Tree Installation Tips
31 Jul, 2008 By: Landscape Management Staff LDB SolutionsBy Janet Aird
Plant a tree in the right place and it will add beauty to the landscape and provide habitat for birds and animals, as well as reduce erosion, pollution and stormwater runoff. But plant one in the wrong place and it can be a nightmare. It can crack pavement, drop messy fruit on patios and knock out power lines if it falls or catches fire.
Tip 1: Purpose
Decide if the tree is for shade, flowers, fall or winter color, or to attract birds. Use a tree selection guide for your area to choose one that’s either a native or very well-suited to the area in terms of temperature, amount of rainfall, soil type, pH and drainage. If you use an imported species, make sure it won’t become invasive.
Tip 2: Height
Find out the height of the tree and its canopy span at maturity in your area so it won’t outgrow the space, says Tina McKeand, a certified arborist with The Davey Tree Expert Company. “A tree in one area might get much larger than the same tree somewhere else.”
It’s safe to plant trees that grow up to 20 ft. tall within 15 ft. of utility lines, but keep trees that grow to 40 ft. tall at least 20 ft. away, and ones that grow taller than 40 ft. at least 50 ft. away.
Tip 3: Sun and Wind
Plant deciduous trees on the south or southwest side of the house to help keep it cool in the summer. There will still be a little warming in the morning but it’ll be shaded as the rays become more intense, says Nolan Rundquist, a certified arborist with the City of Seattle. The taller the tree, the more shade it will provide when the sun is high in the summer. Shade the air conditioner, too, if possible, to make it more efficient.
In the winter, sunlight will filter through the branches and help warm the house, he says. In colder climates, plant evergreens on the north side as a windbreak.
Tip 4: Roots
A tree should have at least 8 sq. ft. of planting space to support root growth. Rundquist says that in Seattle, the minimum area of a planting pit is 25 sq. ft. Roots may be shallow because of the soil itself, he adds. The top layer may be easy for them to penetrate, but the layer below may be rocky or compacted. “Sometimes there’s even gravel under the sidewalk. We’re almost engineering shallow roots.”
Tip 5: Fruits
A large number of flowering trees drop messy fruit and berries. One way to have flowering trees without the mess is to plant trees like crabapples, which have fruit that birds eat before they drop, Rundquist says. Another is to plant male clones, which flower but don’t form fruit. On the other hand, some people say that male clones increase the pollen count, which increases allergies.
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