Planting a Tree or a Shrub

Good Reasons to Plant a Tree

Notice I use the word “future” a lot when talking about planting trees. Trees are one of the most long living and terrain impacting components of your garden landscape. Most of them should outlive you, some of them will not become mature until long into your children’s lives. They shade and shelter, their roots spread wide, they divert wind and snowfall patterns, and their leafy cover can create a microclimate difference in your yard.

Tree roots can also uplift concrete walks, invade drains- but this can be avoided through proper situation at planting time, routing walkways, etc. around the tree’s given root area and making the right choice of species for your home. Surface rooting maples are more likely to interfere with growing grass and lifting walks, willows are more likely to invade drains. But both are beautiful trees and in many situations provide benefits, not problems.

In the Northern hemisphere:
* The northern side of a house often has a microclimate that’s shady and less exposed to hot, dry winds.
* The southern and western sides of a house are generally hotter and more exposed to the elements.
* Areas under thick trees are shaded, and as a consequence moisture in the soil is retained better throughout the year.

Trees provide shade, windbreaks, or wind channels.
excellent PDF file, “Landscaping for Energy Efficiency”
Southern hemisphere microclimate ~water conservation
English microclimate information ~ good info on urban winds and smog

Selecting a Tree

Prairiefire Crabapple

In making a choice of which tree to plant, the first consideration, I think, is whether it is hardy for your climate. This matters more because trees are on a longer timeframe: they take a long time to grow, and aren’t so easily replaced. If a perennial doesn’t make it through your winter, you can replant it, or decide on something else that will fill its lace in a matter of a few seasons, but a tree’s loss is more expensive in both time and money, not mentioning your hopes and plans! Local arboretums are very helpful in selecting trees and shrubs. They provide a living information center to observe how a tree grows and looks in your particular region.

Advice well-taken is the “just-right” size of tree: medium, not too small, not too tall. The reason for this is the balance between the size of the roots and top of the tree.

Check the leaves, if in leaf. Are they healthy and green, or stunted, yellowing, and sparse? Check for signs of insects or disease, although shopping at a reputable nursery or green house should prevent those problems. Reputable plant dealers want you to be as happy with the plant as you do, and take pride in providing top quality offerings, but it never hurts to check anyway.Try to check the roots, they should be branching out and developed sufficiently to hold the root ball together.

Look for a straight tapering trunk in a tree. Smooth undamaged bark shows health, splits, flat areas, and dull colored areas show damage. Buying two to three year old whips is a good investment, too. It is said that they catch up quickly with larger specimens. I’ve been very happy with buying smaller trees in that size.

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