Are You Fertilizing & Planting Your Trees This Fall?

In this episode, Madison Law, sales and service coordinator from Davey's South Houston office, discusses how fall fertilization and planting can help cultivate and preserve your landscape throughout the year.

In this episode we cover:  

• Why do you need to fertilize your trees? (:48)
• What is the best fertilization method for trees? (1:33) (2:10)
• When is Madison's favorite time of the year to fertilize, and how often should you fertilize your trees? (3:00)
• What fertilizers do Madison use in her job? (5:01)
• Fall planting season (5:48)
• Planting trees too deep (6:23) 
• How to identify an above-grade area to plant your trees in (7:25)
• How to properly plant container trees (8:16)
• What should healthy soil look like before planting your trees? (9:18)
• Proper mulching and composting practices (12:08)
• How can you improve soil quality before planting trees? (13:22)
• How to prevent planting the wrong trees in the wrong places (14:35) (15:44)
• What size tree should you buy before planting? (17:14)
• Are trees supposed to be staked? (18:30) (19:27)
• What trees should not be planted in the Houston area? (20:13)
• Madison's favorite part of her job (21:29)

To find your local Davey office, check out our find a local office page to search by zip code.

To learn more general and fall tree planting tips, read our blogs, When Is It Too Late to Plant a Tree in Fall? and Tree Planting Guide: 3 Methods of Planting Trees.

Connect with Davey Tree on social media:
Twitter: @DaveyTree
Facebook: @DaveyTree
Instagram: @daveytree
YouTube: The Davey Tree Expert Company
LinkedIn: The Davey Tree Expert Company 

Connect with Doug Oster at www.dougoster.com. 

Have topics you'd like us to cover on the podcast? Email us at podcasts@davey.com. We want to hear from you!

Transcript

Doug Oster: Welcome to the Davey Tree Expert Company's podcast, Talking Trees. I'm your host, Doug Oster. Each week, our expert arborists share advice on seasonal tree care, how to make your trees thrive, arborists' favorite trees, and much, much more. Tune in every Thursday to learn more because here at the Talking Trees podcast, we know trees are the answer.

Well, I'm welcoming back to the show Madison Law. She is a sales and service coordinator for the South Houston office, the Davey Tree Expert Company. Today, we're going to talk all about fall fertilization and tree planting. Madison, how are you?

Madison Law: I am doing great. Thank you so much for having me back. It's an honor.

Doug: Well, thanks for coming on. It's an honor to talk to you. We had fun last time. We're going to have fun this time. Let's start with fertilization, then we can get into the fun stuff, which is the planting.

Madison: Okay.

Doug: Why should I be fertilizing my trees? It's something I think a lot of homeowners don't think about.

Madison: Fertilizer is a really great way to introduce nutrients back into the soil that may have been taken away by all sorts of things, like rain can leach the soil. Some soils naturally just don't have the proper nutrients that trees or plants require. There's other mechanical issues, like weed can take nutrients out of the soil. A lot of people, when they get their yards done, leaf blowers. That's a really great way to remove topsoil from your lawns, actually. The fertilizer helps put back those essential nutrients, the macro and the micronutrients that the plants need.

Doug: What's the best way to accomplish this fertilization?

Madison: It can differ. We do a deep root fertilization. We're injecting the soil with our fertilizer that's mixed with water, and it's mostly the macronutrients, so like your high nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, all those main things that help promote the growth of the tree. You can also do a topical application with granular fertilization. The only problem is that sometimes if you put stuff on top that has too much nitrogen, you can risk burning the trees or the plants.

Doug: I have a Stewartia. It's not blooming as much as I would like it to. Is it okay for me to take a balanced organic granular fertilizer out there and sprinkle it around and rake it in? I'd much rather have that nice injected liquid stuff. I'm not sure if the truck could even reach where this tree is, but is that an option for me, that granular fertilizer?

Madison: Yes, that's definitely an option. There's specific fertilizers out there that you could use for specific plants. Trees have a specific fertilizer. Palm trees have a specific. Anywhere up to smaller plants like azaleas, they prefer a more acidic soil, so they have an acidic type of fertilizer that rebalances the pH.

Doug: What is your favorite time to fertilize, time of the year?

Madison: Oh, so usually, most people like to fertilize in the spring or the fall. If you use a fertilizer that has a low salt content, like Arbor Green PRO has a low salt content, we can fertilize all year round without risk of burning trees.

Doug: Of course, here in the East, we couldn't do that when the ground's frozen, but any time around that be okay?

Madison: Yes, sir.

Doug: What else should I know about fertilizing trees? How often should this be done? I'm sure it's case by case, but in general, how often should we be fertilizing our trees?

