Fertilize when a need is known. If the soil on the planting site is deficient, the tree will not benefit from going without for a year.

Since soils vary, the supplier can't know for sure that every planting site will need the fertilizer they are using. If the region has the same soil dominant over a wide area, then that could provide some basis for assuming a particular formula is liable to be appropriate. But based on what I have seen many times elsewhere their recommendation probably is not founded on anything that solid. You could try asking them why that particular product is the ticket for your situation. Otherwise, the routine is to sample your soil and have it tested, so you have some basis for selecting the right combination of nutrients.

No. Those raggedy live oak trees grow in the poorest of poor infertile conditions. Like sand.

No, what? I guess you mean no need to fertilize?

NEVER.. EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ...EVER ... EVER ... fertilize a tree ...

unless.. as noted.. a soil test indicates that something is lacking from the soil ....

AND NEVER.. EVER ... i will skip the rest of those.. trust what the fertilizer saleman has to say about it ..

these are NOT children .. they dont need food ... nor schooling.. nor diapers.. nor food ...

IF you fertilize your lawn.. all healthy trees will grow roots out into the grass and rob the grass of everything you put on it ...

forests ... resin.. give me a true number... cover 80% of the face of the earth.. and no one feeds them.. and they can grow to hundreds of feet ...

IMHO .. they just dont need it .... and if you give me a buck.. i will tell you how i really feel about it ...

proper water..

proper mulch ..

and you will be all set.. ask if you dont know what those mean ...

who is planting it.. and can they plant it properly??? special things are done for planting of trees in heavy clay soil ... ask if you need to know ... or insure the planter is aware ...

i planted 6 foot bare root oaks in 2000 in pure mineral sand... only water and mulch for the first 2 years.. free range afterwords.. and some are going on 30 feet ... what more could fertilizer have done????

good luck

ken

lisa, it takes longer for a container grown tree to become established than a field dug specimen. This can be a precarious endeavor in 'relatively heavy clay soils'. And the larger the plant, the longer the process.

I'd worry about the watering, rather than the fertilization. It will be quite a challenge to ensure that the entire root mass is getting moisture on a regular basis, yet you will have to be very careful that the clayey soil doesn't stay water logged. A large root ball can easily become dry in the center, out of sight and out of mind.

Rather like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears....you will need to find a balance that's not too much, not too little, but just right. It's not something I'd want to do with a container grown tree of that size, planted into clay soil, at this time of year.

There are some very good reasons why you should not fertilize at this time. In my mind, the most important one is that you want to avoid any practice that may encourage artificially stimulated top growth. Vegetative growth will occur at the expense of new root development....which is not what you want to happen to your tree at this point. (or ever, actually)

I hope, at the very least, that this site drains well in spite of the fact that the soil is clayey. My own yard is nothing but hard red clay but everything thrives in it because it does drain.

It's suggested that you do not add a bunch of amendments in to the planting hole or back fill, even with clay. I'd stick with that plan. Mulch is a very good thing, as you probably know in Texas.

I sure do wish you good luck with this project. I think you'll need a bit of it, though good planning and preparation goes a VERY long way. Be sure to let us know if we can help.

Thanks everyone for the advise. We've just moved into the house so a soil test is what I'll do....don't know why I didn't think of that :-)

In my former house I NEVER fertilized anything. I love to garden and plant only native or adapted species that don't tend to need extra help...lots of work ahead of me ripping out stuff that isn't appropriate to dry TX summers. Biggest on the list is the awful Bradford Pears in the front yard.

HOWEVER, we're spending a lot of money on this tree so want to make sure we do it right.

Ken, I'd love to hear how you would water and mulch and how you would recommend the tree be planted. I fully expect a crew to show up dig the hole, plop it in and be done, so I'd like to be educated on how it should be done correctly.

Did you read my link?

Yes Brandon, just completed. We've planted several trees and shrubs and have followed the same guidelines. Thanks for the refresher. I'll make sure I have a hard copy and chek off as they plant the tree.

Rhizo,

Your post prompted me to do a water perc test. 18" circumference hole about 18" deep. Poured in 1 gal of water. 25 minutes into the test the water is only half absorbed.

I'll make sure the nursery knows this to see if I need to adjust the watering schedule.

Now I feel super stupid. Had my info wrong on the rate of absorption for the perc test. I thought it was per hour but instead it is per 24 hours apparently...I should leave this to the professionals ;-)

How is this tree going to be watered? By hand or timed irrigation? If irrigation, will there be a special zone to itself or will the lawn and/or other plantings be expected to experience the same schedule? (It's my opinion that irrigation systems are not ideal for establishment watering.)

