Live Christmas Tree Care
Caring For and Planting a
Balled in Burlap Christmas Tree
By Michael McGroarty
Tis the season when lots of people drag a real tree into
their house and decorate it. Some people buy live trees
that are balled in burlap instead of a cut tree. A live
tree is a great idea, but many people make serious
mistakes when it comes to handling a live tree, and they
end up losing their money. The information in this
article also pertains to any live tree you are planting,
be it now during the winter, or during the summer.
1. Before you even take the tree in the house, dig a
hole for the tree where you expect to plant it after the
holidays. Put the soil in a wheelbarrow and park it in
the garage. You'll need loose soil to backfill the hole,
and the ground might be frozen after the holidays.
2. Keep your live tree in the house for as short a time
as is possible.
3. Keep the ball plenty moist while in the house, but
not in a tub full of water. You don't want the ball to
dry out completely, but by the same token it shouldn't
be soggy all the time either. Just moist. You can wet it
thoroughly, but then don't water again until the water
is almost gone.
4. After Christmas move the tree outdoors as soon as
possible and plant it immediately. If you were not able
to dig the hole earlier, the ground is frozen, and the
tree cannot be planted, leave it outside and pack bags
of leaves or bales of straw around the ball. Find a way
to heel it in in such a way that the amount of sun and
wind the root ball receives is minimal.
5. Try and plant the tree immediately if you can. You do
not want to store the tree on top of the ground during
the winter if you can avoid it. Putting it in your
garage is not a good idea either, it is likely to dry
out in there. The absolute best place for the ball is in
the ground, even if the ground has frozen after you dug
the hole. Just set the tree in the hole and backfill
with loose soil. Make sure there are no air pockets
around the ball. Backfill only with small particles of
soil. If this cannot be done because the soil is frozen,
just set the tree in the hole and backfill as soon as
the weather permits.
6. Check the ball for nylon string. Cut and remove any
nylon string. Sometimes the diggers wrap the string
around the stem of the tree. If the string is a cotton
type, like sisal twine, you can leave it on the ball but
remove it from the stem. If the burlap is nylon it
should be cut in many places or removed. If the ball is
wrapped with a wire basket I recommend leaving it on. It
will help to secure the tree and keep it from rocking
back and forth with the wind. The roots will find their
way through the wire and the burlap. Just cut the burlap
where you can.
7. Do not plant the tree too deep. This is the number
one reason for plants that do not survive. They should
not be planted any deeper than they were in the nursery.
The top of the ball should be one to two inches above
the ground level. If you have heavy, wet, clay soil, you
should plant it even higher and build a bed up around
the ball. When you plant them too deep the plants
literally suffocate.
8. Do not fertilize the tree at the time of planting.
You can fertilize it in the spring, but only with an
organic fertilizer. If you have compost available, mix
some in while planting. Fertilizer can do more harm than
it can good. I always recommend organic fertilizers.
It's hard to make a mistake with organics. It's always a
good idea to stake trees when you plant them. If the
wind is constantly rocking them back and forth they will
have a difficult time establishing new roots in their
new home.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article.
Visit his most interesting website,
www.freeplants.com
and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article
provided by
www.gardening-articles.com .
Article Source:
EzineArticles.com
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