My Mother's Day present arrived early this week. It is a 2" caliper Red Sunset Maple (Acer Rubrum Frank's Red). A year ago we lost a gigantic oak tree that shaded our bedroom. Today we planted the new tree that will, in a few years, take over the shade duty of the oak.
First we (actually, Terry) had to remove 2 Burning Bush shrubs to make room for the new tree.
He put the soil on a tarp so that it would be easier to put back into the hole and not get lost in the grass.
Behind Terry you can see slices of the oak logs that still need to be split and moved to the garage.
Next, we rolled the tree into the new hole, first measuring the height of the root ball and the depth of the hole. Ideally, you want the base of the trunk just above the soil line. Many trees and shrubs die from being planted too deep.
Once the tree is in the hole and you maneuver it so that the 'best side' is facing in the desired direction, you remove the twine and top burlap.
Here Terry is scraping away excess soil to expose the root flare of the trunk. Next you fold back the tops of the wire basket to allow the roots to grow out of the root ball. Then we shoveled the soil back, tamping with our feet after every layer, and mixing in Sweet Peat.
The last step is watering with a slow trickle for about 20 minutes.
Happy Mother's Day to me!
