How To Plant A Container Grown Tree (Shorter version)

Well good morning and welcome to Over the Vast Nurseries. It's a beautiful sunny day in spring time. It's a little on the breezy side, but as you see from the plants here in our display garden, spring has very definitely sprung. And this is an exciting time in gardening terms. There's lots of things going on. We're busy sending out plants to our network of partnering garden centers. And if you get a chance and you live in our region, that's the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states of the U.S., pop in and take a look. Because I think there you're going to discover all sorts of really beautiful things that you might want to think about growing in your garden. Now part of our activities here on the nursery is to try and help you be a little bit more successful with your gardening endeavors. And if you're a returning subscriber, welcome back. But if you're a first-time viewer, I'd like to suggest that you think about subscribing to our channel, because we're busy posting new videos all the time, and whenever you're a subscriber you'll find that as we post new ones, they'll turn up automatically in your feed. And if it just so happens that you like what we're telling you, it would be really great if you could kindly share the link with your friends and gardening acquaintances, but also perhaps hit the like button too, because that will help to make the information available for other people as well. Now today, we're going to plant a tree, a container grown tree, and I'm going to take you through the principles of the things to look for, how to go about it, and then how you can enjoy and have the satisfaction and reward of growing beautiful trees in your garden. Now you should try to get it planted as soon as possible when you bring it home, but as long as you water it well and keep it watered, it will continue to grow in this container. So before you plant it, make sure to give it a good drink of water, and if you think that you're not going to be able to get round to planting it for a little while, then simply just keep watering it, but also you can take the plant and set it into somewhere like here, a sheltered corner, where it's going to be protected from the wind, and as long as you keep watering it, it should be fine until you get time to get it planted. And if you haven't picked up on it yet, the plant that I'm going to use in my planting demonstration is this stunning variety of Redbud. This is Cirsus Flamethrower, a spectacular variety that we featured elsewhere here on this channel, so if you want to find out more about it, take a look, you'll find there a video that tells you all about its incredible features. This is the plant that created quite a stir in 2021 at the Chelsea Flower Show in London when they voted it the Plant of the Year. So let's assume that we're happy with the site that we're going to plant this tree in. Now it may be that you're right out in the countryside, there's no drainage drains in underneath, and you're well away from things like utilities. But if you're in town, or particularly if you're working with a new site that you're not sure of, you should probably call before you dig. 811 is the locator service offered by the States, it's free, you call them and then in a couple of days they will send out people who will be able to check the area to make sure that there aren't any utilities in underneath where you're intending to dig. Now when it comes to planting, it's important that you dig a good sized hole. You dig one that's about twice the size of the pot, and as you see I'm kind of marking the ground here. There's the old saying in gardening, spend a cent on the plant and a dollar on the hole. And then it's really just a matter of excavating the hole. So I'm going to set the tree off to the side here. The first thing I'm going to do is to save the mulch that we have down here on the site, and as you see with a shovel you can just remove this. It might be that if say you were planting in a lawn, in a grass area, the first thing you would do would be to remove the turf, because grass roots are really quite vigorous and would create a lot of competition for the newly transplanted tree. So eliminate that competition and start off with a little circular bed or a larger bed if that's what you're doing, and you'll find then that the tree will get off to a much better start. So now that I've removed and saved most of the mulch, it's really just then a matter of going around and excavating the hole. So now as you see I've dug a hole here that's about twice or maybe three times the width of the container. Now the important thing is to make sure that we got the depth right for the tree. Well let me knock this pot off here, and incidentally this is how you do it, if you catch the tree here at the base and then just knock the pot like this you'll see that it comes off pretty easily. But also what I want to do is to show you, excuse me, two things. The first is, I want to show you what they call the root flare. This is the point where when you get in here and scratch back the loose compost on the top of the plant, you'll find the point where the tree begins to grow out at its original level. So you scratch back till you find that point and that's the point that when we put it in the hole, needs to be about level with the surrounding grade, if anything maybe even a little proud of it. But also the important thing I want to show you is down here. Look at this root system, see how finely fibrous it is here and there's no spiraling roots. Spiraling roots are the things to watch out for in container grown trees. This is where the tree root has grown out, it's hit the side of the pot and then grows round in a spiral. And