Tree planting complete! So you’re the proud parent of a new baby beautiful sapling…now what?
Sapling Aftercare
One of the main goals with getting a newly planted tree established is to build resiliency so that the tree will have what it takes to survive in the environment throughout the decades to come. This means not babying your sapling! Think less work and time required from you to maintain your new tree (win-win).
Aside from specific scenarios, and the occasional seaweed based liquid boost, we plant trees with minimal augmentation of the surrounding environment. This means no/low soil amendments, and without expecting there to be any ongoing watering/irrigation system in place.
How can we set a sapling up for success?
- We select appropriate (usually native) species which tend to do well in our area with minimal maintenance.
- We select strong nursery stock, rejecting anything that looks damaged, diseased, or has poor form or girdling roots.
- We plant in the dormant season (late Nov-Feb) to avoid interrupting roots during the growing season when the trees are actively growing and require more water to deal with the heat of the season.
- We work with you to pick appropriate locations to plant your trees, suited for the particular species and your goals.
- We top dress with unprocessed arborist wood chips to provide a slow release of nutrients as the mulch breaks down (learn more about mulching here).
After tree planting, let saplings build resilience.
Your trees should be allowed to experience some of the natural stressors of the environment, like heat, cold, drought, and winds. This will help them form strong healthy root systems that can withstand these challenges. You can’t protect your babies forever!
The only time we recommend watering your sapling is within the first two seasons if we have a 10-14 day stretch of no rain (especially if combined with heat during the growing season), and certainly under these conditions if your tree begins to wilt significantly.
To water, we recommend placing a hose out on a slow drip near the base of the tree (but not such that the water is touching or pooling around the trunk of the tree) and leave it running for several hours or even over night!
Sometimes structural pruning of trees over the course of their first few years can be useful in promoting a desirable form and minimizing weak branch structure. We are happy to provide this service to you (structural pruning of young saplings is an included service in our Tree Healthcare VIP Program!). We can also to advise on proper pruning techniques and how to make decisions about what to prune and when, if you’d like to learn to prune your tree yourself while it is still young!
