JoAnne Skelly: Plant trees now

The heat has passed, but the soil is still warm. Conditions are ideal to plant trees. We all know that trees provide shade and cool a home. They clean the air and absorb stormwater runoff. They add aesthetic appeal. If you want shade all year, plant an evergreen, such as a pine, spruce or cedar. If not, plant a deciduous tree that will lose its leaves in the fall, such as an ash, oak or maple.

Perhaps you want a flowering or fruiting tree? Any tree you plant should be drought tolerant as well as tolerant of your soil and the drainage of that soil. Know the average winter low temperatures at your home and buy accordingly. In Carson City, the lows might vary from -15 degrees to -5 degrees or possibly lower.

After deciding what kind of tree you want, buy a strong one that can stand on its own without a stake. It should have a good taper, being wider at the bottom of the trunk, becoming slenderer higher into the tree, rather than spindly from bottom to top. A wider base means a stronger tree. Avoid buying trees with broken branches, obvious wounds, insect infestations or disease. Bigger is not necessarily better, because bigger trees may have a harder time adapting. Ask for help to slip the pot off to look at the roots. They should be firm and white, not mushy and brown. There shouldn’t be a lot of circling roots within the pot, which can lead to long-term problems.

Preparing the hole properly is critical to tree success. Dig a hole four to five times as wide as the container to a depth slightly deeper than the container. The sides should be sloped and loose to allow roots to grow laterally with ease. Loosen the container off the root ball gently without pulling on the trunk or you can separate the roots from the tree. If rootbound, gently loosen the roots or cut four vertical slices on the sides and an X on the bottom with a clean sharp knife. The top of the tree’s root ball should sit at ground level, no deeper, no higher. Fill in with original soil only and tamp down to remove air pockets. Build a slight well around the planting hole and water the tree in.

Keep the soil slightly moist all fall and winter so new roots can develop. You will see a burst of growth in the spring.

JoAnne Skelly is associate professor & extension educator emerita at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Reach her at skellyj@unr.edu.