Planting trees can be game of high stakes
I spotted the first returning lapwing on February 18; I heard the first returning curlew one week later; and, in between, I saw people planting hundreds of trees.
So, it must be spring, although treeplanting can be carried out at just about any time of the year – depending on the weather and the soil conditions.
But with the best will in the world, and the best planting conditions, things can – and do – go wrong. And the biggest causes of failure tend to be poor soil and site preparation.
If the hole isn’t big enough, the soil isn’t rich enough, the support stake’s not sturdy enough, and the gardener not savvy enough to know when to water, when not to water, when to firm down the soil around those growing roots, and when to provide protection from the likes of rabbits or even deer, then there’s a very good chance that the tree will fail to thrive.
There are other things which can turn a triumph of expectation into a disaster – planting the wrong tree in the wrong spot (soil too dry, too waterlogged, site too shady, too exposed, too sunny) is a common occurrence.
Other mistakes include failing to break up the compacted rootball when the plant first arrives so, eventually, the roots continue to grow in a circle and the tree never gets an anchor in its new home.
And bear in mind that a tree which is struggling is more prone to fall victim to diseases and pests.
Just as a dog is for more than just Christmas, so a shrub, and especially a tree, is for more than just a year or two; sometimes it’s for a lifetime or two. So get the preparation right, get the aftercare right, and there should be more smiles than tears.
Hopefully, when the lapwings and curlews return next February, most of those newly-planted trees will be poking their heads out of the tree-guards and preparing for a long, long life.