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Released: February 15, 2002 Planting a Tree Can Mean Years of Pleasure or Disappointment MANHATTAN, Kan. – A tree is an investment for the landscape, just as a piece of heirloom-quality furniture is for the home. Both can last for generations, setting the overall tone and filling an important use for the entire outdoor or indoor "room." "Tree care over the years can make a big difference. But if you don’t choose the right kind of tree in the first place, you may find yourself replacing it soon or being saddled with lots of extra maintenance," warned Charles Barden, Research and Extension forester with Kansas State University horticulture. Barden said answering 10 questions can help tree buyers avoid problems: 1. Where do you want the tree to go? "The biggest mistake many people make is a direct result of their deciding to plant a tree on the edge or in a corner of the yard, where it can help frame the house and leave lots of room for lawn and flowers," he said. "They don’t think about the stress for a tree of being next to a hot concrete street or sidewalk. They forget about the power line and public easement that will entitle the utility company to dig or to lop the tree’s top out when a tall variety starts to reach full growth. "A number of trees, including redbuds and dwarf flowering crabapples, mature below power-line height and can grow well in the central High Plains. But they don’t tend to be tough street trees. Often, homeowners would be better off planting a tall, hardy shrub – perhaps one they can trim into a tree shape – or planting further from the street." Sites close to the house deserve forethought, too, Barden warned. Shallow-rooted trees, such as maples, elms and sweet gums, can buckle the pavers in a patio and may even work their way through existing tiny cracks in a home’s foundation or slab. Deciduous trees can flood gutters with autumn leaves. Brittle trees – most notably the silver maples – can cause repeated roof damage with broken branches. A big, beautiful evergreen can totally block a view year-round. "On the most basic level, you also need to choose a tree that will do well in your chosen site’s sunlight, wind and soil conditions," he said. "For example, homeowners in the mid-United States are always trying to plant dogwoods, Japanese cutleaf maples and magnolias. Some varieties of these small and very ornamental trees are supposed to be hardy enough to withstand central U.S. summers and winters. But sites with rich soil and enough shelter from wind and sun to give the trees a fighting chance are rare." Soil’s texture and moisture-holding ability range widely across the region. Sites with heavy, poorly drained soils are fine for silver maple, cottonwood, weeping willow and baldcyprus – which often die in sandy, rapidly draining soils. The reverse can be true for bur oak, hackberry, redcedar and Austrian pine. "You can’t simply improve the soil where you plant a tree. It isn’t practical," Barden said. "To be healthy, a tree’s roots must be able to grow out about the same distance as the tree’s mature height. Most people would be amazed about how much tonnage of soil that involves. "Improving no more than the soil in the planting hole can be worse than doing nothing. In heavy clays, the improved soil can make a growing tree the same as pot-bound -- can strangle it with its own circling roots. In extremely sandy soils, the best you can hope for may be a stunted kind of bonzai effect." [See box.] 2. Do you want grass to grow under the tree? If so, look for ones that have small leaves and/or create very light shade. Possibilities include the honeylocust (with leaflets so small they never require raking), Kentucky coffeebean and cottonwood. 3. Do you want dense shade – perhaps to reduce cooling costs or protect children at play? Some of the best High Plains shade trees are the oak, maple, sycamore and ash. 4. Do you want seasonal interest? Red maples and the hardier, shorter Amur maple tend to produce fall leaves in vivid shades of red, as do callery pears. Some white ash cultivars have near-purple fall color. "You can’t assume a tree will produce good fall color, particularly if you don’t plan to water it during dry periods," Barden said. "But varieties known for their color should carry that information on their tag." Trees known for their spring flowers in High Plains landscapes include the redbud, serviceberry, callery pear, crabapple (may be short-lived, unless disease-resistant) and cherry (may be borer-prone). The most reliable summer-flowering tree is the goldenrain tree, although the white fringe tree and smoke tree will do well in some areas. Unusual summertime leaf color comes with the maroon provided by the Crimson King Norway maple and Prairiefire crabapple, as well as the deep purple of Newport plum. Trees for interesting berries or ornamental fruit include the hawthorne, crabapple, and serviceberry. Evergreen trees provide cones of various sizes and shapes. Unusual bark for wintertime interest are associated with the lacebark elm, riverbirch and Japanese black pine. 5. Is rapid growth to provide shade, height or erosion control important? "In Kansas, at least, all of the rapid growers need lots of water to be healthy," Barden said. "If you’re willing to supply the needed moisture, you’ll can get good height fairly quickly with a cottonwood, sycamore, willow, sweet gum or silver maple." 6. Do you want a tree that can become a living memory for your children or grandchildren? Long-lived possibilities include the bur oak, northern red oak, black walnut (on a good site) and pecan (particularly in zone 6 and warmer). 7. Do you want a tree that creates no more "mess" than fall leaves? Think seriously before planting any tree that produces nuts or fruit. Remember that you may get wind-broken branches with a willow, honeylocust or silver maple. Avoid sweetgum, Kentucky coffeebean, sycamore and catalpa (zone 6 and warmer), all of which produce large pods or dry, prickly, ball-like fruit. 8. Do you want deciduous tree leaves to remain into winter? "The squirrels appreciate leaf-holding trees, such as the pin oak and callery pear. Birds like them, too," the forester said. "But you should be prepared. The birds you attract could include those huge flocks of starlings, grackles and blackbirds that congregate together for awhile every fall." 9. Do you need windbreak protection? Redcedars may be the most dependable windbreak trees, because they’re High Plains natives. On a large lot, however, rows of any kind of cedar or pine, planted to the northwest of a home, can provide protection from winter winds – just as shade trees sheltering the east of a house can reduce summertime cooling costs. 10. Are you averse to dealing with insect and disease pests? The callery pear and bur oak may be the closest to pest-free trees for the central High Plains. Although they’re prone to developing rust and bagworms, redcedars generally survive in fair to good health, even when left untreated. Newly planted landscape trees can have a tough time in poorly drained clay soils. Kansas State University forester Charles Barden recommends homeowners provide help by taking this approach: Dig a wide planting hole, as usual, but keep it shallow in the center, so that one-third to one-half of the sited tree’s root ball is above the surrounding ground level. Replace the hole’s soil, breaking it into gravel-size pieces and patting it down. Water. Cover the still-exposed root system in a wide mound of loamy soil, building and firming up the mound until it reaches the tree’s original soil line. Water again. -30- K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan. Story by: Charles Barden is at 785-532-1444 |