obviously if you think about it for a moment, when a tree grows naturally, its roots spread out horizontally to be stable. If you've got a spiraling root system, obviously something that starts over here and then grows out in this direction and goes over there, it's likely to twist and cant in a windy stormy day like today, especially if it gets a big heavy head. So that's why it's important that you don't have any spiraling roots on the base of your plant. If that happens then it's important that you tease out the root ball. In this case you really don't need to do that too much, you can do it a little bit because there's no spiraling roots as you see. And that's because one of the important things that we do is we go through a special process in growing our trees that stops that root spiraling happening. It's the sort of thing that we do every day here on the nursery, if there's something we can do to make the tree a little better, if there's something we can do to grow our plants to a higher standard, then we'll do it. We worry about the cost afterwards, but the most important thing is to grow the trees, grow the plants to the highest possible quality. And here's what we do. If I show you in this pot that I have here, you'll see that in the inside of the pot we've treated it with copper. And what happens is when the tree root goes out, it hits the copper, the tip of the root dies, it then makes all of this fine fibrous root system here on the sides of the pot, and that's why when this settles in and grows on its site, it will be first of all nice and stable as a mature plant, but also the transplanting of it is going to be a lot more successful, because guess what? We've got all of these fine little fibrous roots that are going to be rooting out into the newly transplanted hole. If you buy some trees and you find that they have this spiraling root system, they'll be thick, you'll see them, they're usually down here in the bottom third of the pot, and you'll see that they run around in a circular fashion. It's important that you tease those open, and in bad cases, you might have to actually physically cut the roots too, to stop them from going around in a circular fashion. Sometimes people will go through and suggest that you rough up the root ball a little bit, and if you want to do that, that's fine, but really honestly this tree has such a nice fibrous root system, that this is really beautifully ready for transplanting, and honestly I don't think you need to rough that up a little bit if you don't want to. So now that we've determined where the flare is, we've examined the root system to make sure there aren't any spiraling roots on there, we're ready to check it to see at what depth we need to put it in the hole. So now what I usually do is just check with the end of my shovel or spade, so there it's about that depth, and I'll check the bottom of the hole here, and that seems to be about right. Now that we think we have the level right, let's see how the tree looks in that sort of situation. I'll just remove this little protective wrapper that was put on it to protect the stem during shipping, and then let's try it in the hole and see how that looks. Actually when I see it now, it looks a little low, so we're going to put in some soil and bring up the level a little bit, and then check it and see how that looks. So now I've added a little bit of soil in at the bottom of it, I think I have the height about right, just make sure that the soil I put in the bottom is reasonably firm, because obviously if that's loose, the tree is going to sink in eventually, so just don't pack it down, but just make sure it's firm, and then let's try the tree in again and see how that works. That looks about good, and a weight test that is, as you see if you put your shovel down, you'll see that the level of the tree, or the shovel here, is about level with it and about the top of the tree, so that shows that it's about the right level there, in other words that I've got the depth about right. And then the important thing is to make sure that the tree is plumb, make sure that it's vertical, and that means standing back and looking at it from different directions, just to make sure that you've got it positioned nicely in the hole and in its final place. So now that we've prepared the planting hole, got the depth right, looked at the root ball etc, let me take you now and show you the final stage, and that is adding organic matter to the base of the hole and also the backfill. This is planting compost, and I'm a big believer in using this planting compost both in the backfill and also in the base of the hole. The reason that I believe so much in it is that I think it's very important to wean the root ball of the tree into the surrounding soil, so that's why I mix it up in the bottom of the hole to make sure that it's mixed in with the parent soil. I've fluffed it up again, so I'm just going to firm it down just a little bit, just lightly firm it down, and then reposition the tree in the hole, putting it in the way that we determined was the best face of the plant, putting it in here in the center of the hole, checking again the level, and that's about right, and now it's time to backfill the soil back into it. And the reason that I like to mix in the organic matter with the parent soil is because this tree is grown in a totally organic mix. The compost we use is a by-product from the timber industry, so it's 100% organic matter, and then of course the mineral soil that's here, it's important to get the medium to be a transition for the new roots to grow out into the surrounding soil, and over the years when I've planted trees, occasionally I found that they were in the wrong spot, somebody changed their mind or