Earth Day and Arbor Day
How will you support the earth? One of my favorite ways is to plant trees. ArborDay.org give you lots of tips on planting trees. http://www.arborday.org/trees/index-benefits.cfm
How to plant a Ball and Burlap tree.
A large, woody plant whose hug root-ball is wrapped in burlap (balled and bur-lapped or B&B) might seem intimidating to plant, but it’s easier than you may think. Dig a hoe too times wider than the root-ball only as deep as its height. Next, place the plant in the hole and remove all string, twine, wire, and as much of the burlap as possible. Then back fill using the excess soil to form a berm around the outside edge of the planting hole. Make sure that the plant is not buried deeper than how it was originally growing. Irrigate the area inside the beam, and allow the water to settle the soil around the root-ball. Provide a 3- to- 4-inch-deep layer of mulch around the root zone but away from the trunk of the tree.
Should I stake a new tree?
Tree staking, a task that should be done only when absolutely necessary, is usually done wrong. The goal is not to render the trunk immobile. Quite the opposite is true. The trunk needs to move to grow properly. It is the root-ball that needs to remain motionless. One somewhat-flexible stake- attached about two-thirds of the way trunk with some material that won’t wear away the bark- is all you need. And get rid of it after a year.
