Help with Planting Large Trees

I use a 36”, 24”,and 12” auger for tree planting with the mini skid. Drill the hole, trim the sides to get rid of any soil compaction, set the tree with forks. I will always set the tree higher than the ball as they always have soil mounded up around the root collar. I will trim back the excess soil exposing the root collar. Most of the trees I plant almost look volcano mulched but that is dirt. “Too low won’t grow, too high it will thrive”
I have even set the ball on the ground and mounded up dirt around the ball when parent soil is shitty quality.

I planted a gorgeous 3” caliper flowering crabapple for a 90yo custy who said it was too high. I told him if he wanted to see gains on the tree in his life time to trust me. Three years later the tree is almost 4.5” caliper and produces a full crop of flowers every spring.

Also I have used a stump grinder to “dig” the hole when the soil is crap. You can grind a large area and add in soil modifiers like a good compost as the soil is beautifully pulverized and hand digging the hole afterwards is real easy.
 
Matias said:
To keep closer to the heart of the question, how do you deal with ensuring that there aren't deal-breaker root issues? I figure that I can definitely probe the edges of the root mat, and I think I should be strong enough to tip the tree a bit to make a gap from which I can inspect one side. I figure if cup the trunk with my thumb and index finger, palm against the soil, and tip the box over with my other hand, I should be able to manage balancing the weight and get it into a position where I can focus on what I'm looking at.
What does one do with anything bigger than 24"? I don't think I would be able to actually look before buying and removing the box at the planting site. And if it is all bound up, then what? You take it back with no box?
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There are only two ways to verify root quality: procure bare root trees or destructively test a sample of trees by removing the soil from the root ball prior to accepting the grower's trees. Without this verification, there will always be the tension of distrust among all involved parties; distrust associated with roots being hidden in soil.
 
ATH said:
All great questions that I haven't been able to answer. I haven't found a nursery yet that doesn't consistently deliver trees too deep. I don't know that an individual tree is too deep until we are at the site, hole dug, and start taking the root ball apart. What am I supposed to do? Replace it with another that will also be too deep? I've just come to realize we need to fix them on site. I'm on a "tree planting" committee where we are trying to improve practices in the field - and we've been in discussions with nurseries about delivering better products. Not much take. One nurseryman told us he kinda blew us off after the first meeting as overstating the problem. Then he went and asked specific questions of other nurseries. They all told him the intentionally plant liners too deep to avoid blow over.

If it is root bound, I assume you could shave a box tree just like a container tree? (example in a container tree: https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/remove-side.shtml)

Is a 36" burlap ball bigger than the minimum 24" box tree? (assuming they see 36" is bigger than 24"). Box trees are kinda a specialty product around here and quite a bit more. Is that a normal thing there? Do you know why? I don't dislike the idea, just a little curious about that insistence.
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Portland urban forestry is implementing advanced practices. That's not too far from you. DM me your email for upcoming presentation.
 
We have a shrub bucket on our tractor, like a spade shovel, that we use for digging and to carry large root balls (strap it to the bucket contour). On larger trees we've occasionally used the air spade to clean the roots off and address quality control issues. Also can make transport easier. I've not lost a single large tree we've planted, over 200 in 3 years.

I'm learning a ton. Planting is not my specialty. I had one teaching moment for large caliper trees a decade ago, other than that just applying book knowledge.

I don't have much else to add to the topic. Love seeing all of the ideas.

How do the augers work in clay? Around here it's either sand or nasty wet clay. The shrub bucket doesn't make a perfect hole, but I can dig out wide sections and break up the soil prior to planting. We generally always top dress with composted mulch.

My only real "add in" is we've been experimenting with planting (in our garden and around the shop, or in terrible clay sites) with planting directly into mulch, similar to gravel bed techniques. It holds so much water. We have 5 experiments going with it and everything is going swell. One Japanese tree lilac we dig up from a clients last year that was dying has started to recover, and that's with full neglect but planted in a hole of mulch.
 
Brando CalPankian said:
We have a shrub bucket on our tractor, like a spade shovel, that we use for digging and to carry large root balls (strap it to the bucket contour). On larger trees we've occasionally used the air spade to clean the roots off and address quality control issues. Also can make transport easier. I've not lost a single large tree we've planted, over 200 in 3 years.