Madison: In an ideal situation, you should fertilize at least once a year. For trees that are going under construction or trees that are stressed out maybe from a drought or a storm, you would probably want to do a supplemental fertilization, probably in a twice a year regimen, or even sometimes we do clients that have it three times a year just because they have plants that are growing on the ninth floor story of a building downtown. Every situation's different.

Doug: Tell me the differences that you've seen over the years when you do see trees that are properly fertilized. How did they grow?

Madison: Oh my gosh, it's night and day. I have clients all the time saying, "Wow, my trees have never looked better than when you guys started fertilizing." It's the same principle as if you eat a diet completely of fast food versus if you eat a diet that's balanced with all the nutrients and vegetables and other things that your body needs, right? You're going to perform better if you put the things in it that it needs.

Doug: Certainly, a fertilized tree is going to do better at fighting off problems, right?

Madison: Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely. If the plant is healthy, it's better off to fight infections and diseases and insects.

Doug: Besides the Arbor Green PRO, are there other things you're using to fertilize, or that's the main fertilizer?

Madison: That's the main fertilizer. We have started using PolyPhosphites, which is basically just an immunity boost for the plants. We're using that but mostly just Arbor Green for now. I can see how in the future we could lean towards more of the PolyPhosphites and activated charcoal like AdamsEarth.

Doug: Can those other things go in the same time that you're doing the other fertilization, or are these done separately?

Madison: They can go in at the same time, or they can be separate, however the arborist feels that site needs what it needs.

Doug: Well, we've got our existing trees fertilized. Now, let's talk about the fun stuff. It's planting season, right? This is the best time to plant, right?

Madison: Yes, just before dormant season is usually-- At least down here in the South, it's probably the best time to plant your trees because when in the winter and the trees are dormant, they're focusing more on root growth. We want them to really establish in the soils that we're putting them in in the planting spot, so that way, in the spring, they can use the next round of nutrients to help promote flowering, bud growth, and twig growth.

Doug: I was at a garden the other day, and I saw a tree that wasn't planted right. It was one of the big mistakes, too deep.

Madison: Ah, yes. Yes, yes, yes, planting trees too deep, it's a common problem, and a lot of landscapers will do what we call volcano mulching. I don't know if you've ever heard that term before.

Doug: We talk about it every other podcast.

Madison: [laughs] Well, there you go. You know what volcano mulching is, just placing all that mulch or compost right against the trunk of the tree, suffocating it. It's the same principle when you bury it too deep. When you plant the tree too deep-- The trees are already going to settle a little bit once you plant them, so if you put them even further in the ground, they're going to have that dip. Then you're going to compensate for putting more compost or mulch on top, and then that's going to keep burying the root system further and further. You can actually start suffocating those roots because they need to breathe just like you or I.

Doug: Let's talk a little bit about when we get that tree, whether it's in a container, balled and burlapped, finding that place that's going to be a little bit above grade.

Madison: Yes, so usually, when I plant-- especially here in Houston, we have a lot of rain, right? You want to plant the root ball maybe an inch higher, an inch and a half higher than the grade, so that when it settles, it'll be just about even, and it won't settle too deep, because all that rainwater with our clay will just create a bowl. The water will just sit there, and it'll slowly start to kill that tree.

Doug: Madison, why did you have to bring up rain? I haven't had rain in my landscape for weeks, and it's the driest I've seen since I don't know when. Anyway, [laughs] what I didn't know when I first started planting trees, I assumed that when I got it in a container that it was ready to go, but a Davey arborist showed me that-- He brushed off that top soil because the root flare wasn't even-- I couldn't see where the root flare was, and I just assumed that when you buy a plant, it's ready to plant, but you've got to find that root flare, right?

Madison: Yes, absolutely, because that root flare is basically the starting point of where the plant meets the soil. If the root flare starts getting buried, then you know that you're below grade on the actual root ball. It's always important to make sure you have a certified arborist go out and help pick the plants from the nurseries because sometimes the nurseries don't do a good job, but the arborist should know what to look for to make sure that you can have a ready-to-be-installed plant.

Doug: How big should this hole be?

Madison: The hole should be as deep as the root ball and one to two times as wide.

Doug: If I get in there-- and I don't know what kind of soil you guys have in Houston, but we've got clay and shale up here. If I'm digging in just pure clay, actually what I do is I just try and move to another spot. I don't want to put that tree into clay or have to dump compost in there and then just make a giant container. When I dig that hole, what should the soil be? What should it look like for me, ideally, for putting that tree in?