whatever, and we had to go in about a week or 10 days later and move the tree, and to my amazement I found that in that short period the white roots had grown out as if they were smelling and sensing this organic matter in the soil, so I think it's important to get the transition between the organic root ball and the mineral soil, and then get it so that it will root out into that, and of course the organic matter here is a lovely reserve of plenty of moisture already in it, so it forms the perfect medium when you mix it up with the parent soil for the new roots to grow out into. So that's why I think it's important to mix up the organic matter with the mineral soil, and then backfill it in around the tree. And the other thing about adding the organic matter into the backfill too, is that obviously it's going to help with moisture absorption too, it's going to keep the moisture there for when the new roots grow out. So I've now backfilled it roughly level with the top of the tree, which is here, and now it's just a matter of going in and gently firming the soil to make sure that we get the root ball in contact with the newly backfilled soil. So that means that we now are ready to go to the next stage, which is to create a little basin around the front of the tree here, and because this tree is planted on a gentle slope, we're going to build it up a little bit here on the front, keeping out from the neck of the tree, keeping out from the base of the tree. As you see I'm keeping this level here, but just building a little reservoir along the front of it here, and that will help to trap the water when we apply it. And as you see, I've now built a little shallow ridge here on the front of the sloping hill, which when we water will help to retain the moisture on this sloping site. And now, really, the last thing to do is just apply a layer of mulch. Now I'm using the mulch that was here already on the site, you would probably be able to put down a couple of inches of mulch, the important thing is that you only put a little light layer in at the crown of the plant here. The tree will love a couple of inches out here, but in at the crown of the plant, in at the base of the stem here, it's important that that has only got a little tiny, shallow layer. So let's spread out the rest of the mulch here, and then I'll show you the last and final stage. And that is to give the tree a good drink of water. As you see, I've got a rose on here, I'm just applying the water around the top of the root ball, giving it a good drink. Now, the critical time on a newly transplanted tree is about three or four weeks after it's been planted. And especially if we get any dry, prolonged periods, you're going to have to keep an eye on the watering. It's important that you don't totally saturate the site, but at the same time, make sure to give it a good drink. If I was to guess, I would say somewhere about a couple of gallons of water to get it started. Now as to give you guidance as to how frequently or otherwise you should water, that's a little difficult because it obviously depends on the weather, whether we get rain and how frequently and how much. Also on the soil conditions, how free-draining it is, and a little bit also on the variety. But in general, I would say you should probably water at least once a week, give it a gallon and a half, give it a good soak and let it soak down in, and then if you see it starting to get a little dry on the top, scratch the surface, see what's going on, and then give it a little bit of water too. Just make sure not to over-saturate it, and also make sure to water it regularly, until you see the plant getting nicely established, and that usually takes maybe five to six, maybe even eight weeks. So just keep an eye on the watering, and then you should see that it will grow in here, settle down, produce lots of growth, and you'll have a tree that will of course last for years. Now there's two more points I want to make. The first is that you probably noticed we didn't put down any fertilizer when we were planting it. That's because in the compost that we grow our trees, it's got a slow-release fertilizer that continues to feed the plant long after you have planted it. And the critical thing with a newly transplanted tree is just to get it established in the ground. Next spring, when it's established its root system and is ready to grow, you can go in if you want and give it a little dressing of fertilizer. And the other thing you will have noticed is that we're not using any staking. I believe that trees grow better on their own when they're given the opportunity, like this one, to gently move in the breeze. The other thing that's important is with that heavy root ball on there, it's already nice and stable. And sometimes if you stake a tree, the tree will grow to depend upon the stake, and then if the stake gets rotted, or breaks out, or sometimes the tree then will get so big that it topples over. It's become dependent on the stake. If you're in a particularly windy site, and you've got a tree with a lot of foliage that's getting a lot of resistance, and you're seeing it beginning to rock in at the base of the plant here, then of course you could come in and drive in a couple of stakes to the side, use a stretchy tie, and that will help to stabilize it until the plant gets established. Other than that, I really don't think that you need to worry, because with all of these big heavy root balls underneath, it's already well anchored, and with that little bit of give in the site, the tree will settle in and make its own anchorage. So that's how you plant a container grown tree. Thanks for watching, this is David Wilson. Enjoy your gardening, it's good for us, and it's very good for our environment too.