Trees need nutrients just the same as herbaceous plants. Either a soil already supplies what a tree needs or it doesn't. The most useful times to fertilize hardy plants are spring and fall. In my climate spring lasts until July. I think April would be considered well within the parameters of spring in most northern climates.

Under what circumstances is the tree to arrive there? In a wooden box? A wire basket? A tree spade? If a tree spade is to be involved with the process somehow DO NOT let them dig the planting hole with the spade. It compresses and glazes the hole walls. Loosened, aerated soil is what the roots of a newly planted tree need to be presented with. Planting holes for large trees being plopped out of a tree spade can and should be dug using a backhoe.

Invest in a tree gator irrigation bag.

I didn't see anyone mention this but there are better times of the year to xplant than next month but if there were ever a tree to survive it would be live oak. They seem to survive transplanting in the least of ideal situations.

I visited the tree farm today and came away with a different plan. We'll have a Lacebark Elm planted next month. Then in October a Water Oak will be added.

The trees will are both "container" grown so will arrive in a 95 gallon plastic barrel which they've been grown in. The holes will be hand dug so I'll ensure that the sides of the holes are scarred to make sure that the roots can penetrate into the clay.

Thank you so much to everyone who has weighed in on this. I've learned a TON today!

Hi Rhizo,

I've looked into the Tree Gator but I believe I'll go with a soaker hose instead. I work from home so can put a spiral of soaker hose around the tree, start the watering and let it soak in slowly over the course of the day.

The nursery recommends that I water 2xweekly from planting through September 15 at a rate of .75 gallons/minute for 75 minutes. The only exception is if we get one inch of rain within the 24 hours immediately prior to watering day (unlikely to happen in TX in the summer!)

After September the water schedule changes monthly as the temps cool.

It's not that complicated

Stick your finger a few inches in the soil. Is it moist?

Just out of curiosity, why water oak instead of something more interesting like shumard oak?

iforgot,

with most plants I do the "stick the finger in the soil" test, but the root mass will go down about four feet so I'm out of my element on this one.

I decided to go with the water oak because of the branching structure of the tree I picked out (it has dual trunks) combined with the fact that it has a smaller leaf structure which is rather "lacy". I want a fair amt of sun to filter through the tree and felt that Water Oak was my better choice.

One trunk is less likely to develop structural problems. The upper layer of roots need to be kept moist so within that context what is happening at the bottom of the ball is irrelevant.

And the trees may not have rooted all the way to the bottom of the pots, or may have done so to a limited extend.

the water oak ... has dual trunks

Ouch. Can you take it back? Multi-trunked weak wooded trees are to be avoided. Many better trees can take the Dallas climate. I second Shumard oak, which should be considered way before water oak. Chinkapin oak (Quercus muhlenbergii ) is another one.

Dan

Does this tree come with a guarantee from the nursery? Would your failure to follow the advice of the nursery void that guarantee?

I am sorry, you will continue to get conflicting advice. I won't add to it, whatever my opinion might be.

--Spruce

I agree that in the case of oaks, dual trunks is not something you want. & agree with bboy, it's the upper few inches of soil that will dry out first.

Just had 10 of same size, same tree planted yesterday. 18" down is clay. Advised to fertilize with a product that starts with M that only licensed grower can get. It helps roots grow out and makes stronger tree. No, I didn't get it. Wanted more $.

"Advised to fertilize with a product that starts with M that only
licensed grower can get. It helps roots grow out and makes stronger
tree."

Good grief!

Snake oil is alive and well! Embo likes to mention the fact-yes fact-that until and unless an actual soil test is done, one may not know what nutrients are in "short" supply. But here's the deal: First, almost all soils have adequate nutrients for most plant varieties, and second, in newly transplanted trees, root formation is slowed by the addition of nitrogen to the rooting area. I think we can all agree that for a new transplant, it is root system regeneration that is job 1 for the tree......can't we? So why do something-anything-that will tend to retard this process? What's more, what is the requirement for live oak (or lacebark elm for that matter) for pound of nitrogen per thousand square feet? How about potassium? And what about phosphate? That's right....in actual soil systems-not plants growing in a research greenhouse in soilless medium somewhere, these values are complete guesswork. And how would one relate a ratio of "needed" nutrient A to that thousand square feet? Or acre? Or inch of trunk diameter, to get into truly primitive thinking?

No, I didn't think you-OP- or anybody else could answer one of these questions. This isn't corn or soybeans.