HOW TO PLANT BALLED AND BURLAPPED TREES, AND WHY BUDDY BARKED

1) DIG A GENEROUS PLANTING HOLE 

2) REMOVING THE WIRE BASKET (USING WIRE CUTTERS)

3) PLACE TREE IN HOLE AT PROPER DEPTH...REMOVE TWINE AND BURLAP

4) FIND ROOT FLARE

5) BACKFILL, WATER, STAKE AND MULCH TREE

Wednesday, 8:00 AM.  53 degrees F, wind NE, calm to very light.  The sky is clear, the humidity is 83% and the barometer is trending down, beginning to reflect the rain that is predicted for tomorrow morning.   Buddy woke us up at 4:30 AM, barking insistently.  I looked out the front windows and checked out the back deck and porch but nothing seemed amiss.  But sure enough, a big pile of bear poop greeted us when we left the house for our morning walk.  Good dog, Buddy!
   Since we recently planted forty shade and ornamental street trees for the City of Bayfield, tree planting is still fresh in my mind.  We commented in the post on  5/21/14 on planting potted trees, and planting larger balled-and-burlapped trees (B and B), although very similar, has some additional elements and hazards.
   Most wholesale nurseries now grow trees in containers until they are too large to grow and handle in that manner, and usually nursery trees will be transplanted  into rows in the ground after they are an inch-and-a-quarter or so in diameter at breast height (DBH). Trees are not usually grown and sold in pots larger than 25 gallons.
   When trees are grown in pots they tend to become root bound, and circling and girdling roots can be a problem.  When trees are grown in the ground that is usually not the case, as the roots grow straight and are severed when the tree is dug.   Most nursery trees are now dug by machine; hand digging, although perhaps a superior method, is just too expensive.  Most trees, except those that are very large, are now dug with a tree spade, a hydraulic machine with mechanical spades that dig a conical ball of dirt and roots, which is then wrapped in burlap and put in a wire basket for shipment.
   The majority of tree roots are in the top eighteen inches of soil, so the tree ball is often larger than is necessary, and some earth may usually be shaved off the bottom of the ball if necessary.  In any case, it is very important to remove the entire wire basket and burlap as the tree is planted.  Failure to do so can result in root growth being impaired.  Sometimes root balls are just too heavy to handle,  or too loose to remove the wire and burlap without having the ball fall apart, which would sever many of the feeder roots of the tree.  In that case, as much of the basket and burlap as is possible should be removed. B and B trees usually have a lot of twine securing the burlap, in addition to the wire basket.  Be sure all the twine is removed from around the trunk of the tree.  Not doing so results in the girdling of the tree as the trunk grows in diameter, as the twine that is used today is usually plastic, which does not rot.  Burlap is often also treated so it does not rot, and that is why it too must always be removed.
   When trees are grown in nursery rows cultivation usually causes a buildup of soil around the base of the tree trunk.  This soil must be removed or the tree will be panted too deep.  To determine the proper planting depth, find the root collar of the tree by carefully scraping away the loose soil from the top of the ball.  The roots spread out from the base of the trunk just as a person's shoulders spread out at the base of the neck.  The tree should end up planted at or slightly above that level.  It takes some careful measurement of the height of the ball and the depth of the hole to get the planting level right.  It is always better for the tree to be planted slightly too high than too low. The planting hole should be generous, ideally half again the diameter of the root ball. Be sure the soil at the base of the planting hole is firm so that the ball doesn't sink when the tree is watered.
   It is usually best to backfill the tree with the original soil, unless it is too rocky or sandy or has foreign substances like concrete or asphalt or road gravel in it, in which case good topsoil should be substituted.  Watering is crucial, and is best done in stages to settle the soil around the tree.  If this is not possible, the soil should be lightly tamped around the tree as it is backfilled.  Do not overly compact the soil when backfilling.   Any excess soil should be removed after the tree is backfilled.  Mulch the tree with wood chips or similar organic matter, to a depth no more than four inches, leaving no mulch immediately around the trunk.  Mulch piled up around the tree in excess is worse than no mulch at all.
   The tree should be well watered at planting and monitored for water thereafter for the first planting season.  A rule of thumb for newly planted trees is to provide five gallons of water a week unless it gets adequate rainfall.  Street and park trees should be staked and tied for the first year or two, until they are quite solid in the ground.  Use two stakes, pounded neatly into the soil outside the planting hole opposite each other.  They should be straight and at the same height.  Brace the trees with professional arborist tree ties that will not girdle or chaff the tree bark.  Do not use string or anything else that will girdle or damage the trunk.  Stakes and ties can  usually be removed after one or two growing seasons.
   When using a contractor to plant trees, an inspector should be on the job to see that things are done properly.  Most contractors are honest and want to do a good job, but planting B and B trees is hard, dirty, heavy work and the tendency is to cut corners and cover up any mistakes, such as wire and burlap and twine and excess dirt, with mulch.  Improperly planted trees will die or be severely impaired, the problems sometimes taking years to become apparent.  Trees are an expensive, long term investment.
   Plant them properly.

WHY BUDDY BARKED