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kind of a dumb question about steaking conifer

13 years ago

I can't figure out what else to do really.

I ripped (with my Jeep) some cherry trees and a crapapple tree that had been in the ground about two years. They were just in there too good to dig up with the time I had. Of course the holes left behind are large. :-)

Anyway, after getting as much of the clay chunks busted up and reshaping the holes, I was out of native soil so I had to mix in bag topsoil.

That means steaks for the tree. For now at least.

I've never staked an evergeen tree (planted cryptomeria japonica). These are about 18" tall and they'll blow over if I don't. (small root ball, mess of backfill really)

SO just use a small steak and tree tape to tide them over a while?

(don't mean to start a tree steaking debate. i'm just curious what you would do if in an odd situation like this)

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
i would find the PROPER PLANTING TIME ...

and then i would bare root the tree ....

plant it in native soil ...

water it in properly ...

and then walk away.. as i would be of the opinion that an 18 inch tree does not need a stake ...

you will be in the negative to leave a peaty root mass in a clay soil

ken

ps: .... it might need a giant tbar 6 foot fence post to keep the jeep away from it ...
hogmanay
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the advice.

I have yet to find a spot to grab more clay soil to backfill for these trees. The clay here (at least the top layer) is unlike the clay I grew up around in middle GA (fall line area). It's just a mess of construction backfill.

I talked to the guys who did the excavation in my subdivision though. They told me to go look at a new site they had dug to see how nice the clay is a few feet down. They're right. It's much more rich. Now I need to ask them if I can take a jeep load of it, lol.

For now they are stuck in a clay / bagged topsoil mix. They're supported by the small bamboo plant sticks and tree tape in case we get a thunderstorm downburst.

They were so rootbound I wrote to the vendor to complain and had to pretty much bare root them anyway. Quite the mess.
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texjagman
13 years ago
That's not a dumb question at all.

Dumb is when someone answers back to you something like this...." I didn't know conifers even liked steak! "

Bad, I know. mark
hogmanay
Original Author
13 years ago
yeah i'm quite the typo machine

i think i missed my calling. i should write newspaper headlines :-)

stake steak mmmmmmmm steak
rockstonegarden
13 years ago
could you find a less obtrusive looking way of keeping the wind from uprooting the trees. Sometimes i use medium rocks on the treering, or pieces of wire bent into the shape of long sod staples above the root system. ie: rather than steaking them weigh the roots down. --> no spelling nazi, or spelling bee champ here :(

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