Arizona Sun

Hole Story! Remember two main things in planting bare-root trees.
See that the tree hole has good drainage, and don't cramp the roots when you plant the tree.

Harvey Tate, extension horticulturist at the University of Arizona, suggests digging a tree hole several days before planting the tree. Fill it with water to check drainage, since you may need to break through caliche or hardpan if water won't drain. Fill in about a foot or two of the hole depending on depth - with a mixture of one part barnyard manure to five parts top soil. Then build a rounded mound of top soil to set the tree roots on.

Hold tree trunk so you plant tree at the "nursery dirt ring" level the ring indicates depth tree was planted at nursery. And, lay out roots over mound, removing broken or bruised roots by cutting them off cleanly. Fill in the hole to the "dirt ring" level, firming dirt around roots.

In filling around roots, use top soil only. Then, make a border about six inches high around the outside of the hole to form a tree well and soak the tree thoroughly. Mulch the top of the soil with one or two inches of any good mulch.

Stake the tree to hold it in place. Use two by two-inch stakes, driven about three feet into the ground and extending up to the crown of the tree. Set stakes outside the root-ball area. Tie stakes to the tree with rope, canvas strips, or heavy twine.

Don't use wire as it cuts into the tree bark. Only one stake is needed for six to seven-foot trees, but use two or three stakes for trees more than two inches in diameter. Where stakes can't be used, or if a tree is over four inches in diameter, use guy wires to hold it in place.