I'm learning a ton. Planting is not my specialty. I had one teaching moment for large caliper trees a decade ago, other than that just applying book knowledge.

I don't have much else to add to the topic. Love seeing all of the ideas.

How do the augers work in clay? Around here it's either sand or nasty wet clay. The shrub bucket doesn't make a perfect hole, but I can dig out wide sections and break up the soil prior to planting. We generally always top dress with composted mulch.

My only real "add in" is we've been experimenting with planting (in our garden and around the shop, or in terrible clay sites) with planting directly into mulch, similar to gravel bed techniques. It holds so much water. We have 5 experiments going with it and everything is going swell. One Japanese tree lilac we dig up from a clients last year that was dying has started to recover, and that's with full neglect but planted in a hole of mulch.
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I was thinking about having the airspade handy
 
Brando CalPankian said:
How do the augers work in clay? Around here it's either sand or nasty wet clay. The shrub bucket doesn't make a perfect hole, but I can dig out wide sections and break up the soil prior to planting. We generally always top dress with composted mulch.
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They will make a hole but it’s a pain if it’s wet, if it’s dry the hole will look like it was cut with a laser, nice clean straight sides.
 
Matias said:
Every municipality I have checked about here requires boxes specifically. We definitely have options here, but they all insist on the same.

Sounds like a nursery that actually did things right could potentially be a good business.
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Ignoring B n b vs box, what’s the target caliper?

Typically the first thing I do is find the root flair, and shave the top of the potting media. I don’t focus on circling roots as much as potential girdling roots.

Dig the hole shallower than the depth to the flair, and as you mentioned much wider with ramping sides. Also scarification of any glazed soil.

If possible start washing the edges of the root ball looking for j hooked and circling roots. Maybe tip the tree for any j hooked segments. Any thing they I can bend outwards I’ll hand dig a trench and stake the root out with wood on either side to hold it in place before backfilling. I’ll often leave the wood stakes letting them just decay under grounds.

If no water is available to ‘wash’ the sides of the rootball I’ll use the handles of my felco’s to dig the soil back a bit. Snipping any broken roots.

Hard to do working for someone else but since I run my own show I will typically give the ‘tough love’ speech. Trying to do the best for the tree at the time of planting, knowing it’s an additional stress, but if not attempted it’s likely moot anyway
 
Matias said:
how big was the auger? that doesn't seem wide enough to plant a 24" box... I would like to see at minimum, a 36" wide hole, and really more like 48"-60". I assume that you'd also stop a little short on the depth and then adjust by hand so as not to disturb the soil below the desired depth.
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Using an Auger it is easy to "overshoot" the depth of the planting hole.


Keep this in mind when setting the height of the new plant, and take the extra time to use a hand tamper to "recompress" the base of the hole of the Parent soil IF/WHEN the auger has disturbed it, so the plant will not settle from it's correctly planted height. Even Clay needs more than some "foot stomps", if the base was disturbed with the auger when hole(s) are drilled.

Quick short story that was my ah ha moment ..... Auger into Clay and 1,000's of B&B were planted at a new "large estate" more that 20 years ago by a well known contractor.

I did the PHC "Aftercare" of these Auger planted trees, and they were ALL root fed to about 6" depth a few months after each planting Phase was complete at the onset of the grow-in.....So I was up close and personal with all of them.

Trunk Flair Taper was visible, and heights correctly set a few inches ABOVE the soil line, on Everything planted into the Auger dug holes.

Again keep in mind the parent soil tested on the triangle/chart was mostly Clay. No other backfill/amendment was used on these trees at planting time.

Over the period of 2-3 years, almost EVERY plant had settled to the point where the Taper was now below soil grade/the soil line.

You can imagine the issues with this on such a Large scale project, especially in wet years in Clay soil that perk's very very slow......

With that example, be sure the bases of holes after Auger dug or otherwise, are FIRM and Tamped, as the plant cannot move itself upward at a later date....as we all know.

And visualize the "New Seed Analogy" that grows in the Forest, at/from the correct height from it's onset.....

Visualize where the Oxygen/Aerobic layer is after a heavy rainfall (when at field capacity ) as it is the Parent soil type you plant in, where fine roots need to be close to the surface to grow and thrive.

Get this right ("Relative" taper set height) the 1st time!

Enjoy watching those Trees Thrive and Survive.
 
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