With autumn in full swing, it’s time to talk about tree planting

By Bev Johnson | The Daily Journal

Published Saturday, October 11, 2008

Bunkey lost a nice Little Leaf Linden in that last windy week. It snapped off just below the soil line.

It had been planted by the previous owner of his house.

While he was surveying the damage — it hit the house roof — his neighbor George the Master Gardener, came over.

It took only one look at the base of the tree to see what had happened.

The tree had been planted too deeply and the roots had not been straightened out. One of those roots had circled the stem, compressing it.

It was several inches smaller, four inches under the soil line, than on the top of the soil.

Gary Johnson, Department of Forest Resources has data from 1995 to 2005 about “tree autopsies” done on trees that fell during wind storms.

The Lindens were the third most common species for “total failure,”

a fancy way of saying they fell down during strong winds. Seventy-three percent of those had stem girdling roots.

Does this mean you should not plant lindens? No, it just means you need to be careful when you plant a tree or shrub so that the roots do not circle the tree.

This means you may have to cut some roots off if the tree has been in a pot for a long time. They must circle as there is no other place to go in a pot.

Now is a great time to plant potted trees and shrubs. They are usually cheaper now as nurseries are clearing them out.

The cool weather is less stressful on both the tree and the tree planter.

Measure the stem of your tree at chest height. Give the tree one gallon water twice a week for each inch diameter.

It will need this TLC for a minimum of two years, and extra care for the next three to ensure you have a long-lived, healthy tree.

Don’t burn those fallen leaves. They are excellent winter mulch for flower beds and can be dug into the vegetable garden to compost during the winter.

If you have roses and are the Martha type, bag your leaves and simply pile them on top of the bushes.

If you wet them down in the bag, they will probably weigh enough to stay there during the winter.

If you can stand it — Martha types can’t — don’t cut off your flower stalks. They will help hold the mulch and later snow. And you will feed the birds especially the finches.

It will also ensure you will have a few surprises in the spring as the birds will plant a few of those seeds in odd places.

Sprinkle a few annual seeds on the soil before you mulch. Quite often, they will winter and flower earlier than spring planted ones.

Throw some lettuce and spinach seed in a corner of the garden for a very early crop. Just remember where you planted them and don’t till

that corner.

If your tomatoes aren’t getting ripe, thin the vines to get more sun exposure. It will help, depending on weather.

They don’t do well in cool temperatures, and fried green tomatoes are really icky.

Bev Johnson is a master gardener for West Otter Tail County.