Easy step-by-step instructions for planting your own tree from The Progressive Farmer magazine. Planting a tree sounds easy enough, but most people overlook simple steps that ensure successful growth.

Video Transcription

Hi, I am John Miller Senior Editor with Progressive Farmer Magazine. Today we are doing to show you how planting trees. Planting trees is an easy way to improve the value of your property over the next few minutes; we are going to show you how to plant trees the right way. It is more than just digging a hole. But before we can start it, we suggest that you talk to your local nursery for tips and the best trees for your area. The shade trees that we are going to be planting are October Glory Maples. They are 15 feet tall and they have sizable rip balls. You get these trees in the ground we are also going to be using a soil conditioner, a slow release fertilizer and pine straw. The tools we will use are a murdock, out in the country we call it a pick axe. A shovel, hand corners, and a rake Okay, let us get started, the first thing you want to do is; think about location. Where you plant your trees is an important decision. Avoid power, phone, gas or septic lines. Is the site sunny or shady? Is there a source of water nearby? Consider the soil, have clay holds water and inhibits the movement of water down through the soil. That can affect tree and rip growth. Sandy soil does not retain water well. Trees planted in sandy soil need more water. Here on our property we have a gas line nearby so we have marked it. We also have horses in the pasture behind us, we want to keep the trees away form them. We are planting the trees in a triangular formation; it gives a great appearance of a grove of trees. Also if one of the trees dies, you would not notice to gap as much as you would if you were to plant them in a straight line. Each tree has about 15 to 20 feet away from each other. When you are buying your tree, here are some things to think about ahead of time. How big a tree do you want, what shape, you want one the bears fruit and what is the color in the fall. October Glory Maples are great fall trees, they have scarlet red leaves. This is also a pretty fast growing tree and it reaches 50 to 60 feet in height. There are two concerns with maples however because of their shallow roots. First they compete with other plants for moisture and second, they tend to crack pavement and gravel drives. You want a tree with a large rib bulb. Rib bulb adds stability to the tree, it also allows the tree to take in all the water and nutrient that it needs. Of course a large bulb creates one dilemma. You have to dig a hole the size of a hot tub, seriously, you do want a hole three times the width of a rib bulb, here that is 6 feet wide. To give our trees the best start, we are adding soil conditioner. The idea is to add organic matter, they were shredded bark. We are also adding two cups of that triple 14 fertilizer to each tree. Mix it all up well. We are almost ready to plant this tree now but before you do that, you are going to want to measure the height of the root bulb. The reason that you do that is you never want the tree to be lower than the level of the ground, in fact, you want the tree 3 to 4 inches above the ground because the tree will settle overtime. Slide the tree into the hole, do not drop that will crush the roots. Position the good side of the tree to the most visible side, make sure it is straight and do not forget to remove the burlap around the rib bulb. Now you are going to back fell around the tree, prop the soil down but do not pack it with your boot and then last, you want to build the circular dam around the rib bulb, this helps direct water to the tree when it rains. There is one more step. Put marks around your tree, it reduces the evaporation and slows weed growth. We are using 4 inches of pine straw but check with your nursery for the best mulch for your area. Never put the mulch onto the trunk itself, this will keep moisture right against the trunk affecting the health of your tree. Watering can be tricky, if the leaves are wet at the first thing in the morning, that means the tree is under watered but a little bit of welting in the afternoon is okay. When the tree is first planted, it is best to give it a long drink. Another concern is over watering. The best way to check for moisture is to feel. Put your fingers into the ground to check. If the leaves are drooping and the soil is wet, you are over watering. We are all done now, it is tine to stand back and watch our trees grow. Planting tree is a great family project. As a matter of fact my daughter and I have planted many; we think it is a good way to leave our mark on the future. We think you will get a sense of pride planting your own trees too. For more information about this project and others, go to progressive farmer’s website, that is www.progressivefarmer.com and go to projects you can do.