Comments on: Tree Planting Techniques – A Subtle Art

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:06:12 +0000

Lol, I’ve never found bed springs but I’ve pulled out just about every type of tool used in construction. Picking up their trash seems like such a small thing to do when building a $400,000 house. Then these builders claim to be “green builders” even though they turn the buyers yard into a landfill.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:43:48 +0000

LOL, on the builder refuse. I have also done work on sites which – unbeknownst to me and certainly to buyer – were once city dump sites. There’s really no sensation like digging for a tree and bringing up bedsprings.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:52:02 +0000

Nice post, I like your style. I own a landscaping company in Austin TX. I’ve seen all kinds of interesting things under ground that the builders left behind. The best was a nail gun but usually we find coke cans or snack wrappers when we are out digging to plant trees or plants. As for what Frances had to say about planting the smallest tree possible, I’ve planted just about every size for 1 gal to 400 gal. Last time I checked the 400 gal Live Oak was planted almost 3 years and it doesn’t look like it has really rooted in yet. The 1 and 5 gal tree will root much faster and establish a more solid root system. Some of us just don’t want to wait so I go out and get them a tree that has over 12″ to the trunk.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:21:37 +0000

Actually, Susan, the term Zonal Tolerance is yet another ‘Snedekerism’, I guess, straight from my very own active imaginings and relates to Planting Zones and the adaptation of plants to their various climatic conditions. On the soil issue, lol, the only thing I have ever put into straight sand was grass, which I put on top. We had some soccer fields we turfed in Vancouver which were laid on 3 feet of sand, owing to drainage issues and the semi-constant rain there. If a soil is particularly tough, then, naturally, we make huge changes. If it uncommonly clayish, I generally recommend amending the soil in massive doses. We’re talking sand, some compost and large excavtors. Hideously bad soil won’t work for any plant. Having said that, there are plants which like their soil a bit clayish and some which prefer a fast-draining soil. My one advantage which may throw you a bit is that I have historically used drip irrigation in problematic spots out West. What this allows us to do is to water often – at times, 6 times a day, for a light watering to bathe the roots, as opposed to some massive dump of juice. We can also expand that outwards as a plant develops. For soils where there is a tight clay content, yes, we might over excavate more, for real. But, as I have said, water cures all ills, in my experience. Water breaks up clayish soils and lets the roots penetrate. It’s not like clay soils are devoid of nutrients, because they are typically mineral-rich as heck.