Any members with green thumbs?

[Dual EE]

Within the next couple of weeks I will be planting 50 Thuja Green Giants and 40 Canadian Hemlocks around my property. This I hope will provide a nice natural privacy barrier around my property in 5-6 years.



The soil in my area has a lot of clay just under the 4" or so of top soil. What is the best way to prep my soil to ensure the survival of my trees. I have 5 large bags of Miracle Grow potting soil (10-10-10 I think are the #'s) I was thinking of mixing in for nutrients. My area I think is listed as zone 9.



Thanks for any help.

 

[outlawram]

My suggestion would be dig about 4 inches wider than the rootball on both sides and dig deeper and back fill your trees with good black dirt. It will be easier for the roots to get established in the good soil rather than the roots trying to grow through the clay. It is also alot easier with a auger, forget the shovel. That clay will wear you out. Also try and find some slow release fertilizer pellets and place a couple away from the rootball in the hole as you backfill. And then sprinkle some granular fertilizer in the basin you will be building with your left over dirt to hold in water. Fill basin with water once a day for a week then go every other day for a week then twice a week for the rest of the summer. Thirty seconds a plant is the rule of thumb. Get yourself a good water wand with a soft shower head on it and keep it moving around your basin so you get even watering. Dont just lay a hose in there, your tree could settle crooked. A shovel handle or something of the sort works good to use as a packer as you backfill your plantings. I use a old straight 5 foot tree limb as a packer. Good luck, 8 years of that stuff was enough for me.

 

[Dual EE]

Thanks. Should I not use the Miracle Grow potting mix at all?

 

[Digger]

You can use the miracle grow. Any good rich black dirt will do.



Follow the instructions that outlawram gave and it will be fine.

 

[JPope]

Do you guys think that cutting the root ball lightly at intervals, to encourage the roots spreading more quickly helps?



Do they still recomend that the first watering have a root starter added (B12 comes to mind but maybe that is soimething my doctor said i was to take ) ?

 

[Digger-Bear]

outlawram has some good advice. That fancy miracle grow is an expensive way to go. Your plant can’t read the label. Amend your soil- manure/compost/peat will help counteract the high clay content and promote drainage. I will add Osmocote to the soil before I plant. Really any slow release fertilizer will do. If the roots are really chopped up a couple of cups of bone meal will encourage root growth. Be careful, you really don’t want to be breathing that stuff. I think it is a good idea to rough up the exterior of the root ball to encourage outward growth – it really matters how big the plants are. If they are big enough to be delivered in canvas balls, it wont matter, it they are in plastic plant pots – it will.



Keep your crowns higher than the soil line.

 

[Dual EE]

This is what I am looking at... .

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...tegory=3185&ssPageName=STORE:PROMOBOX:ENDSOON



They are suppose to be at least 10-14" tall and in small plastic containers. Tell me more about why the plant size matters. What do you mean if the roots are really chopped up?



Thanks guys for all the good info-Keep it coming.