Madison: Ideally-- because we also have clay here. We don't have any shale, but we have clay. When you're planting in an area like that, it's really important to make sure that when you're digging, you don't glaze the sides of the root ball or of the planting hole, because that will help prevent water percolation and air pockets from forming, which the tree needs just a little bit of air, not like big gaps. It'll basically create the bowl that will drown your tree, right? You want to make sure it's all broken up a little bit. You can install vision tubes on the sides of the root ball to help keep track of how much water's down at the base of the root ball, if you ever have a concern for that.

Doug: A couple things I want to go back on. The glazing, what does that mean, glazing the hole?

Madison: When a shovel goes into the hole, the clay particles are so small that it's basically rubbing and creating a flat surface along the edges of the hole, and that's what we call glazing. It's just creating that smooth surface where there's less likely a chance for the roots to penetrate. It's basically the difference between hitting a wall made of sponge, where it's got all the little air pockets, versus hitting a wall made of glass.

Doug: Then tell me about the tubes again, how that works.

Madison: They're basically sight tubes. They're roughly anywhere from two to four inches wide, and they're just PVC pipes that go all the way down to the bottom of the planting hole. You can look into them. Most people cover them with a pipe, but you can look into them to see if there's any resting water in the root ball, because it'll start evening out if there's any extra water in the root ball surrounding it. That way, you can put a hose in to pump out the water. You can see if your root ball's too dry. You can also get a soil moisture meter from Amazon. It's really easy to calibrate, and you can stick it in all the areas around the root ball to make sure that you have the proper moisture levels.

Doug: Mulching is next, or watering it in and then mulching, right?

Madison: Yes. You can mulch, or you can use organic compost, which is what I would usually recommend is organic compost versus mulch. Some people prefer just to throw the mulch on for aesthetics, right? It'll match the landscape a little bit better.

It's really, really important that when you're planting a new tree in like a lawn area, that you give it that compost or mulch ring around the tree, because a lot of people want to just put the lawn right up to the tree trunk. What happens is when your landscapers come by to mow, usually they'll run right into the tree, not caring too much, and then you're going to have a lot of this damage going on at the base of the tree, and then the tree's already going to be off to a rocky start.

Doug: I love the idea of putting the compost around. Could I do this? Could I put like an inch of compost and then a little bit of mulch on top just for the aesthetics? Would that work, or is that too thick?

Madison: No, that would be fine as long as your tree isn't going to settle any further. I would try and wait for it to settle first with the compost on top and then add the mulch after that.

Doug: Let me go back to a bad hole. Let's say I bought this tree, and the only spot I can find for it, it's not the best soil in the world. We're always told in the case of trees, don't put the compost in just because the roots will stay in that hole. How would you deal with that? How do you deal with that when you have a place where this is where the tree's got to go? Do you have to improve the soil then somehow?

Madison: You can do soil remediation, absolutely. When you're digging a hole, you would take out everything that you put in, and you wouldn't put it back. You would just refill it with the organic compost and the soil mix, and then make sure you really cut into the sides of the root ball. That's really important. That's what a lot of people forget to do, is to really score the root ball really well so those roots stop circling each other as they did in the container or the burlap, and they start spreading out more. Then once the tree gets older, you start fertilizing outside the ring of the root ball to encourage the roots to find nutrients in other places.

Doug: That's a great idea. Now, another mistake that I see that I know will drive you as crazy as it drives me, wrong tree, wrong place.

Madison: [laughs] How did I know you were going to bring that one up?

[laughter]

Madison: Yes, wrong tree, wrong place. I see it all the time. Sometimes it's just the tree was there first, and then humanity came in and said, "I want to build a house right here, or I want to put a power line right here." The trees are too tall. They don't fit. They try and squeeze them into itty-bitty corners.

It's really important when you're taking a landscape and you're envisioning the future for that landscape, that you incorporate every aspect. What is it going to look like in 10 years? What is it going to look like in 15 years? What is this tree going to look like in 15 years? Another good thing is to get your arborist out to be able to tell you, "Well, this tree is a small tree, it will be perfect for this space," or "This tree is going to get huge in five years, and you're going to be regretting it, so maybe plant something smaller."

Doug: I guess, it's hard to educate people that that little itty-bitty sapling that they're putting in could eventually be 40 by 40 in not a decade or so. I'm sure you see it as I see it every day too when I'm driving by, especially new construction. I just think to myself, "All that money they're spending on their landscaping and that tree is going to have to be removed in 5 or 10 years." It just drives me nuts. [chuckles]

Madison: [laughs] Yes, I see it as well, especially with new neighborhoods. I don't know if you guys have live oaks where you're at, but they're these massive, beautiful trees that a lot of HOAs and newer developments out here in Houston, they've started saying, "Well, you have to have two of these live oaks in your front yard at every house." Every house is only so far apart. In a couple years, like in 15 years, they're going to have to come in and remove one of those live oaks from every lawn. It's like, why would you make that investment for that money and that time of putting those trees in if you knew you were going to have to take them out eventually anyway? It just doesn't make any sense.

