A guide to growing healthy trees & shrubs

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A GENERAL GUIDE TO GROWING HEALTHY TREES AND SHRUBS

MULCHING
The most important thing I can tell you about growing healthy trees is to make sure you leave an area 18-36" in diameter, bare around the base of all trees and shrubs. The second is to make sure you cover this bare area with some type of organic mulch. You won't believe the difference you will see in the health and growth rate of your trees if you do these two things. The bare area allows the tree to absorb all available nutrients without competing with grasses, and the mulch keeps available moisture in the ground for a longer period of time.

We did an informal experiment here in our gardens: we planted spruce seedlings in 2 areas, one was worked on a regular basis, the soil was kept completely bare around these trees, to a diameter of 24". The other area was weeded periodically, when the weeds became unsightly. The seedlings were 6-8" tall when planted, both areas had identical soils (identified through soil testing), and an equal amount of 50 year old rotted cow manure to a depth of 6" was added to each planting area. No mulch was applied to either site in this experiment. The only water and nutrients provided was what Mother Nature gave them, other than at planting time, when we used 10-52-10 transplant fertilizer on all of them, in equal amounts. After 5 years, the spruce trees planted in the area kept weeded and worked were averaging 36-48" tall. Those in the area not weeded were barely 24" tall. Greater gains would have been realized had these trees been watered on a regular basis, and mulched. We have since begun using tree fertilizer stakes and a mulch of dried grass clippings around the second group, those which were far behind in height. The other group has been planted in their permanent homes around the yard.

My personal preference as a mulch around trees is dry grass clippings. Using grass clippings is cheap (usually free), and if I get too close with the lawn mower, I won't damage the mower. My second preference is wood chips or sawdust, for the same reason. Mulches should be at least 4" thick, preferably 6", and topped up every year.

Many times it is not practical to leave a bare area around a specimen tree, maybe because it is too much work, no one is available to keep it worked, or it looks undesirable. In those cases I would try to plant trees that can compete with lawns, such as Japanese Maple, Dogwood, Smoke Tree, Hawthorn or Flowering Crab or Cherry.

FERTILIZING
If you really want to make the neighbors envious, then fertilize your trees and shrubs on a regular basis as well. I prefer to use tree fertilizer stakes to get this job done, then I don't have to try and remember when it was last done, nor do I have to figure out how much to give them. Tree fertilizer stakes come in a variety of formulations; ornamental, fruit & flowering, or evergreen. They are designed to release nutrients slowly over time. They are applied by pounding them into the ground with a hammer, at the base of the tree. Often the directions included with them indicate that they should be applied twice yearly, but here in Alberta, our season is too short for this in my opinion. We apply the stakes early in the spring. The number used per tree varies depending on the size of the tree. Complete directions should be available at the garden center, or on the packaging.

Even though I have simplified fertilizing by using the tree stakes, I still give many of the shrubs, particularly the evergreens, including junipers, a dose of Miracid fertilizer at least twice through the summer. Miracid is manufactured by Miracle Gro, and in my opinion, Miracid really is a miracle worker with evergreens and other acid loving plants. I recommend it be applied early in the spring to all evergreens showing signs of suffering from our harsh Alberta winters. Usually results can be seen within two weeks of application. Results are especially noticeable when applied to Blue Spruce, or other blue-toned shrubs. Miracid makes them a beautiful steely blue that everyone comments on. Be sure you do not fertilize ANYTHING after the middle of August, here in Alberta. This will ensure that the plants, trees or shrubs have time to harden off before winter comes. (Don't you think Miracle Gro should give me a commission after testimony like that?)

DEER AND RODENT PROBLEMS
Our biggest problem with trees surviving at our location comes from the deer. Visitors are shocked when they comment on the beautiful deer they have just spotted in and around the yard, and before they are finished talking we run to get the gun. Deer cause thousands of dollars in damage all over the country at nurseries and garden centers, let alone in people's yards. Dogs are the most reliable method of keeping them out, provided the dog sees them, (our "old reliable" is going blind) and considers them to be intruders. Tall fences will work too, but how many people want an 8-10' fence surrounding them, or can afford the cost of erecting one?

There is one method which I have found to work, although not always reliably, depending on the situation. Over the years I have read and heard from a number of sources that using bars of soap strung around the areas susceptible to deer intrusion would keep them out. I scoffed at this idea, and never tried it until one day a wise old gentleman was over to buy his tomato plants, and we got talking about the problems with animals and gardens. He told me about the soap trick, and told me he had tried it himself and found it to work. He had an extra tidbit of information though, he said it had to be Irish Spring soap, or it wouldn't work. My next question was how in the world do you place the soap in strategic spots. His reply was to cut the soap into 4 equal chunks, tie a string around it and then tie the string to the branches of the tree or shrub in question. Now soap isn't cheap, especially when you have a large yard to cover, and all I could envision was soap hanging from every tree, shrub and fence in the yard, and this did not appeal to me. Of course he had a solution to this as well; the soap need only be hung every 30-40 feet or so, and that would be enough to keep the deer at bay. I went to town the next day and bought a 6 pack of Irish Spring, cut it into chunks and hung them every 30-40 feet, around the perimeter of our acreage. You guessed it - it really did work! I hung them out towards the end of May and we didn't spot a deer in the yard until mid September. This is amazing because previous to this we had 5-10 of them eating fruit trees for breakfast every morning, and this had been going on for over a year! After inspecting what was left of the soap in September, I came to the conclusion that the reason it had worn off was because there wasn't much soap left on the string as weathering had broken it down, which is only to be expected. The sad thing about this is it only works in the spring and summer months, and the most damaging of deer damage happens in the winter months, so the next year we got a dog and continued to use the soap trick. The dog started eating all the soap he could reach, which ended our use of that trick, because it made him sick. What do we do now? We keep our eyes peeled for deer, point them out to the dog when we can, and put up with the deer the rest of the time. We no longer go for the gun as I fear our 3 year old will call us "Bambi Killers" if we shoot at them. She yells at me now when I curse the deer for being in the middle of the road when we go to town!

I have since done a lot of research into deer and their habits, and there are many trees and shrubs available and hardy for our area that they do not find palatable. All new plantings in our yard are done with this list in mind. Please be forewarned that if they are really hungry they'll munch on the types listed regardless. Click here to see a list of plants deer dislike eating.

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