If you are planning on planting a tree this Spring, an expert says don't try to "baby" that tree. Gary Crawford has this report. (Part 1 can be found here.)

PARTICIPANTS: Gary Crawford and retired Kansas State University Extension horticultural expert, Ward Upham.

Transcript

Once again we're coming to you live from, well almost live anyway, from my front yard in Virginia where I am about to do what I've always been accused of doing and that is digging myself into a hole.

But today it's for purposes of planting a tree.

Now last time you may have heard I was out here scouting for a good place to plant it and we had on speaker Kansas State University Extension horticultural expert Ward Upham.

He's back with me now I hope.

Are you there?

Now Ward told me last time to buy a tree from my local nursery because they would have the trees perfectly suited to my area and he said to not plant that tree close to sidewalks or the house to try to imagine ahead how big this tree is going to get and choose a location with that in mind.

They'll usually tell you on the tag you know what its final height is going to be and what its final width is going to be.

Oh I forgot about that tag I shouldn't leave that tag on there right?

Often that's wire and it's not going to hurt anything till that tree gets a little bit older and when the size of those limbs or the size of that trunk gets big enough that wire is going to actually kill it at that point and so make sure you take those off.

Okay that's done got it and Ward I've already followed your directions about digging the hole and making it three times wider than the diameter of the burlap root ball.

That gives those roots room to grow room to get out there in nice loose soil so it gets established quicker.

So I have set the tree down into the hole cut away and remove the burlap root ball and Ward I've got some garden soil here I bought to fill in that hole that ought to really make it.

Don't amend it don't add organic matter to the soil that came out of that hole.

Go back into that hole with the same soil that came out of it.

Why?

Why not some nice garden soil?

What happens is that water is going to go through that soil very quickly and you're going to it's going to fill up like a pot does and you could drown the tree.

So go back in the hole with the same soil that came out.

But surely it needs some of this expensive fertilizer that I've got here.

Don't fertilize it it doesn't make any difference that first year.

What it's doing is expending some of its stored energy in order to get established.

Fertilization that first year doesn't help.

Okay whatever you say.

That's right.

That's right all right.

What about some mulch to go around that tree?

Two to four inches of mulch maybe pull it around away from that trunk just a little bit and you're good to go.

And I guess keep the tree watered so the soil is moist but not waterlogged.

That way you're going to get that tree off to a good start.

Okay then thank you Ward Upham.

You know I'll call you in one year and let you know how the little baby tree is doing.

No problem.

Okay from my front yard this is Gary Crawford reporting for the US Department of Agriculture.