Celebrate Arbor Day By Planting Trees

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.

Celebrate Arbor Day by planting new trees or caring for your established ones in your landscape and community.

Spring is a great time to add trees to the landscape.  Select healthy trees suited to the environment and available space.

Start by calling the free underground utility locating service at 811 at least three days before digging in.  It can save you money and possibly your life.

Plant trees in a shallow hole at least two preferably three times wider than the rootball.  Dig the hole only as deep as the distance from the root flare, the place where roots join trunk to the bottom of the rootball.  Then backfill the hole with existing soil.  Water thoroughly as needed to encourage deep roots.

Protect new and existing trees from mowers and weed whips.  Plant perennial groundcovers under the tree or cover the soil with 2-3″ of shredded bark or woodchips.  Be sure to keep the mulch off the trunk of the tree.

A bit more information:  Take a walk through your neighborhood, botanical garden or arboretum to look for champion trees. The American Forests Association is the organization that documents and records both native and naturalized tree champions in the United States.  Visit their website for details on measuring and reporting champion trees at http://www.americanforests.org/our-programs/bigtree/ .

For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com.