Big Trees Nursery

10 Common Mistakes with Specimen Trees

1. Failure to reserve trees early.

   The unique specimen trees needed for a project may not be available on short notice. An order lead time of months as opposed to weeks will assure you of getting the best and proper trees for your project.

2. Failure to install trees early in the building cycle.

   The heavy crane people get rich and you get poor if installation is done after hardscaping blocks access to the planting locations.

3. Lack of proper equipment and/or expertise to off load and plant.

   We have seen lots of trees damaged, equipment torn up and unsafe conditions resulting when attempting to unload specimen trees. We have recommendations to make it quick, safe and easy to handle these trees.

4. Removing the bottoms or sides of boxes before planting.

   The bottoms are not removed, but stay on and decompose over time. The sides stay on until tree is properly positioned in the hole.

5. Planting holes too deep or to narrow

   The soil level in the box, when planted, should be a minimum of 3 inches higher the existing ground level. The minimum hole width is given in the specification chart.

6. Placing sand or gravel under or around the root ball.

   This simply creates a perched water table or a large transition in soil textures which is detrimental to root growth. In general the university recommendation is not to add any backfill amendments.

7. Failure to provide adequate subsoil drainage.

   If a simple drainage test shows poor drainage, a drain system should be installed.

8. Punning and fertilizing after planting.

   No need for fertilizer for 6 months and then only lightly. Keep branch removal by pruning to less than 10% the first year.

9. Watering too little and,

10. Watering too much.

    Regular water, as needed, is the key to having a healthy tree. We provide detailed planting instructions with all trees that cover this and all essential steps in planting & after care.