and the other one is a fine
tree. Your spruce may not like wet feet either, so choose your spots
and plants carefully. You can always kill any tree by having lawn all
the way to the trunk, taking away all the leaves, and not mulching to
mitigate the large fluctuations in temperature and moisture that sandy
soils suffer.