Right tree, right place
By Dave Lutes M
y friend Jack Phillips is a renowned tree expert from the Middle East who now lives in
the US. Jack believes in a natural, non- invasive, and sustainable approach to living with and caring for trees. My interactions with him have shaped my opinions on trees. Ted Green, an ancient tree expert
from the UK, is another gentleman who has helped me on my learning journey. Ted believes in promoting the enlightened view that old trees should be regarded as historic living monu- ments. The common message, for those of
us in an urban setting, is clear. Choose the right tree for the right place. If you live in a location where you can enjoy mature trees of any size, what a bless- ing, but many people don’t have that luxury. There are options for those with small yards. Look at the space you have avail-
able, then try to match that space to a specific tree whose growth pattern will fit the space. Again, keep in mind the mantra: right tree, right place. A repu- table tree-nursery should be able to advise you of the eventual full-size of any tree they sell or you can check the Internet to learn the types of trees that will grow best under various circum- stances. Learn which trees are best suited for your climate. There are many examples of trees that have done well in non-traditional planting sites, such as
the small yards mentioned above.
Many different types, shapes and colors of dwarf ornamental trees are available. In circumstances where there is no
ground nearby or because the tree is to be transported around the residence, it might be desirable to plant a tree in a container. Almost any tree can grow in a container. How long it will satisfacto- rily grow in that container depends on several factors. Cold winters in certain parts of the world will severely limit a tree’s ability to survive in a container.
28 • Summer 2014 Tree expert, Dave Lutes.
The planter must be large; the tree cannot stay in the small container which was its temporary home at the tree-nursery. Trees need x-amount of soil to support y-amount of mass. Even- tually most trees will simply outgrow the container and must be planted in the ground. Regardless of the type of tree you
choose, the way you plant the tree makes a huge difference to it’s rate of growth and health. Globe shaped, pyra- midal, skinny and tall, dwarf trees – all of these require a correctly prepared site to thrive. In the planting of any skinny/ small tree, always dig a planting hole that is at least triple the width of the tree’s root-ball; the root-ball’s size will become evident when you remove the tree from its container. As an example, a tree with a 10-inch root-ball requires a 30-inch hole. The
Internet offers
many visual examples of this root- ball-size-to-hole-size concept. Keep in mind that what you plant now is going to grow. Although growth in the tree world happens slowly, your tree will grow. A poor choice of tree planted in a poor choice of location may not show its effect on the location for years, so choose wisely: right tree, right place. It’s interesting to look at a mature tree and observe how it has grown
Respect your tree and it will reward you.
towards the sun. Keep your tree’s need for sunlight in mind when choosing its planting-site. A tree placed between two buildings will grow taller and faster upwards towards the available sunlight. The survival situation for such an urban-placed tree parallels that of its wild cousin that must survive while growing between two tall trees. There is natural selection in the forest, and we’re mimicking it here in our urban setting, where the rule is: grow fast or get buried in shade and lose the oppor- tunity to ‘feel’ the glorious sun. In my profession as an arborist,
I’m often asked to work on properties where the trees are happily doing what they like to do: growing, the way they want to, towards the sun. And yet here we are trimming branches and some- times large limbs to make the trees fit our space. If only the homeowner had
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