Planting, replanting and pruning trees
Are you interested in growing trees? Here are some tips on how to effectively plant, replant and prune trees to create a prospering, edible landscape.
Below is an excerpt A forest garden on a home scale By Dani Baker. It has been adapted for operate on the Internet.
Planting trees and shrubs in pots
If you are ordering potted trees, please contact your supplier to find out where the plants were stored before shipping.
If they were kept in a heated greenhouse or other place where the ambient temperature was much higher than outside, they probably need to be hardened off.
Hardening off involves gradually exposing the plants to the outdoor environment by exposing them for a tiny period of time on the first day and gradually raise the exposure time over the next few days until the plants have been outdoors for a full 24 hours.
First steps
When the potted tree is properly hardened and ready to be planted, water the root ball thoroughly. The best way to do this is to submerge the potted plant in a bucket of water in an upright position until air bubbles stop rising to the surface. Then take it out of the pot and check the roots.
If the roots are root-bound – surrounding the outer surface of the root ball – trim them with scissors or clippers until you can spread the still-attached roots to check their spread.
If you plant trees or shrubs in a root-bound state, the roots will likely continue to grow that way, circling in circles in the planting hole, and your plant will have difficulty surviving.
After pruning the roots, place the root ball back in the pot as needed, or otherwise protect the root ball from air and sun while digging the planting hole.
Place the root ball in the hole to make sure the depth and width of the hole are appropriate. Then plant as previously described, spreading out the loose roots to encourage their outward growth.
If the root ball is a solid mass of fine roots, there is no need to build a mound of topsoil to spread the roots. Simply place the bottom of the root mass at the bottom of the hole and fill around it. Water thoroughly and then apply a trunk cover and mulch.
Trunk guards can be installed in this row of newly planted cherry trees to protect them from bark-chewing rodents. More mulch will then be added to retain moisture and prevent weeds.
Replanting trees and shrubs
As your garden grows, there will be times when you need or want to move an established plant. You may decide that the tree will do better in a recent environment that you think will be more conducive to its growth.
You can also relocate a shrub that becomes too crowded or shaded by neighboring plants.
The goal of repotting is to capture as much of the plant’s root structure as possible while retaining as much of the soil surrounding the roots as possible.
This will give the plant the best chance of successfully settling into its recent location. Here’s the technique:
Transplantation technique
- Make vertical cuts with a shovel in the soil around the plant about halfway up the shrub or tree. These cuts should overlap to create a continuous vertical slice surrounding the roots. If the plant is a foot statuesque, a 6 inch (15 cm) radius circle will probably be sufficient. The depth of the cuts also depends on the size and structure of the plant’s roots. For shallow roots, 6-inch-deep cuts can capture most of the roots. If the plant has deeper roots or a taproot, dig deeper to capture as much of the root mass as possible.
- Start digging deeper and towards the tree. Your goal is to extract the roots in a bowl-shaped mass with the soil intact. You may encounter roots that you will need to cut through with the tip of a shovel or pruning tool.
- Once you have cut through all the roots you come across, spread a damp cloth on the nearby ground.
- Pull the root ball out of the holewrap with a damp cloth to protect the exposed roots from air and transport to a recent location. Depending on the size of the tree, the root ball can be quite bulky; you may need assist moving it.
- In the recent website, dig a hole to match the size and shape of the root ball you have extracted.
- Remove the cloth and lower the root ball into the hole. The surface of the root ball should be level with the soil surface around the hole.
- Operate the excavated soil for fill in any gaps between the root ball and the sides of the hole.
- Apply some water to settle this soiland add more soil again until it is even with the surrounding surface.
- Operate more of the soil you removed build a convex circle around the tree, creating a saucer where the water will collect.
- Water the tree just until water begins to accumulate.
Finish by applying a trunk cover and mulch as previously described in the instructions for planting a bare root tree. Sometimes the soil does not adhere well to the roots and instead falls off, leaving the roots bare. In this case, wrap the roots in a damp cloth and follow the instructions for planting a bare-root tree.
Pruning
Pruning is the practice of selectively removing branches from a tree or shrub. In nature, “pruning” occurs randomly when branches are broken or damaged by a windstorm, fire, or the bite of wild ruminants.
However, in the garden or on the farm, plant productivity and health are improved when limbs are regularly pruned.
Thinning the branches improves air circulation to prevent disease, allows lightweight to accelerate ripening, promotes flowering, and may result in fewer but larger fruits. Removing dead, damaged or diseased limbs helps prevent the infestation from spreading to well growth.
Pruning also renews a tree or shrub by stimulating the growth of recent branches that bear fruit more reliably than older ones.
If your space is circumscribed or you don’t want to climb high to pick fruit, you can prune to adjust the size of your trees and shrubs.
Pruning can also result in more resistant and aesthetic plant forms or a denser hedge. Removing the lower limbs of the tree can provide more lightweight to the plants below.
This volunteer cedar tree has chosen to grow among the red currants and raspberries, in the shade of the apricot tree.
Learning to prune
Each type of tree or shrub you plant may require slightly different pruning techniques.
Permaculturist Sepp Holzer does not prune any plants on his extensive permaculture farm in Austria. This is also an option for you, especially if you have a enormous area and prefer your forest garden to remain more natural.
However, if you want to actively improve the health and productivity of your plants, it’s wise to learn the basics of pruning.
Most domesticated fruit trees operate pruning to improve fruit quality.
Admittedly, I’m recent to this endeavor, although I’ve tried my hand at pruning a few apple and peach trees over the past few seasons.
I learned that this endeavor is both an art and a science and takes a lot of practice to master.
I have also observed that trees are resilient and in most cases will survive even the most glaring beginner’s mistakes.
How to shape and maintain
Shaping and caring for newborn trees and shrubs from the very beginning ensures the best form and growth. Additionally, pruning cuts heal faster when only newborn, skinny branches are removed.
My advice is to seek expert advice to learn how best to care for your chosen plants, and do it early. Excellent references to pruning techniques can be found in the resource sections of some nursery websites and on YouTube. The local cooperative office may also be a source of information.
I advise you to familiarize yourself with the basic principles of pruning and, if possible, take an apprenticeship with a more experienced friend or neighbor to learn specific techniques.
Fruit thinning
In addition to pruning, many fruit trees benefit from annual thinning of unripe fruit. Thinning can remove diseased and misshapen fruit while improving the size and quality of the remaining fruit.
It is also a way to assist the newborn tree by allowing it to direct most of its energy into intensive growth rather than fruit production.
Each type of fruit tree will have a slightly different thinning practice; consult your nursery or other source to determine the timing and technique best suited to your selected trees.