How many times have you gone to a nursery and you have not picked the tree you liked because you thought it was not the best time to plant it, or that on the contrary you have acquired it but you have had it in a pot for too long? I, I am not going to deny it, many times. You may be convinced that it only takes X days or weeks for you to make the planting hole, but sometimes it happens that the weather gives you a surprise and forces you to wait a little longer.
This, as it is something that nobody likes, it is time for it to end. So we are going to explain to you what is the best time to plant trees in your garden.
Trees are among the first plants to be planted in a gardensince in principle they will be the ones that reach the largest size (unless we want to put palm trees, in which case their height would rival that of the trees). For this reason, it is said that they are the “pillars” of our particular paradise, because it is around them where we are going to plant other plants, those that will bring movement, harmony and also color to the place.
But if we want to plant them, we have to do it right. There is nothing worse than, motivated by the desire to have a spectacular garden as soon as possible, we buy those that we like and that same day we remove them from their pot to put them in their final location, thus without figuring out if it is the right time to it.
The rush is not good for anything. In fact, they can leave us without plants. And no, I’m not exaggerating.
Imagine you just bought a rosewood for example, in autumn. It is beautiful with its leaves, although it is likely that some are already starting to fall, but otherwise it looks really healthy. You decide to plant it that same day. You wear some gardening gloves, you take the hoe and you get to it.
Once planted, and during the first weeks, you see that it continues well, but … without more or less the first frost of the year occurs, a frost that leaves it without leaves from one day to the next. The branches go from being that light brown that characterizes them to dark brown and then black. Lose some.
After a while, another frost. And more branches turning black.
In this point, the roots have suffered significant damagesince the ground will be cold, which added to the fact that the jacaranda is a tree that barely remains active in autumn-winter, it does not have much energy to overcome this drop in temperatures.
If it continues to freeze frequently or if it snows, the plant could die.
This is something that can be avoidedsimply planting it in early spring and only if the climate is right for the tree. So, let’s see when is the best time to plant trees:
What must be taken into account before planting them?
If you want your trees to be perfect before, during and after planting, we recommend taking the following into account:
Wait for the tree »to rest»
The trees They are plants that, in order to grow, need the temperatures, both minimum and maximum, to be adequate for them. For example, those that live in temperate regions will resume their growth as soon as the temperatures begin to be around 15ºC, while those that are tropical need it to be warmer, around 20-25ºC.
In the weeks or months during which it is cool or cold, they will remain in a dormant period. At this time will be when we can plant them in the garden.
Differentiate evergreen trees from deciduous ones
The trees that have evergreen leavesthat is to say, they remain evergreen, during the autumn-winter they reduce their metabolism. The cold can considerably damage their leaves if they are planted at this time, so it is highly recommended to wait until the end of winter to transfer them to the garden.
The Trees of feeble leavesOn the other hand, they can be planted just before the dormant period, something that happens as soon as the leaves fall, or when they are already finishing it.
If it’s sick, don’t plant it
Sometimes it is possible to think that a plant that is sick will be able to recover better if it is planted in the ground, but the truth is that this is not always the case. When a tree falls ill, in addition to expending energy to carry out its basic functions (respiration, photosynthesis, etc.), it must also spend on defending itself, on keeping its defense system as active as possible. If we also take it out of the pot and plant it, it will have to spend even more to overcome that transplant, which usually weakens it a lot..
And of course, as it becomes weaker, it becomes very attractive to insects that cause pests and microorganisms that can cause infections, especially if it has been pruned and / or its roots have been manipulated. Therefore, we do not recommend planting it until it has recovered.
How to plant trees?
Image – Flickr / Mauricio Mercadante
Once you have decided when to plant it, you are probably wondering how to do it step by step, right? Well let’s go there:
Choose your location
For this, You have to know what adult size it will have and what needs it hassince depending on it you will have to put it very far from the pool, or there will be no problem in putting it near the house, in an area where it gets direct sun or in semi-shade, …
Water it conscientiously
In order that it can be extracted easily, and without damaging the roots, It should be watered well the day before or early in the morning.
Make a big hole
The hole must be large, ideally 1m x 1m. This will make it easier for you to root. Once you have it done, fill it with water and see how long it takes for the soil to absorb it.
If you see that as soon as you throw it, the level of it drops at a good rate, it is a good sign; but if you see that the minutes pass and it stays more or less the same, you will have to fill the hole with a mixture of garden soil with perlite or similar in equal parts.
Fill in the hole
You have to fill it in until you see that the tree will not be too high or too low. For example, if the pot it is in has a height of 40cm, if the hole is 1 meter you have to add soil to fill 60cm of it.
Plant the tree
Take it out of the pot, being careful not to manipulate the roots too much, and insert it into the hole trying that it is more or less in the center. Then, finish filling in the hole.
If you see that it is necessary, that is, if the wind blows a lot in your area or if the trunk of the tree is very thin, you can put a tutor so that it is well attached.
We hope that now you can know when to plant them in your garden, and how to do it correctly 🙂.
