Planting trees

Trees make an excellent addition to the garden and with the large variety of trees available even a small garden can accommodate a tree. Trees also bring many benefits to the garden and the wider community.

Here are a few of the advantages of growing a tree:

CO2
Trees absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen which helps the environment, you'll not stop global warming, but every little helps!
Fruit
Fruit trees make a great investment and it wont take long before you're in profit, reaping your rewards in hand picked fruit from your tree. Growing your own fruit is also very rewarding and knowing exactly where your fruit is coming from means you dont have to worry about chemicals used in commercial fruit production. It is also another way of helping you reduce your carbon footprint.
Looks good
There are so many beautiful trees to choose from, the right tree can transform the look of a garden. From the prolific flowers of a cherry tree to the astounding colours that you get in the Autumn, trees provide interest throughout the year.
Privacy
When trees are planted close together than create an area of privacy with the leaf cover creating shade and preventing unwanted prying eyes from looking into your garden. Trees such as beech can also be grown as a hedge. Trees with thick foliage act as a good sound screen, Leylandiis are especially good at this.
Wildlife
Trees provide a habitat for wildlife to thrive. They attract bees and butterflies during flowering periods, provide homes for insects and feed birds in the autumn.
Trees as a gift
If you want to give a gift that will last many years you cant beat giving a tree. They are great gifts for special occasions like weddings, anniversaries and births, as they will be a reminder of the event in years to come.

Selecting a Tree

Now that we have got over the advantages of trees lets get stuck into the actual process of planting a tree.
The first step is to select a tree and suitable site. Firstly we would suggest you think about what you want from your tree, do you want fruit, floweral displays, privacy, shade, sound screening etc. Your decisions here will of course decide the type of tree you purchase. Your next decision is regards to the site. You will need to take various factors into consideration, such as the size of the site, proximity to buildings, powerlines, septic tanks etc. Remember that trees spread under ground as well as branching over head. Roots can cause just as much damage as branches when sited poorly. Soil and drainage is another area to consider, trees like plenty of water, but generally don't do well in waterlogged soil. An ideal site would consist of good quality well drained soil, in sun or partial shade and ample space for tree growth. But in the real word it will be a compromise of these factors and there will be a tree to fit most circumstances.

Once you have decided on the type of tree you want and the location, you can pick your tree, to help with this we have devised a simple chart at the end of this document which will help you pick a suitable sized tree for your garden.

Types of trees

Trees are generally supplied in one of three forms; Bare-root, Root-balled, Container grown.

Bare-root
Bare root is the traditional way to buy deciduous trees and shrubs, especially smaller trees and hedging. The tree is supplied with no pot or soil and with trimmed roots. These type of trees are generally cheap, but only available in the dormant season which is around November to March, they also must be planted during this season.

Root-balled
Again a traditional way to sell evergreen trees and hedges, especially large evergreens as they cannot cope with the bare root method. The tree or plant is supplied with the roots in a ball of soil covered with hesian cloth. This is a good method for large evergreen trees, but again is generally only available during the dormant season and they must be planted during the dormant season.

Root-balled tree ready to plant

Container grown
As the name suggests these tree have been grown in containers, this makes them a bit more expensive than the other types as there is more work involved for the grower, but there are many advantages to this method. Firstly these trees can be planted at any time during the year, secondly there is a very high success rate as the roots have not been disturbed until the pot is removed just before planting and thirdly this is the easiest method for the amateur. Most of the trees and hedges supplied by growgarden.co.uk are this type.

Large container grown tree ready for delivery

Planting

We will focus on the planting of container grown trees to make life easier.
The biggest mistake made when planting trees is making a hole which is too deep and too narrow. The hole that you make should only be the depth of the container in which the tree is in, but crucially the width of the hole should be 3 times the diameter of the container. The reason for this is that the new roots have too push through the sournding soil to become established. Providing a sourding area of "worked" soil helps greatly.


Dig a hole 3 times the diameter of the pot or rootball.

Remove the container and carefully loosen the soil and tease out the roots, you may need to use a blunt tool to help. If there are circling roots, then cut them off. Having the roots teased out and pointing in many differnt directions before planting will help them spread quickly. Now place the tree in the hole ensuring that it is not deeper than what it was in the pot. Ensure that the tree is straight and then begin backfilling the hole. Gently but firmly compacting the soil with your heel. Stake the tree if neccessary.
Now for a very important part, give the tree a good soaking with water. If the weather is warm and dry cover the base of the tree with mulch such as bark chippings to help retain the moisture. Make sure to water your tree regularly, all new trees need regular watering to help them get established and develop deep enough roots to find their own water.

There you did it, you planted your tree, now onto the next one.

Pruning

You should not prune your tree unnecessarily, however some trees, especially some fruit trees can benifet from pruning. Before attempting any prunning, make sure that you have a good set of sharp pruning shears as blunt tools can cause damage to the tree.

Pruning an apple tree

For most fruit trees, you want a bushy tree with a short trunk, so that it will produce lots of fruit and not be too far out of reach. The first few years of the trees life before it begins to bear fruit are the most important for pruning as during these years you will shape the tree for later life.

  • Start by cutting out any dead, dying or diseased branches.
  • Also remove branches that are growing in towards the centre of the tree as they will reduce sunlight.
  • When the tree has reached the desired height cut back the leaders (new growth at the tip of the top branches) by about two thirds.
  • If you want the tree to grow taller leave the leaders and cut back the lateral branches.
  • For ornamental trees you want one strong central leader to form the main trunk, so dont cut this back and make sure no other branch grows taller than it.
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