Doug: I know. I know. It's just-- HOAs.

Madison: [laughs] Enough said, right?

Doug: Yes. That's enough said. You're exactly right. Now, when I'm thinking about putting a tree and planting a tree, should I buy the bigger version of the tree or the smaller version of the tree when I'm going to plant it? What do you prefer?

Madison: I usually prefer the bigger version of the tree just because I'm thinking further down the road, the shade that tree is going to give this house. There's a lot to consider, right? You need to consider, is it a deciduous tree? Is it going to lose its leaves in the fall? Is this tree prone to some kind of fungus or insect? Is this tree going to make it through whatever winter I have coming or that I know happens around where you might be? Not so much where I am, but I typically try to go for the bigger trees just because I think they're pretty. Not to say the smaller trees don't have their value. They really do. Redbuds are gorgeous, but I usually go for the bigger trees.

Doug: If I was to plant a redbud, would I plant a little redbud or would I plant a big redbud?

Madison: [laughs] You would probably plant a small redbud and then let it flourish into itself.

Doug: Okay. Now, how about staking? Are they supposed to be staked when they're planted?

Madison: Yes. Yes, we definitely recommend them being staked when they're planted just to help because when you're setting them in the hole, their root balls are still pretty much confined until the roots start growing out and making an establishment for structure. The stakes are just there to help in case-- like earlier this year we had that big windstorm in May come through, and it bent a lot of trees over which way and that. I've restaked a lot of trees.

The important thing about the stakes is that it prevents the tree from breaking the root ball because if the root ball breaks from the trunk, then you've got a serious problem. If the stakes can keep the tree up just enough for us to be able to get there to refix it or to fix it, then there's a chance that tree will survive.

Doug: How many stakes, and how long do they stay in place?

Madison: Usually, we do two to three stakes depending on the grade of where we believe the tree would lean, right? Sometimes trees will require four. Then of course you've always got the stakes. If you have a strong central leader like on a cypress tree versus an oak tree, which have decurrent branching where they've got multiple big leads going every other where. If you've got an excurrent tree, then the main stem would need an extra support like a bamboo tied onto it to help keep it straight as it grows up. Then eventually, you would go in and remove that.

Doug: Are there any trees that you tell people, "Please don't plant this in your area"? We've got some of them up here, but how about down there? Are there things that like, "No, please don't put that in"?

Madison: Oh my gosh, yes, so many species. Chinese tallow is definitely one that I would never recommend. It's a fast-growing tree, but it's also super invasive here. I would usually never recommend a willow tree because they never do as good as people think they're going to do. They all want that beautiful, lovely flowing wedding venue-esque tree, but it takes so long to get there. Then I don't typically recommend mulberries because they usually fall apart. Oh, and Bradford pears, definitely not Bradford pears just because they're prone to fire blight, and their branching structures get really weak after about 20 to 30 years.

Doug: Yes, that Bradford pear, oh. Up here, we still have HOA's putting those in, and they just shouldn't be. As you said, they get down the road, and they have that weak crotch, and you get some ice on them up here. Before I let you go, Madison, tell me a little bit-- and we talked about this before, but tell me a little bit about what you get out of your job and why you like what you do.

Madison: Definitely my favorite part of my job is getting to interact with new clients, new people every day and then also being able to teach the newer generation about trees. I love educating people about trees. One of my secret favorite parts about my job, though, is getting to meet people's pets. I love animals.

[laughter]

Madison: That's always a positive, but definitely the education purpose of teaching people about trees, getting to meet new people, see new places. It's fantastic.

Doug: All right, Madison, I'm going to leave it right there. It was great to talk to you again, and I know we'll talk in the future. Thanks for your time.

Madison: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate you.

Doug: Great stuff this week from Madison. Always fun to talk with her. Now, tune in every Thursday to the Talking Trees podcast from the Davey Tree Expert Company. I'm your host, Doug Oster. Do me a big favor, subscribe to the podcast so you'll never miss an episode. Have an idea for a show, maybe a comment? There's two ways to reach us. Send us an email to podcasts@davey.com. That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T-S, @, D-A-V-E-Y, .com. You can also click the link at the end of our show notes to text us a fan mail message. Your idea might be on a future podcast. We'd love to hear from you. As always, we like to remind you on the Talking Trees podcast, trees are the answer.

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