2019 Spring Home & Garden

2019 SPRING HOME & GARDEN LINCOLN DAILY NEWS MAY 2, 2019 PAGE 37 CONTINUED u Tips for planting Check the height of the ball of the tree and measure for the same depth in the hole. You want to the top of the soil ball level with the surrounding soil, not elevated or sunk. Once your hole has been prepared be sure to add water to the empty hole. After water has drained re-measure the depth of your hole, you may need to add a little more soil. Before placing the tree, prepare a soil mix using the soil that has been removed from the hole. Knecht uses a mixture of dirt, sand and manure to help with growth. To plant a balled and burlap tree, some landscapers use a machine with an auger and jaws to pick up the tree as Leif Knecht of Knecht’s Nurseries and Landscaping does. The tree must also be set in straight. Remove the burlap and twine, though you can leave the wire basket because it will eventually corrode. Backfill with your soil mix when you have the tree adjusted. You will need to create a dike with mulch and water your new tree about twice a week. Mulch over they whole surface of the tree ball. It should be thick but not touch the trunk of the tree so it does not cause the bark to rot. See the planting process at ‘How to plant a balled and burlapped tree’ When transplanting large trees from pots, you can start by cutting off the bottom of the pot and then put the pot in the hole by grabbing the handles of the pot to make it easier to lift. Once the pot is in the hole, you can rotate it until you have it set how you want then cut one side of the pot and pull the pot away from the roots. Fresh soil mixture can be poured around the tree’s soil ball and lightly tamped in to remove air pockets. Soil should not added over the surface of the tree’s soil ball. Once the tree has been planted, give it plenty of water.