Your Trees’ Basic Needs

The number one need is water. If you have just planted a tree in your yard, the first thing it needs is to be watered. Hose the base area and then dig a little trench in the topsoil around the base. Leave your hose just trickle a bit in the trench for awhile so it can get a good soaking first time in its new spot. Newly planted trees should be watered at the time of planting and every day for the first week. Then during the first growing season, they should be watered at least once a week in the absence of rain and more often during the height of the summer. However, be careful not to over water them. This will result in oxygen deprivation and they can die if over watered.

As a general rule, regular deep soakings are better than frequent light wettings. To encourage the roots to grow and the tree to be strong, the moisture from watering should reach a depth of 12 to 18 inches below the soil surface growth. If you are not sure if you should water or not, you can just dig down about 6 to 8 inches at the edge of the planting hole. If you feel powdery or crumbly dirt, water the tree. If you can squeeze the soil into a ball, the tree has enough moisture.

There also is available a soil additive that manages the water around the root structure. This additive contains super absorbent gel polymer crystals that absorb hundreds of times their weight in water. When the tree is watered, these crystals absorb the moisture and release it again for the roots to use when the surrounding soil becomes drier.

Trees and shrubs face a number of stresses that lead to a decreased lifespan. Providing consistent and adequate water to the root systems will go help to decrease tree stress and promote growth.

Next, the trees need mulch. To conserve moisture, promoting water and air penetration, the soil surrounding newly planted trees can be covered with mulch consisting of material such as bark, wood chips or pine needles. Because pine needles have a high acidity content, they should not be used around certain plants. Mulch depth should be between 3 to 4 inches. Only porous landscape fabric should be used to cover the area surrounding a tree since it freely allows water and air penetration. Plastic sheeting will prevent this from happening. If you want to stop weeds from growing on a path way, use the plastic sheeting there before spreading down your choice of path covering.

And the last basic need is fertilizer. It can be beneficial to get your soil analyzed to see how much macronutrients are in it already, such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), pH, and micronutrients. If there is a noticeable imbalance, fertilizing when planting can help out. The majority of plants suffer root loss and stress when they travel from ideal nursery growing conditions to the final planting in your yard. So it is best to add some fertilizer at the time of planting to ease the transplant shock. Treat your trees with mycorrhizal fungi and fertilizers with the right formulation for the type of tree you are planting. A biostimulant can boost root development and aid in the general health of the tree.

Water, mulch, and fertilize your trees. These are your trees’ basic needs. With the proper tree care your trees will live a long and healthy life.

About the Author: Andrew Johnson is the owner of Central Texas Tree Care, a leading Austin Texas tree service provider in Central Texas (Travis County and surrounding areas). Central Texas Tree Care offers services such as pruning and removals, cabling and bracing as well as arborist reports, diagnostics, pest management and fertilization. For more information please visit http://www.centraltexastreecare.com.