We’re still in the heat of summer but fall is coming soon. With fall comes more outdoor chores. It also is a great time to plant larger trees and evergreens in our yards. This time of year is also when everyone is telling us how to plant a tree. The stories and articles are everywhere. I’ll be offering my thoughts and techniques on this in a later post. Now I just want to point out what I think are flaws that I find in stories and in real life.

I just read an article this morning giving information on moving trees within a yard. At the end of the explanation it recommends the new planting hole be twice as wide and deeper than the root ball. Then add plant mixes and fill the hole back in to the depth of the root ball and so on. The next paragraph suggest hiring a professional with a tree spade for larger trees. For those who have never seen a tree spade in operation, it works like this: A hole is dug at the final site of the tree. The tree is then dug with the spade and deposited in the pre-dug hole. That’s it. No two times as wide or deeper than the root ball and filled with any special mix.

I have even been through this when dealing with landscape architects. Sometimes when planting in an existing landscape, the extra large hole can encroach on existing plants root systems or pose other problems. Then in comes the tree spade to plant the larger trees and those holes are fine.

I’m not saying that in some cases taking the extra effort may not be of benefit. It’s just that those trees mechanically spaded in have none of that and do just fine. Landscape work and gardening should be something we can enjoy. Too many times I read where simple jobs are made to sound intimidating and people may avoid them because of it. I want every plant I touch to grow and I hope the same for anyone reading this. I never like to think someone may shy away from a project due to overly complicated instructions or extra work that may not be necessary. We all want success, but we should not feel intimidated in the process.

I’ll see you in the backyard!