is it too late to plant bare root trees??

Don't put compost under the roots, because compost shrinks over time and that will cause problems.

It's also the wrong time of year for fertiliser, which in any case should be not be applied in close contact with roots.

If you want to throw money into the ground, get some mycorrhizal fungi.

I tend to dig shallow saucer shaped holes with the minimum amount of soil amendment and digging, using the theory that the sooner the plant adjusts to the normal soil conditions the better. Others differ.

As I posted before, the most critical aspects are getting the planting depth right, and protecting the young tree from competition with grass and other weeds.

abnormalnorman wrote: »

so no compost or no fertiliser when im plantings my trees ???????

That's the way I've planted lots of trees and they have grown well without compost or fertiliser. The mulch I use at times is used horse bedding so when this breaks down it would add some nutrients to the ground over time. There was a particularly rocky section of ground under one of the driveway trees and I chucked a bucket of organic compost under where the tree was planted and the roots would be able to grow down to this. I made the exception for this one tree as there did not seem to be as much soil available to it where it needed to be planted. Some compost won't kill the tree so its up to yourself really. I agree with the Gardener's world segment though and think it's better to let the tree roots spread to find their own nutrients in a more natural manor.

abnormalnorman wrote: »

Last question please . . . . .How deep should i dig the hole? trees are bare root.

Have you the trees already. Last lost I bought were dug out at the nursery and I just planted them back to the same depth. You can see the colour difference on the bark.

PS I've planted over 200 bare root trees over the last few years straight into the soil with no compost. Varying species but the majority grew no problem. Only the very small rowan I planted don't appear to be doing too well

Sorry to hijack, just wondering where people recommend buying their barefoot. Seems to be a big variance in pricing for the same size

Thanks

abnormalnorman wrote: »

My trees will be planted in a very windy open spot - any point using these "tree shelters" ??

Those shelters are intended to protect them from animals, not from wind.

I guess they would be somewhat effective if the shelters are firmly attached to a stake, but when the trees outgrow the shelter you may still need a stake for the tree.

abnormalnorman wrote: »

what size hole (length x width) shud i dig for bare root tree?

It depends on the amount of root you have on the tree. The more roots on the tree the bigger the hole required. You need to leave the roots as close to the way they were spread out before transplanting as you can manage as this will help them settle in their new position better. If the hole is too small the roots would have to be balled up to some extent to fit in and this will make them less likely to settle in properly. The usual guide I see on plant packaging is dig a hole twice the size of the root ball and back fill around the roots. Any bigger than that and you would be just doing unnecessary work.

Just posted a video earlier of planting the fruit trees I just got from LIDL and only needed a fairly small hole as the roots on the trees were so small. Just five or so sods of the grass and then a few scoops with a trowel gave plenty of space for the roots on these. They had been cut more severely than trees I have bought before. Hope the trees you got have better roots and need a bit more digging as looking at the ones I got I think they will take some time to settle in and start growing well.

abnormalnorman wrote: »

well i planted my 10 bare root trees today.


not sure how it went. soil is very wet for some, and rock down about a foot for others!

For some, when i watered them after , the water just lodged for an age!


How often should i water these now, considering the land is very wet? Could too much water drown them??

Also, would it be good to put some organic manure on top now so it runs down through the soil? or bone manure i was told. or shud i not do this till later when they start budding?

I would only water to settle the roots in when planted first and then afterwards if there was no rain for a while. I only watered our driveway trees a handful of times in the driest part of their first summer and they have grown fine.

Some plants can be drowned if permanently sitting in water as the roots of most plants do need air to survive. Plants like rice have hollow stems to allow air travel down to the roots to help them grow in soil covered by water.

Once the organic manure is mature and not acidic freshly produced material it should be no problem and might help keep competing vegetation from growing around the tree. Just don't put it directly in contact with the trunk of the tree as sometimes this will stimulate the production of new stems or suckers that will lead to you having a shrub instead of a tree. Not used bone manure so not sure what the rules are in relation to this. I read about bone meal been incorporated into the soil to improve structure and reduce acidity but this might not be necessary in normal healthy soil.

looksee wrote: »

Trees only need stakes to prevent root rock - ie stop them being pulled out of the hole or rootball moving in the wind. Stakes that support the lower part of the stem really well are better than wobbly 5' stakes that don't really do anything. (I have in my past done plenty of the wobbly stake efforts!)

Yeah, but as I found out to my cost this winter, a low stake is easer for a growing tree to snap due to leverage, although this was only an issue with the one monster 3m eucalpytus that was feeding on my septic tank discharge.

looksee wrote: »

In fairness Lumen a 3m tree should not really need a stake, (depending on how big it was when you planted it). And agreed, if a tree that size did need staking I would be more inclined to put in almost scaffolding till it settled, for the very reason you give. I am not convinced that eucalyptus is a suitable tree for a suburban garden, (I guess you are not suburban if you have a septic tank ) but lots get put in, and I have seen more than one come crashing down in a gale, they do not have extensive root systems to anchor them. I would like one of those 'painted bark' ones though!

I agree with all of this. Several people on this forum tried to dissuade me, but would I listen? Still, the other ones are fine.

Apparently eucalypts hate root disturbance, so the tree is at this point a botany experiment.

abnormalnorman, what did you plant in the end?

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm hoping to get about 25 foot of hedging in in the next few days, have spent the last week or two digging out root ball after root ball where the hedge is due to go.
i rather ambitiously bought 30 bare root beech last weekend hoping to have them in by midweek, but it'll be midweek this week at the earliest.

What are the rootballs from that you are digging out?