On 1 May 2006 05:41:58 -0700, "Ether Jones"
wrote:


The local mega-mart sells 6' tall potted trees. I'd guess the pot is
about 2 gallons or so.

When the tree is removed from the pot for planting, should the root
ball be left completely undisturbed, or should an attempt be made to
gently shake or pull the roots free?


I bought one of these trees, dug a hole about 3 times as wide and twice
as deep as the pot, filled the hole with 120 pounds of topsoil, moved
some of the topsoil away to make room for the root ball, cut away the
plastic pot from the root ball, placed the root ball into the hole,
backfilled with topsoil, and watered. Now I'm wondering if I should
have done something with the root ball before planting.
Good advice above. Also, make sure the tree is not too deep. Often,
the nursery adds soil to the top of the root ball when repotting.
Remove this soil if necessary. The trunk flares should be visible at
the soil surface. Planting too high is better than too deep.

The area around the trunk should be mulched to a depth of 3 inches.
Do not pile three inches of mulch against the base of the tree,
though--keep those flares dry! This is another reason it can pay to
plant a little high.

In future, save your time and money by skipping the topsoil. Dig the
hole as you described and backfill with whatever you remove from the
hole. I don't think it would be worth it to undo the process on the
tree you've already planted.

When establishing a new tree, the root ball from the pot is often dry
much sooner than the native soil. Until the tree can spread new roots
into the native soil, the original root ball may need water once or
twice a day.

For more info, visit www.treesaregood.com

good luck,
Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist #TX-0236AT