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Jill, I found your article most useful, but I wanted to add that. when buying nursery trees, that the root flair isn't always at the top of the pot. sometimes it's several inches down. and they add dirt to it. so the bark of the tree is below the soil is rotting or unhealthy. I always pull the plant out and look at what's going on. and when I find the healthy root ball and root flair at the top, I buy that one. I also make my own formula using rooting hormones and spray that on the roots. but most people wouldn't try anything like that because the store bought stuff is expensive. I buy the conc. Indole Butric Acid, and Napthalene Acetic Acid. from either, super-grow.biz ( deals in small quantities and low shipping costs. or Phytotec Laboratories, or Caisson Labs. they sell to wholesale, nurseries, growers. to make my rooting formula, 1 liter costs pennies. and I use it on all potting up seedlings, or transplants. because I'm a Hosta hybridizer and have 100's of seedlings. i can go through 1 liter in 2 or 3 weeks. thanks for your article, Jim King
great article. another thing you could talk about is watering. i never find any info on watering newly planted trees. i don't know if it's the same for other plants. i know about ornamentals and roses, etc. but am kind of at a loss when it comes to trees. i just planted 8 Thuja 'Steeplechase' and am watering every other day for now but i wish i knew for certain if this is the right way. it's been very hot and dry here but we are finally starting to get our summer rains so on the days it rains, i don't water and then skip a day.
Jim, that's a good point about checking out the condition of the roots in nursery pots before buying! Rooting hormone would give new transplants a good boost, too.
Tracks, I generally figure that if my garden plants need water, so do my new trees. Around here, that means two to three times a week in hot weather. Be sure to water deeply (long and slow) so you're wetting the whole rootball and not just the surface of the soil or the mulch. Sometimes I make a couple of big "dents" in the soil (like a deep shoeprint or two) just beyond the rootball so that water from rain or from the hose will fill up the dents and soak in slowly. (Learned that trick from my mom!)
critter, good rule of thumb. it takes awhile for the roots to establish. but not as long, if they start out at going in the right direction, and depth. Jim
