How Not to Stamp Out Your Mail-Order Plant

You may be surprised to learn that trees and shrubs can be shipped through the mail. Unless they are very small, in which case they are in pots, mail-order plants are usually shipped dormant, leafless and bare-root. Such plants also may be available at local nurseries.

Bare-root plants should be truly dormant. Good nurseries do not rush the shipping season by digging plants that have not yet lost their leaves. Plants should arrive with moist packing material, such as excelsior, peat or shredded newspaper, around their roots. Stand bare-root plants in a bucket of water for four hours when you receive them just in case roots have dried out at all since they were dug.

The traditional recommendation for digging a planting hole was to make it deep and wide, “better a $50 hole for a $5 tree than vice versa” went the old saw. But recent research has discounted this advice. Dig a hole just deep enough to get the roots in the ground, and only twice the spread of the roots.

Also, do not get overly enthusiastic about mixing peat and compost into the hole to make it very fluffy and fertile. Roots will never want to leave the hole and the plant will become root-bound, especially if surrounding soil is tight-packed clay.

Before setting a plant in its hole, trim off any dead, broken or lanky roots. Build up a cone of soil in the bottom of the hole on which to set the plant at the correct planting depth. The correct depth is the same as it was in the nursery, as indicated by a soil line along the trunk. In wet soils, set the plant higher, and bring in extra soil when you backfill to create a wide planting mound.

When backfilling the soil, hold the plant in place and crumble the soil as you add it. Tamp it among roots with your fingers as you work. When the hole is filled, firm it, then create an earthen rim a couple of feet in diameter around the edge of the planting hole to catch water. Slowly add three gallons of water.

After planting, protect your tree or shrub from winter predators and weather. Thwart rodents with a cylinder of hardware cloth around the trunk. Protect the bark of trees from winter sun with a coat of white latex paint. Tree wrappings of paper or plastic accomplish both goals.

Large trees--those 10 feet or higher--or trees in excessively windy areas should be staked. Either tie the trunk to a stake driven next to the tree, or use three padded guy wires staked to the ground.

Finally, lay down a thick mulch of hay, straw, or pine needles to insulate the soil and keep roots growing.