"Jinxy" wrote
We live in a rural area and would like to add more trees to the yard. We
have Poplar and Birch trees only and I really want Spruce. The local
garden
centres only sell really huge ones (there nice) but costly. So...we got a
permit from the government to go and dig spruce off of government crown
land.

Are we wasting our time and effort? Most people say the trees will not
make
it. We are allowed to dig 20 trees so we will stick to fairly small trees
3-4ft. I've dug all the holes already and have brought in some nice soil.
In
addition to the soil I will add bonemeal and organic material..plus we
will
use mulch around the tree etc.. I have done my homework on keeping the
rootballs moist and wrapped for the journey home. Has anyone out there had
success with digging up native spruce out in the bush and the trees
living?

Thanks

I haul trees for a living. I can't tell you how big the ball should be
(diameter or depth), but I can tell you want I see when I get loaded and how
we transport them. I've hauled trees 56' tall with ball diameter of 48"
across.

I haul from fields to nurserys and large project sites throughout the
Midwest. They machine dig them, put them in burlap which is placed in wire
baskets. Some nurserys want the ball bigger than standard (whatever that is
for the height of evergreens or diameter for deciduous ). So, I would
consider that when digging them out.

When transporting, I use a breathable tarp. It's very important to protect
from windburn, but also you don't want to smother the tree with a plastic
type tarp.

Do not plant the tree too deep for they tell me this promotes disease.
Also, cut any twine/burlap etc. from the trunk and top 3" of the root ball.
Contractors I have spoken with tell me some architects specify they want the
tree deeper than the top of root ball, then 3" of mulch on top. If the
contractors follow the architects advice, it's like a catch 22 for them,
they're not liable if the tree doesn't survive, but they can earn a
reputation for their plantings dieing off. They usually plant so the top of
the root ball is at least 2" above grade, then add the mulch.

Also, they swear by a tree saver product called "Mycor Tree Saver", you
probably will want to look into this product.