Planting Out Trees

Moving trees from a reticulated nursery environment to the home garden needs some extra care for a greater success rate.

• Dig a large hole (twice width and depth of pot if possible).
• Add a wetting agent to the hole.
• Fill with water 1 to 3 times to ensure water has soaked in.
• Mix soil from hole 50/50 with a quality Soil Improver. (Can also add clay for sandy soils)
• Add enough improved soil back in to the hole to ensure the soil from the pot will be the same level as the ground.
• Remove tree from pot and place in the hole.
• Insert 3 tree stakes into the hole away from the root ball and loosely tie to support tree. (If in a windy location)
• Back fill hole with improved soil around the plant.
• Apply wetting agent and seaweed solution to the top of soil and thoroughly water in!
• Mulch with a chunky bark mulch, keeping mulch away from the base of the tree.
• Deep water 3 times per week for the first 2 summers to establish a good root system.

Note: Deep watering is where the water penetrates down more than 20cm from the surface. To check: dig down near the plant to a depth of 20cm after a normal watering to see if the water is soaking in. If it is not achieving the depth you require, try a longer and slower watering method along with a soil wetter.