I have a pair of Eastern Redbud trees (3' tall) that I bought on eBay this spring as bare-root plants. When I received them, I had neither time nor place to plant a tree - so I stuck them into a pair of large plastic pots. They're doing well.
I'm in southern New York, zone 6. Can I get these trees into the ground this year, or should I try to over-winter them in pots in the basement?
If you are really pressed, you can plant them now. They are trees that do best on the margins of a forest and their new home should provide a similar setting. Container grown plants can be planted anytime the ground isn't frozen. If you have a choice, you should wait until fall when it is cooler and there is more rain. The height of the summer will add stress on a newly planted tree. Definitely DO NOT try to keep them in the basement. They need to be outside. A better choice for holding them oven would be to dig a hole and put the pot in the hole and then heavily much the tree. Next spring you can lift the potted tree and plant it.
You can plant container grown trees or plants any time, but make sure before you plant them you fully saturate them in the container. Never plant a dry or slightly moist container plant in the ground. It will be very difficult to get water to the center of that root ball once in the ground. I also recommend giving them an ample amount of water using some liquid seaweed in it before planting.
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What is the current thinking these days?
$10 dollar tree and a $50 dollar hole or is it now $50 tree and a $10 hole. Perhaps it is somewhere in between? I've seen paint wounds larger than you thumb to don't use tree paint.
William(Bill)
The current thinking is to dig a big ugly hole. This means you don't dig a hole with smooth sides. Really dig a rough shaped hole about three times the size of the container. Make sure you plant the tree so you can clearly see the root flare after you put the soil back. It is always better to plant the tree too shallow, than too deeply. After planting the tree, with the root flare showing, apply a nice layer of fungal compost, then top that with a few inches of mulch. Do not cover the root flare. If you do not see this flare at the base of the tree, it was probably planted too deeply in the container to begin with. It's a problem which is showing up everywhere.
Do NOT add any compost or other amendments to the soil. Only use the native soil to fill the hole after you plant the tree. The reason for the rough sided hole is so that the roots will not girdle around and around in a smooth sided hole. It will provide a break in the soil tension for new roots to push through the surrounding native soil, which is not softened in the hole you plant the tree in.
The first step in this process, before you remove the tree from the container is to thoroughly saturate the plant in the container. I recommend using liquid seaweed as a drench before planting, not for fertilization, but to help stimulate new root development. The trace minerals in the seaweed promote this process and helps the tree with transplant stress, particularly in the summer.
Trees which are balled and burlap do not plant well in summer. They should be heeled in and kept moist all summer then planted in the fall when the temperatures remain below 75 during the day.
Victoria
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A forrester told me that there is no added benefit to painting tree wounds. If it makes *you* feel better, do it. But the tree doesn't need it.
Bob S.
In areas of the country which have outbreak of oak wilt on mostly live oak trees, it is suggested no pruning be done during the gestation or active period which the vector insect spreads the disease. Open wounds are the most prone. During other parts of the year when this beetle is not active, it is recommended to paint wounds anything over one inch in diameter. Pruning done during dead of summer or winter are not usually susceptible to oak wilt, but if there is oak wilt within a mile of the tree being pruned, it is recommended to always use pruning paint. Outside of that one example, painting is not suggested any more.
Victoria
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